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Week 8 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Advice on Fantasy Football Stars to Play or Bench
Carmen Mandato/Getty ImagesSometimes, fantasy football isn’t just about the talent level of the players on your team. It’s also about who your players are going up against in a given week.For example, this season, it’s been a good decision to start players facing the Miami Dolphins or Cincinnati Bengals, the only two winless teams in…
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Sometimes, fantasy football isn't just about the talent level of the players on your team. It's also about who your players are going up against in a given week.
For example, this season, it's been a good decision to start players facing the Miami Dolphins or Cincinnati Bengals, the only two winless teams in the NFL. On the other end, it's typically not wise to start players facing the New England Patriots, who are 7-0 and have allowed only 48 points this season.
Making these right decisions can help fantasy football owners have successful seasons, which is especially crucial as we get deeper into the year.
Heading into Week 8, here's a look at which players you should start and which ones you should sit on your fantasy teams this week.
Start ‘Em
QB: Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings vs. Washington Redskins
QB: Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals
RB: Tevin Coleman, San Francisco 49ers vs. Carolina Panthers
RB: Latavius Murray, New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals
WR: Kenny Golladay, Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants
WR: DK Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons
WR: Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts
TE: Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals
TE: Vance McDonald, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins
The Rams may have had some struggles through the first seven weeks of the season—most notably a three-game losing streak against the Buccaneers, Seahawks and 49ers—but they still have a strong offense. And they showed that last week in their 37-10 win over the Falcons.
Los Angeles is playing a struggling team this week in 0-7 Cincinnati, which makes Goff and Everett strong starts at their respective positions. Goff passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns against the Falcons, but he should put up even bigger numbers against the Bengals, who are allowing an NFL-worst 430.9 total yards per game.
Everett has emerged as one of Goff's favorite weapons, as he's received 34 targets over the Rams' last four games and scored a pair of touchdowns over that stretch, so expect him to be heavily involved against the Bengals.
Murray is a strong play against a weak Cardinals defense, and his value will be even greater if Saints starting running back Alvin Kamara is out again due to knee and ankle injuries. Kamara didn't practice Wednesday, so that could turn out to be the case. But either way, Murray should get plenty of touches against Arizona and be a solid fantasy option.
Through the Broncos' first seven games, Sutton has become a top fantasy option at wide receiver. His value is even greater now after Denver traded fellow receiver Emmanuel Sanders to San Francisco. That means Sutton, who has been targeted at least seven times in every game, could get even more looks.
Sit ‘Em
QB: Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots
QB: Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers at Chicago Bears
RB: Frank Gore, Buffalo Bills vs. Philadelphia Eagles
RB: Damien Williams, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Green Bay Packers
WR: Robby Anderson, New York Jets at Jacksonville Jaguars
WR: Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals at Los Angeles Rams
WR: Jarvis Landry, Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots
TE: Eric Ebron, Indianapolis Colts vs. Denver Broncos
TE: Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers at San Francisco 49ers
Mayfield has a passer rating of 66.0 during the Browns' 2-4 start, and this won't be the week that brings the quarterback's sophomore slump to an end. That's because they'll be facing the undefeated Patriots on the road in a challenging matchup.
With only five touchdown passes and 11 interceptions, Mayfield has been at the forefront of Cleveland's early struggles. His worst showing yet came in Week 5, when he went 8-for-22 with 100 yards and two interceptions against the 49ers, who is the only team other than the Patriots that is also undefeated.
Keep Mayfield out of your fantasy lineup this week, and send Landry to the bench as well. New England is allowing just 148.4 passing yards per game, second in the NFL to only San Francisco, so Mayfield is going to have a hard time getting the ball to his receivers.
The Chiefs could be without star quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee injury) on Sunday night, so they may have to rely more on the running game with veteran Matt Moore likely to start under center. Even if that's the case, Damien Williams isn't a good play this week.
Williams had 11 touches for six yards in Kansas City's Week 7 win at Denver, and it appears the Chiefs will continue to rely more on veteran LeSean McCoy out of the backfield. That shouldn't change this week, as Williams is becoming a less appealing fantasy option every week.
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