Week 8 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Advice for Fringe Flex Fantasy Football Starters

Seven weeks of the 2024 NFL season are in the books.

How have your start-and-sit debates been treating you? One glance at your record should tell you.

Fantasy football success is nearly impossible to find without deftly handling the fringe starters on your roster. Let's help with that handling, then, and spotlight a couple of our favorite starts and sits for Week 8.

Start: Kirk Cousins, QB, Atlanta Falcons (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

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ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 20: Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback Kirk Cousins #18 passes during the Sunday afternoon NFL game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks on October 20, 2024 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

When examining Cousins' season-long game log, his Week 5 eruption stands out as an obvious anomaly. He threw for 509 yards and four touchdowns in that outing. Over his other six contests, he's averaged just 220.2 yards and a single score.

Here's the thing, though: That monster effort came against this very same Tampa Bay defense. And it's the same Buccaneers defense that just allowed Lamar Jackson to throw five touchdown passes Monday night.

So, while Cousins may not be someone you can trust on a weekly basis, he's absolutely someone to call upon in this collision.

Sit: Geno Smith, QB, Seattle Seahawks (vs. Buffalo Bills)

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 20: Geno Smith #7 of the Seattle Seahawks warms up prior to a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 20, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Smith is capable of posting big passing yards, but he doesn't always do it. He is similarly capable of adding value with his rushing, but that doesn't always materialize, either.

In other words, he's one of the more touchdown-dependent quarterbacks you'll find. And it's hard to like his chances of finding the end zone much in this matchup.

Seven different quarterbacks have faced the defense (eight if you count Skylar Thompson, who relieved an injured Tua Tagovailoa in Week 2). Only two of them threw multiple touchdowns: Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers, who had two each. Tack on DK Metcalf's uncertainty, and there are plenty of reasons to avoid Smith.

Start: Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos (vs. Carolina Panthers)

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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 17: Javonte Williams #33 of the Denver Broncos runs the ball during the first half of an NFL Football game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome on October 17, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

Williams' usage has been all over the place. He's had 13-plus carries in three different contests and eight or fewer in three others.

Hopefully, things are starting to stabilize, though. All three of those games with 13-plus carries have come within the last four weeks. He's also had 13 receptions on 18 targets over this stretch. He has 338 scrimmage yards to show for these four outings, and he just scored his first (and second) touchdowns of the season in Week 7.

If he's taking control of this backfield, he couldn't have picked a better time to do so. Carolina's defense has been the league's most generous—by a mile—to opposing running backs. The Panthers area dead last in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns allowed.

Sit: Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots (vs. New York Jets)

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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Rhamondre Stevenson #38 of the New England Patriots carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium on September 29, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Stevenson's season has been hit-or-miss so far, and there have been more misses than hits lately.

His last four contests have produced a combined 202 scrimmage yards. Of those yards, 92 of them—and his only touchdown in this stretch—came in a Week 5 clash with the Miami Dolphins. This past weekend, Stevenson failed to capitalize on a drool-worthy matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars and managed just 25 scrimmage yards on nine touches.

If he couldn't handle the Jaguars, how's he going to fare against a Jets defense allowing the 10th-fewest fantasy points to running backs? We wouldn't stake our Week 8 hopes on finding out.