NFL Fantasy Football Week 8: Last-Minute Advice for Setting Your Roster

Investors in the Dallas Cowboys' Dez Bryant are hoping he dons a superhero costume and returns to action Sunday versus the Seattle Seahawks' stingy secondary. While actually wearing such an outfit would result in a massive fine from the league, most shareholders in Bryant just want a solid showing with no setbacks.

In a weekend with multiple stars on the mend, as the Pittsburgh Steelers' star signal-caller Ben Roethlisberger is poised to join Bryant in returning to action, we'll be watching injury updates throughout Sunday's buildup to game time.  

As a key reminder, the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions kick off in London at 9:30 AM ET on Sunday. Get those lineups set.

Please join us in discussing the key fantasy-relevant injuries, such as Bryant's game-time status, as well as undervalued commodities such as streaming defenses and waiver-wire wonders with an eye on preparing for Week 8. 

As always, feel free to post your lineup conundrums and questions for Week 8 in the comments below. 

Waiver-Wire Wonders for Week 8: Stevie Johnson and Orleans Darkwa Offer Value

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In this section, we focus solely on players at each position we can find for free in more than half of ESPN fantasy football leagues. 

Quarterback Values 

Ryan Fitzpatrick, New York Jets: "Fitzmagic" is quietly 12th in fantasy points per game among NFL quarterbacks and faces an Oakland defense that is allowing a generous 17.7 fantasy points per outing to the position this season in ESPN leagues. You can find the Harvard product for free in nearly 70 percent of ESPN leagues. 

Running Back Bargains

Antonio Andrews, Tennessee Titans: The Titans' backfield under head coach Ken Whisenhunt has been inscrutable the past few seasons for fantasy investors. As for this week, some clarity might enter the scenario, as Whisenhunt is talking up Andrews for more early-down work after a strong Week 7 outing, per John Glennon of the Tennessean. The Texans have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to opposing backfields, which sets up Andrews as a nice value play at an ever-shallow position.

Orleans Darkwa, New York Giants: Similar to Andrews, Darkwa is poised to earn more attention after an efficient Week 7. Howie Kussoy of the New York Post  reports the Giants' staff is interested in getting Darkwa more work for this week's inviting matchup versus the New Orleans Saints. There is inherent risk in deploying an upstart back on a committee backfield, but when things are desperate in deeper leagues, such plays become necessary. 

Waiver Wideouts

Stevie Johnson, San Diego Chargers: The Baltimore Ravens' porous pass defense allows the second-most fantasy points and receiving yards per game to enemy receivers, while Johnson is poised to consume a solid share of a historic passing offense. With a lofty implied point total for the game, per Odds Shark, we should see plenty of offensive exposure for a Bolts' passing attack that is on pace for the most yards in league history.

Nate Washington, Houston Texans: In a piece earlier this week on potential waiver-wire assets to consider, we highlighted Washington and his rich receiving share of a pass-happy Houston offense:

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Through seven games, this year's Houston Texans are on pace for a record 747 passing attempts this season. With the Texans' top tailback Arian Foster out for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury, per Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com, any hopes for trending toward a more balanced attack would appear fruitless. Houston, after all, is last in the league in yards per rushing attempt (3.39) despite ranking sixth in rushing attempts. ... Washington makes for a reasonable play versus a Tennessee Titans secondary that had proven fallible in recent outings. Washington is currently ranked 31st in fantasy points per game in point-per-reception leagues using ESPN scoring, ahead of names such as the Philadelphia Eagles' Jordan Matthews and the New Orleans' Saints Brandin Cooks.

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Tight End Streamers

Eric Ebron, Detroit Lions: Even as the Kansas City Chiefs have capably curbed opposing tight end production this season, Ebron's rare downfield role on the Detroit offense offers rare upside in an otherwise unimpressive crop of widely available players at the position this week.

For streaming D/ST options, check out our "Streaming of Vegas" section.

Predicting the Perfect Week 8 Fantasy Football Team

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For a bit of fun and possibly some help in identifying top daily matchups, let's try to predict the perfect fantasy football lineup for Week 8. For those who already have several shares of these potentially successful statistical stars, this might be a fun read. For those who are facing several of these upside options, bank on the idea we might be wrong.

