RADIO
Your weekly fantasy football Q&A mailbag. Mike Dente answers your lineup and start/sit questions from Twitter to help you put together winning rosters for Week 8.
Week 7 of the 2018 NFL Season is in the books, and here is a quick fantasy recap to keep you up to date. Surprise, surprise. Patrick Mahomes' 32.8 points led the way and kept him firmly atop the quarterback rankings on the season. It was all about the return of the Mack in Indianapolis, as Marlon Mack scored 31.9 points, which was second behind Kareem Hunt's 37.1 among all running backs. Todd Gurley continued doing Todd Gurley things, as he scored three touchdowns to join the 30-point club in Week 7.
At wide receiver it was nice to see Odell Beckham in a familiar spot, leading all receivers with a 28.2 point fantasy day. Adam Thielen recorded his seventh consecutive 100-yard game and is by far the top receiver in the game right now. Trey Burton finally lived up to the preseason hype of being a top-five tight end, as he posted over 100 yards and a touchdown to lead the position with 27.6 points. Zach Ertz and George Kittle predictably rounded out the top three in Week 7.
With Week 8 quickly approaching, it's time to dig into the RotoBaller Mailbag. I will be answering several of the best questions from Twitter each and every week. Thanks to everyone who sent theirs in for this edition!
Editor's Note: The FFPC Baby Gorilla Tournament is now open, featuring a $100,000 grand prize and a $675,450 total prize pool! This 12-team, Tight End Premium contest uses a 20-round draft format, with the overall winners determined by total points scored during Weeks 15–17. Get $25 to use toward your first entry by signing up through our link. Grab your team now! Sign Up Now!
Week 8 Reader Q&A
Before we get to the questions, here is a quick look at all of the upcoming games, as well as the current Vegas spreads and point totals:
- Miami at Houston (-7.5) - Total 44.5
- Philadelphia (-3.0) vs. Jacksonville - Total: 45.0
- Baltimore (-2.0) at Carolina - Total: 43.5
- NY Jets at Chicago (-7.5) - Total: 45.0
- Tampa Bay at Cincinnati (-4.5) - Total: 54.5
- Seattle at Detroit (-3.0) - Total: 49.5
- Denver at Kansas City (-10.0) - Total: 53.5
- Washington at NY Giants (pk)- Total: 42.5
- Cleveland at Pittsburgh (-8.0)- Total: 49.0
- Indianapolis (-3.0) at Oakland - Total: 49.5
- Green Bay at LA Rams (-9.5) - Total: 56.5
- San Francisco (-1.0) at Arizona - Total: 42.5
- New Orleans at Minnesota (-1.0) - Total: 52.0
- New England (-14.0) at Buffalo - Total 44.0
Which 2 would you start at RB in a PPR league out of Mixon(cin), Mack(ind), Cohen(chi), Carson(sea) and Chubb(cle)?
— Tony Cleveland (@Tony_Cleveland) October 24, 2018
Mike's Take:
Mixon is pretty much automatic since he is averaging 16.5 FPPG, which makes him a low-end RB1. Plus, he's playing the 22nd ranked Tampa Bay run defense at home. Your RB2 selection gets a little more complicated, as there are several good options lobbying for the one spot. Chris Carson ranks outside of the top 35 in FPPG and shares touches with Mike Davis so he's out of the equation, even though the matchup is intriguing.
The next player I would eliminate is Nick Chubb. There is plenty of hype surrounding the rookie since taking over as the starter in Cleveland and he played well last week to silence any doubters. However, his 80-yard and one touchdown performance only translated to 14 fantasy points since he didn't haul in any passes, which is something he is yet to do this season. His lack of involvement in the passing game makes him a touchdown-dependent fantasy starter, and add in the fact that he's facing the number two fantasy run defense and you can see why I like Mack, Cohen, and Mixon ahead of him.
The running back I would pair with Mixon in your starting lineup is Mack. You can certainly make a case for Cohen here, but Mack has the better matchup against the Raiders and is better suited to handle a larger workload, including goal-line touches. The second-year Indianapolis running back scored 31.9 fantasy points in Week 7, while securing a 62 percent share of his team's backfield touches. I'm excited to see if he can repeat his performance from a week ago.
Update: Mack's status is up in the air after missing practice on Thursday. I would replace him with Cohen in your starting lineup.
Need one in the flex: Jalen Richard, Aaron Jones, Taylor Gabriel, Breida (if healthy)
— VandenBosch (@boggerVB) October 24, 2018
Mike's Take:
Matt Breida missed practice on Wednesday and has been hobbled for several weeks now. Credit him for toughing it out and playing through injury, but I would be very shocked if he were active this week. Even if Breida does play, there is no way I would trust him making it through the entire game. The 49ers have no reason to push Breida in the lineup, especially with Raheem Mostert running extremely well over the past two weeks.
The next player to sit is Aaron Jones. He's in a full-on committee with Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery and has not touched the ball more than 12 times in a single game this year. His limited touches and a relatively-difficult matchup versus the Rams in Week 8 equal a recipe for disaster.
Jalen Richard is a sneaky under-the-radar play with Marshawn Lynch out for the Raiders. Doug Martin will step in as the starter, but he has struggled with the limited touches he has received so far this season, averaging a terrible 0.46 fantasy points per touch. Richard currently ranks 39th in FPPG with 9.9 and there is reason to think that number rises with the likelihood of more touches with not only Lynch out, but also Amari Cooper gone from the passing game.
Having said all that, my start for your flex is Taylor Gabriel. Yes, he disappointed fantasy owners last week with just 5.6 points in PPR formats, but he is still tied for 35th with 13.1 FPPG. Even though the Bears spread the ball around as much as any team in the NFL, Gabriel should still be considered their number one receiver with an 18 percent target share and better production than Allen Robinson through the first seven weeks of the season. You can make a case for a safe 10 points with Richard, but Gabriel has much more upside and has proven it in several instances this year.
ROS ppr Arob, Coutee or Gabriel
— Andre Sorrell (@DRE_SO_RRELL) October 25, 2018
Mike's Take:
Please see above regarding Gabriel. I have him ranked ahead of Robinson for the rest of this season. Robinson would come in second, with Keke Coutee last in line. While Coutee can produce big numbers, his success is tied to Will Fuller's health. When Fuller is healthy, Coutee is the third receiving option in an offense that hasn't proven to consistently spread the ball outside of their top-two receivers. Keep in mind that Coutee is also battling a hamstring injury, which tends to linger throughout the season if not managed properly. He's got plenty of risk and it's fair to say he won't be safe to start without an injury to Fuller or DeAndre Hopkins.
Hope I'm not too late...With Watson's struggles as late, is Baker Mayfield a better start this week?
— Adrian Martinez (@game6741) October 25, 2018
Mike's Take:
One thing to keep in mind regarding Watson's struggles is that he has faced three defenses ranked in the top 12 in the past three weeks. The Jaguars rank 4th against the pass in fantasy, the Bills rank 7th, and Dallas comes in at 11th. Those aren't ideal matchups for any quarterback. Plus, Fuller and Coutee have been slowed by hamstring injuries, which obviously makes things a little more difficult for Watson and the Houston offense. With Fuller close to full health and Watson healthier than he was last week when he had to travel by bus because of a rib injury, I would stick with the 23-year-old quarterback despite facing another top 10 pass defense this week.
That's all I have for this week, ladies and gents! To have your questions featured next week on our mailbag, please send them to @1ststopfantasy and/or @RotoBallerNFL with #RotoBallerMailbag. Good luck in your Week 8 matchups!
