Week 8 Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em Flex picks feat. Tua Tagovailoa, Rashod Bateman and more
There are no byes in Week 8, so you have a full bench of players to choose from for your flex spots. Oh wait, I forgot half the league is injured. My bad. Still, there are more options than usual to slide into the flex and help secure that victory. For this article, I use PPR scoring and stats from Fantasy Points Data. The goal is to find the best matchups for players we’re on the fence about or who might even be on the waiver wire and available to pick up.
Week 8 Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em Flex Picks
Flex’em picks this week
Javonte Williams (RB, DEN) - Feasting on easy matchups, it’s a good time to get Williams into your lineups. Last week, the Denver runner averaged 6.3 yards per carry versus a beat-up Saints defense. He turned 14 carries into 88 yards and two touchdowns. This week, he’ll face the absolute worst run defense in the league, Carolina. No team allows more points to opposing RBs than the Panthers. Running backs have scored against Carolina in every game this season. I’d bet that trend continues on Sunday.
Sean Tucker (RB, TB) - The three-headed monster of backs in Tampa Bay could be down one on Sunday. Rookie Bucky Irving has nursed a toe injury all week. He hasn’t practiced yet but there’s talk he could try to play. I don’t buy it. Turf toe injuries are painful and need time to heal. I can see Tucker working as the between the tackles back and Rachaad White getting his touches in the passing game. Week 8’s opponent, Atlanta, has allowed 70 yards or a rushing touchdown to every team they’ve faced.
Cade Otton (TE, TB) - Another Buccaneer, another chance to score big fantasy points. With Chris Godwin (ankle) and Mike Evans (hamstring) out, it’s up to Otton to step up. Over the past two games, no tight end has run more routes than Otton (75). He’s going to be the top target for Baker Mayfield. I don’t see the Bucs, who are second in the NFL in passing yards, change their scheme. They’ll still throw, and when they do it’s Otton who will shine. He’s a top 5 TE in my ranks for Week 8. Start Otton this and every week going forward.
Tua Tagovailoa (QB, MIA) - He’s back! After another scary concussion, we’re again welcoming Tagovailoa into our fantasy lineups. While he could be a little rusty after missing four games, I think head coach Mike McDaniel is going to play all out to regain the support of this team and the fans. How bad has it been since Tua was hurt? Miami’s backup QBs threw just one touchdown pass in his absence. Fire up all your Dolphins against Arizona. The Cards give up the 7th most fantasy points to the QB position.
Rashod Bateman (WR, BAL) - Over the last two games, Bateman’s yards per target have been 24. Think about that: he averaged nearly a quarter of the field on every target. Those targets are turning into fantasy points for your lineups. Bateman has scored double-digit PPR points in four of his last five games. Last week, he broke out with 121 yards and a touchdown. He could see more work this week thanks to Zay Flowers battling an ankle injury. Owned in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues, there’s a chance you can add Bateman for free right now. His Week 8 opponent, Cleveland, gets torched regularly by opposing receivers. It’s not hard to get deep on the Browns. Just ask players like A.J. Brown and Terry McLaurin, who ripped Cleveland for massive deep touchdowns. Bateman will join that list this week.
Sit 'Em Picks for the week
Keon Coleman (WR, BUF) - I saw many analysts telling you to pick up Coleman after his big game in Week 7. I’m not one of them. That fluke performance was due to Amari Cooper not being on the field for any of Coleman’s targets. The Bills traded for the former Pro Bowler to win on the outside. As Cooper becomes more acclimated to the offense, he’s going to push Coleman off the field. Think of it this way: if Coleman had been that good, the Bills wouldn’t have traded for Cooper.
Terry McLaurin (WR, WAS) - The Commanders have been one of the best stories of the year. That mostly has to do with rookie QB Jayden Daniels, who is in the MVP conversation. Well, Daniels likely won’t play on Sunday. That means Marcus Mariota will be under center. That’s a hard pass for me. Mariota looked good in Week 7, but that was against the worst team we’ve seen in the past ten years (Carolina). This week's opponent, Chicago, is far different from whatever mess the Panthers are putting on the field. The Bears allow the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing QBs. Nobody throws on Chicago. Allowing the fourth fewest yards on the season and just four passing touchdowns shows how elite this unit has been. There’s no chance McLaurin comes through with Mariota commanding the attack.
Xavier Legette (WR, CAR) - Legette assumes the lead dog role as Diontae Johnson is set to miss Week 8. The unfortunate part is that he’ll face the elite Broncos' defense and have Bryce Young throwing him the ball. Broncos all-world corner Patrick Surtain is slated to play as well. I know this was a trendy waiver wire pick because of the idea behind Legette seeing targets, but don’t do it. Denver has given up two receiving touchdowns to wide receivers this season. That’s not changing in this matchup.