Quarterback: Can we go ahead and pick Tom Brady of the New England Patriots thanks to his already strong outing over the Miami Dolphins? If not, the San Diego Chargers' Philip "One L" Rivers faces arguably the league's most porous pass defense in the league in the Baltimore Ravens. We'll take the road risks given Odds Shark's high expected point total and the fact Rivers is trending toward the most passing yards in NFL history for a single season. 

Running Back: We envision the Atlanta Falcons' Devonta Freeman continuing his elite per-touch production versus an exploitable Tampa Bay Bucs' front, while the irrepressible rookie running back Todd Gurley of the St. Louis Rams might just be the top overall commodity in fantasy football going forward, given his combination of workload and brilliant talent. 

Receiver: The Pittsburgh Steelers' Antonio Brown vaults back to the elite crop at the position with Ben Roethlisberger probable to return. The Chargers' Keenan Allen is trending toward 141 receptions, which puts him in historic company if he continues on his rich receiving pace. Marvin Harrison claims the all-time record for a single season with 143 back in 2002. 

Tight End: Since the Pats' Rob Gronkowski already did his damage this week, we'll throw out the Cincinnati Bengals' Tyler Eifert as a candidate for the top spot. He faces a Steelers secondary that is allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to the position this season.  

D/ST: The St. Louis Rams defense is peaking at the moment thanks to a persistent pass rush and hulking big nickel safety Mark Barron finally playing to his draft price, but we'll take the Arizona Cardinals' D/ST against a mistake-prone Cleveland Browns offense.

Questionable Calls Week 8

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Any given fantasy slate can be defined by a rash of injuries across the must-start class of commodities. This week, we again find the San Diego's Chargers' Antonio Gates entering Sunday's action in a true game-time scenario with a knee injury, according to Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com. If Gates sits for another outing, we like backup tight end Ladarius Green to continue his productive season. 

The Dallas Cowboys' Dez Bryant is listed as questionable but trending toward playing Sunday versus the Seattle Seahawks, per ESPN.com's Todd Archer. With Seattle's shutdown corner Richard Sherman set to shadow Bryant throughout, per ESPN.com's Sheil Kapadia, patient shareholders might want to temper expectations for both snaps and fantasy points for the superstar receiver's return.

ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez reports the San Francisco 49ers' Carlos Hyde has been ruled out for a division battle with the St. Louis Rams. There likely isn't much fantasy fun to be had in this backfield, but veteran Reggie Bush does at least offer some interest in deeper point-per-reception formats. 

We're back in wait-and-see mode with the Arizona Cardinals' John Brown, according to Darren Urban of the team's website. We saw Brown shine despite his hamstring ailments last Monday and would play him once again if he were available. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to have Ben Roethlisberger back behind center for a crucial division battle with the rival Cincinnati Bengals, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. While there is always a degree of risk in a player's first game back from a lengthy injury absence, the Steelers' elite arsenal of skill players helps offset some of these traditional risks. 

Streaming of Vegas Week 8: Let the Desert Help on Defense

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How can we leverage the point-projection system that Vegas and offshore sports books produce each week in seeking streaming D/ST options? The foundation of the idea has us favoring favorites in games with point totals under 46.5. 

The results showed favorites in games below this threshold ended up in the top 10 in ESPN fantasy leagues 49 percent of the time. Here is a simple breakdown of the quadrants for this concept: 

• Favorites in games with a point total under 46.5: 49 percent in the top 10 of fantasy D/ST units.
• Favorites in games with a point total over 46.5: 38 percent top-10 rate. 
• Underdogs in games with a point total under 46.5: 29 percent top-10 rate. 
• Underdogs in games over a point total over 46.5: 21 percent top-10 rate. 

We can also use these trends to help identify some potentially productive under-the-radar D/ST units for Week 8 of fantasy football competition. 

The Houston Texans have gone from one of the top fantasy defenses in 2014 to among the most fallible and exploitable groups in the league. The upside play in this outing versus the Tennessee Titans, however, is fueled by Houston's facing a mistake-prone offense and the game's low implied point total, according to Odds Shark.

The Minnesota Vikings claim a capable secondary and a blitz-heavy front seven, a combination that could fuel a strong streaming fantasy outing over a middling Chicago Bears offense.

While the Dallas Cowboys' status as home dogs doesn't follow the above trends, the Seattle Seahawks have allowed the most sacks in the league this season, while the point total for this game is among the week's lowest, per Odds Shark.