Booms and Busts - Fantasy Football Starts and Sits for Week 8 Lineups

Dave's fantasy football start 'em and sit 'em booms and busts for Week 8 of 2024. Sneaky starts that may boom, and typical starters that will disappoint.

We’ve officially reached the halfway mark of the 2024 fantasy football season. It's been a tumultuous first few months. We saw multiple players lost for the season due to injury this past week, and it’s likely to cause upheaval in the standings across leagues. If you’re sitting at 2-5, don’t give up! With all the injuries, you can easily find yourself right back in it.

We caught a bit of bad luck in this space during Week 7. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Demario Douglas were some of our boom calls, but both played sparingly due to a hamstring injury and an illness, respectively. Frustrating, but not much we can do. Amari Cooper and George Pickens were a few of our bust calls. The logic behind both was sound, but Cooper found the end zone to propel him to a WR14 finish while Pickens popped for his best game of the year. However, we did correctly identify Drake Maye as a boom call. He threw for 276 yards, two touchdowns, and finished as the QB7. We’ll pat ourselves on the back for that one. We’re shooting better results this week. Here's hoping Lady Luck is on our side with injuries, and we get the job done.

Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X and check out RotoBaller.com for all your fantasy football needs. Let’s get into our boom/bust picks for Week 8 of the 2024 NFL season.

Editor's Note: Identify fantasy football draft busts, overvalued ADPs, and key players to avoid so you can draft with confidence this season.

Week 8 Fantasy Football Booms

Tua Tagovailoa - QB, Miami Dolphins vs. Arizona Cardinals

All signs point to Miami’s QB1 returning in Week 8. It’s sorely needed as the Dolphins skill players have suffered mightily in Tagovailoa’s absence.

He gets a nice matchup in his return as Arizona’s defense has struggled guarding the pass. It ranks 26th in passing yards allowed per game and allows the fourth-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, per Fantasy Football Today.

We should see Miami’s offense get back on track, and it’s likely Tagovailoa has a strong showing. He is a great option this week if you’re streaming the position or need a starter due to byes.

Jaylen Waddle - WR, Miami Dolphins vs. Arizona Cardinals

Waddle has been unplayable since Tagovailoa went down. That should change this week with the aforementioned Tagovailoa set to return.

We mentioned how Arizona has struggled against opposing quarterbacks, but it has been just as bad at guarding opposing pass-catchers. The Cardinals rank 27th in DVOA against opposing teams’ WR2s. They also allowed the sixth-most PPR points per game to opposing receivers.

Again, this is a great spot for a potential spike week from Waddle and Miami’s offense. We should see them move the ball with ease against Arizona’s defense. Gamers can confidently reinsert Waddle into their lineups, and he should have a quality outing.

Tucker Kraft - Green Bay Packers at Jacksonville Jaguars

While last week presented a tough matchup for Kraft, he gets a better draw this week against a Jaguars defense that has struggled guarding tight ends. Jacksonville ranks 31st in defensive DVOA against opposing tight ends and allows the eighth-most yards per game to tight ends as well.

The Jacksonville secondary has been one to target when trying to find quality fantasy plays each week. This is another good spot to attack it as it’s unlikely it suddenly figures things out against Jordan Love and the Packers' aerial attack.

Kraft is a strong TE1 play this week. He has a plus matchup and has a good chance to pop for a big game. Fire him up and reap the rewards.

Week 8 Fantasy Football Busts

Terry McLaurin - WR, Washington Commanders vs. Chicago Bears

Washington’s WR1 has enjoyed a solid season thus far. Much of that is thanks to the presence of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. As a result, McLaurin is currently the PPR WR12 of the year.

Jayden Daniels first touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin was a thing of beauty!#RaiseHailpic.twitter.com/jIDqMlo1e9

— COMMANDERS FOOTBALL (@HogsHaven) September 24, 2024

While he’s been a quality option for gamers, Week 8 may not be the best spot to use McLaurin. The Commanders welcome a Chicago Bears team that allows the seventh-fewest PPR points per game to wide receivers and ranks second in defensive passing DVOA.

On top of that, Washington might be without Daniels for this game after he suffered a rib injury last week. Marcus Mariota is the backup and is a significant downgrade for the Washington pass-catchers.

Combine a tough matchup with a second-string quarterback and McLaurin becomes an easy sit. Gamers should consider other options for this week.

Alexander Mattison - RB, Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Mattison has taken over lead-back duties for the Raiders in the last few games. He is coming off a strong Week 7 performance that saw him amass 123 scrimmage yards on 26 touches.

This week, Las Vegas draws a date against Patrick Mahomes and the division-rival Kansas City Chiefs. Kansas City’s defense has been very good this year. It only allows 90.5 rushing yards per game and ranks fifth in defensive rushing DVOA.

Las Vegas will likely look to run the ball at a high rate to try and compete in this game. However, it may not have much success since stopping the run has been a strength of Kansas City’s defense.

This is just a tough matchup for a team that has struggled to move the ball offensively. Kansas City will almost surely stack the line of the scrimmage to stop the ground game and force Gardner Minshew II to beat it.

That doesn’t bode well for Mattison in this game, and he should be left on the bench. If you need a running back or a flex play, there are better options out there.

Mark Andrews - TE, Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns

Andrews has seemingly turned his season around after a horrific start. He’s scored three touchdowns in the last two weeks and has finishes of TE6 and TE3.

MAKE THAT BACK-TO-BACK GAMES WITH A TOUCHDOWN FOR MARK ANDREWS 🔥

📺: ABC/ESPN

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/FoXfd4hHq2

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 22, 2024

While this has been nice to see, it might be fool’s gold. Andrews still hasn’t played more than 55% of offensive snaps in this two-game stretch and has only been targeted eight times in the last two weeks. This just isn’t enough volume for Andrews to remain a viable option once the touchdowns disappear.

The Ravens also play a Cleveland Browns defense that has been stellar in guarding opposing tight ends. Cleveland ranks second in defensive DVOA against tight ends and allows the fourth-fewest PPR points per game to the position.

This is a bad matchup for Andrews and owners should look elsewhere when streaming the position. It’s been a nice two-week renaissance, but his production just isn’t sustainable unless he sees more playing time and is given more targets.

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