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Unexpected Week 8 fantasy football performances. Will these players sustain their Week 8 success and be fantasy football waiver wire pickups?
Finally! After a few weeks of dreadful football, Week 8 provided fans with high-flying entertainment that resulted in some massive scoring performances. One of the more popular storylines surrounding the 2022 NFL season has been that league-wide scoring has been way down from previous years.
However, this week was different as points spiked heavily and teams continued to put up points in bunches during nearly every matchup. It was a pleasant change from the sluggish and sloppy play we’ve become accustomed to seeing for the majority of this season.
As a result of the higher scoring, many stars had great performances. A.J. Brown, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, and many others had amazing scoring outputs. Along with those expected studs were some unexpected ones as some players outperformed their projections by a wide margin.
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In this article, instead of going over the players that were expected to be great, we’ll be looking at the more unexpected performers from an action-packed Week 8.
Fantasy Football Risers - Surprise Performances
D'Onta Foreman, Carolina Panthers
After star running back Christian McCaffrey was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, D’Onta Foreman was next in line to take over the backfield lead in Carolina. In his first game as the lead back in Week 7, he shared work with second-year running back Chuba Hubbard while putting up a surprisingly solid performance.
But here in Week 8, Foreman had the backfield to himself as Hubbard was ruled out with an ankle injury. That development spelled good things for the 26-year-old’s weekly outlook, but nobody could’ve foreseen the stellar performance he put on.
Against the Atlanta Falcons, Foreman had 26 carries for 118 yards with THREE touchdowns on the ground. That dominant performance resulted in a massive point total of 31.8 Half-PPR fantasy points for managers that started the sixth-year running back.
3️⃣ for 3️⃣3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/8lz2Iecepe
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 30, 2022
With Foreman looking like the real deal these past two weeks, he could be considered a weekly starter for fantasy rosters from this point forward. Don’t expect every performance to be like this as Chuba Hubbard will be back to take his share, but there is no doubt that Foreman has looked impressive.
Rondale Moore, Arizona Cardinals
A dud performance in Week 7 where he only saw two targets had fantasy managers of Rondale Moore feeling a little wary about his place in this Arizona Cardinals offense. However, as many have pointed out, that lack of involvement was mainly due to Moore running his routes mostly on the outside rather than in the slot where a 5’7’’ receiver would normally be utilized.
Now, in Week 8, head coach Kliff Kingsbury finally looked in the mirror and asked himself why he thought that the smallest wide receiver in the NFL would fare well primarily as an outside option. He then decided to allow Moore to run 52 percent of his snaps from the slot, which resulted in him catching seven-of-eight targets for 92 yards and a touchdown along with two carries for 12 yards. That stat line resulted in 19.9 Half-PPR fantasy points for the second-year receiver.
almost had him, gotta be quicker than that 😉@moore_rondale x #BirdCityFootball pic.twitter.com/QoNEpUmHPG
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) October 30, 2022
This performance should provide fantasy managers with some relief as Rondale Moore is, in fact, still useful for fantasy rosters. With this kind of usage, he has the capability of being a high-end flex play or even a low-end WR2 while Marquise Brown is out with his injury.
Tyler Conklin, New York Jets
In a pretty gross performance from the New York Jets offense, one unexpected player emerged to provide a solid performance. As a ghost of waiver wire’s past, Conklin had been largely written off by fantasy managers, especially with Zach Wilson floundering as the starting quarterback.
A ROPE from @ZachWilson to @T_Conk1 for the TD#NEvsNYJ on CBS pic.twitter.com/IJz78u0WnQ
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 30, 2022
However, in this performance, he was solid as he caught six-of-10 targets for 79 yards and two touchdowns. That strong outing resulted in 22.9 Half-PPR fantasy points on the day which also ranked as the top tight end performance in Week 8.
After weeks of disappointment, Conklin’s fantasy value appeared to be dead in the water. But now with this most recent game, he could be an interesting pickup for fantasy managers that are in need of help at tight end. Do not expect these kinds of performances as the norm with Wilson at quarterback though.
Justin Fields, Chicago Bears
If this performance doesn’t give fantasy players a reason to take Justin Fields seriously, nothing will. Fields had been on a tear in fantasy football as he provided three straight QB1 performances prior to Week 8. But with a matchup against the vaunted Dallas Cowboys defense, it looked unlikely that the second-year quarterback would be able to keep up his productive stretch.
But instead of Fields falling victim to the strong Dallas defense, he came out with his top fantasy scoring output of the season. In Week 8, Justin Fields completed 17-of-23 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns along with eight carries for 60 yards and a touchdown. That performance resulted in 26.04 fantasy points, which ranked as the QB3 overall on the day.
JF1 on the run 🫡
📺: #CHIvsDAL on FOX pic.twitter.com/jJDA3sGWRK
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 30, 2022
The main contributing factor to this step up from where he was is the Bears finally buying into the skillset that Fields has been teasing for the past season and a half. He clearly offers mobility that looks similar to some of the best in the league, and Chicago is utilizing that with various designed runs that cause their offense to be more productive.
With this evolved usage, the former Buckeye offers a strong floor and should definitely be considered on waivers for any team that doesn’t roster Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, or Patrick Mahomes. The rushing floor is clearly there, and he is progressing as this offense further buys into what he has to offer.
Antonio Gibson, Washington Commanders
Fantasy managers know what Antonio Gibson can do, the only question throughout his young career has been whether the Washington coaching staff will utilize him to the best of his ability. In Week 8, we finally got to see the potential.
Against the Indianapolis Colts, Gibson was inefficient with his carries but saw much more receiving work than usual. He finished the game with seven carries for 19 yards along with seven receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown. Those statistics resulted in 17.2 Half-PPR fantasy points on the day.
.@AntonioGibson14 with the score 👏👏👏
📺 #WASvsIND FOX pic.twitter.com/FF1nUmGOv5
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 30, 2022
When rookie running back Brian Robinson returned to this lineup, Gibson was written off by everyone including the coaching staff. Now, just a few weeks later, it’s looking like he’s reclaiming the RB1 role in this offense as he simply looks like the better running back. In addition, he’s also finally supplanting J.D. McKissic as Washington’s receiving back. With this expanded usage that Gibson has been seeing, he could be an interesting buy for fantasy managers in need of help at running back.
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