Key Starters and Tough Calls - Lineup Spotlights for Week 8

Scott Engel provides Week 8 fantasy football lineups analysis, spotlighting key NFL players to start and tougher lineup start/sit decisions to make.

Welcome to Week 8, RotoBallers! Below you will find some of my spotlight choices and players to go with or consider avoiding when faced with tough lineup decisions in Week 8 of the fantasy football season.

These choices are based off my Premium Weekly Lineup Rankings, available as part of the RotoBaller's NFL Premium Pass. Enter promo code KING at checkout for a 10% discount and get access to all of my ranks in all formats, plus a full roster of tools and analysis for the entire 2020 season.

Skill position picks here are based on PPR ranks. We have added a necessary weather section for this week.

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Weather Spotlights – Week 8 Games to Watch

Obviously we will have to watch forecasts throughout the pregame period, but there are five games that have been raising concerns among fantasy players this weekend. Forecasts are via nflweather.com. These outlooks are tricky and always subject to some sort of changes.

Packers-Vikings: 25 mph winds and the temperatures will feel like in the low 20s. Aaron Rodgers is used to such conditions but it may slightly limit his upside. Don’t fantasize about a 350-yard, four TD day. But Rodgers remains a must-start and should have a good floor because of the matchup. Davante Adams should not be downgraded at all, because he will still catch a ton of balls and gain yardage after the catch. Robert Tonyan should also draw some high percentage throws. Kirk Cousins has thrown 10 INTS and the Green Bay defense gets a boost here just outside the Top 10. Irv Smith Jr. could be one of the favored targets for Cousins because he may not be able to go downfield too effectively.

Raiders-Browns: This is the game of major concern. The forecast calls for 25 mph winds with rain and temperatures in the low to mid 30s. I originally had Derek Carr as a Top 10 start and bumped him down to 15^th. Nelson Agholor and Henry Ruggs were pushed just out of the Top 29 because their downfield upside is limited. Rashard Higgins is now outside of the Top 25. I am not expecting any upside here in the passing game although Higgins and Jarvis Landry could make some possession grabs. In tight decisions involving Browns and Raiders WRs, you should go the other way.

Titans-Bengals: Winds of 17 mph are expected, which is not a terrible outlook. The bigger concerns for Joe Burrow are significant injuries on the offensive line, pushing Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins outside of the Top 20. But both are still viable WR3 plays. Burrow may not have enough time to throw quite often, and he has already been sacked an NFL-high 28 times. The Tennessee defense is a Top 5 play this week.

Bills-Patriots: Rain and 16 mph winds in the forecast, and have seem some rumblings of snow. Not an ideal outlook but when wind is not quite a major issue, the QB can work through it effectively enough if he has a strong arm. Josh Allen has the needed arm strength and his legs to give him an advantage in a game where the Bills may trample the Patriots no matter the conditions. The weather may not be adverse enough to limit at least satisfactory production from Allen. Stefon Diggs should catch a healthy amount of passes even if the yardage totals won’t be stellar.

Saints-Bears: The 22-23 mph winds further dampen bleak passing outlooks here. The only guy to utilize is Allen Robinson, another candidate to catch a decent amount of passes with not much yardage upside. He can still be an end zone threat near the goal line.

RB Spotlights – Week 8

Seattle: ESPN reported Saturday night that Chris Carson has a 50-50 chance of playing and will test his foot in pregame warmups. If you have a better option in an earlier game, don’t stress yourself more and just go with the alternative. In the clip below from our Saturday morning RotoBaller Radio show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio, Seahawks beat reporter Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News-Tribune laid out his expectations. While nothing can be ruled out, he seemed to strongly indicate that he sees Carson as a longer shot to play and to expect a time share between DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer. The Seahawks are concerned about Dallas’ pass protection, and they should throw a lot, so Homer will see a lot of playing time. But Dallas should be the preferred ball carrier and goal line option. Dallas is versatile and had a good preseason, and could perform respectably on about a dozen carries. He is a flex option for potentially adequate production. Homer is a desperation play who is more fundamentally strong but lacks any real statistical promise.

.@gbellseattle joined @scotteTheKing & @MichaelFFlorio on @RotoBallerRadio to discuss the #Seahawks backfield going into Week 8!

What are you expecting from Seattle's running backs on Sunday? pic.twitter.com/s6amZb80Tr

— Fantasy Sports Radio (@SiriusXMFantasy) October 31, 2020

San Francisco: We will have to pull back on the JaMycal Hasty enthusiasm. Tevin Coleman was activated off the IR and reportedly had a good week of practice. So he should be expected to operate as the lead ball carrier. But as we have seen from Kyle Shanahan quite often in the past, he will go with a committee at times. We could see Coleman get the most carries and goal line chances, but Hasty is a threat to steal some of those attempts and if McKinnon somehow feels fresher this week, the situation becomes even more clouded.  Coleman is the best start of the three, but you may have better options for a more reliable floor. He does have much promise to get into the end zone at least once, though, so he deserves some flex consideration.

La'Mical Perine/Le'Veon Bell: The “Revenge Game” of the Century is obvious. The tweet below is an apparent veiled reference to how much Bell is looking forward to making the Jets look bad. Bell should be expected to get some goal-line chances and that will certainly help make him a quality flex play. The chances of a TD seem like a near slam dunk. Perine, however, could have his best game yet. He may want to show up his former teammate in a friendly competition. He should get fed the ball more frequently this week to get into a rhythm and that should boost his confidence. No matter the game script, Perine should be involved. If the game is surprisingly close, he will play a key role for the Jets offense. If New York plays catch-up as expected, Perine will catch passes out of the backfield. In garbage time, he could be good for a score. Perine is a low-end RB2 type this week.

excited for tomorrow. first home game, & I can’t wait. pic.twitter.com/DlZ9BIJxuI

— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) November 1, 2020

More WR Spotlights – Week 8

Travis Fulgham/Jalen Reagor: Any concerns that Reagor’s return will damage the outlook of Fulgham are off base. Fulgham has caught five-plus passes in three consecutive games and is the preferred high percentage target for Carson Wentz. Reagor is Fulgham’s complement, not a major danger to him. He is the speed merchant and downfield artist. He will help Fulgham face less defensive attention. A good passing offense, which is what the Eagles have now, can support two quality WR options, especially vs. Dallas. Fulgham should be locked in as a WR2 start and Reagor as a WR3.

Pittsburgh: It is clear that Diontae Johnson has emerged as the WR1 for the Steelers. The Ravens allow the fifth-least receiving yards to WRs, so Pittsburgh’s run-after-the-catch style of advancing the ball in the passing game will be tested here. You still have to start Johnson, though, because someone will have to be the main pass-catcher vs. Baltimore. He should be still good for some volume. Chase Claypool is the second-best option, as he can best win on contested catches and use his versatile talents well to challenge defenders. JuJu Smith-Schuster had an encouraging outing last week but had a season-high of 85 receiving yards, which shows how limited his yardage production has been. This is not a good matchup for Smith-Schuster at all, as he will be stuffed frequently if he attempts to gain much yardage after the catch. If Ben Roethlisberger does choose to go deep, Johnson and Claypool have better shots to beat the defense.

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