Fantasy Football Week 8 Sleepers at Every Position

There are a couple of unfortunate realities in fantasy football.

The first is injuries. Injuries like the broken arm and cracked ribs suffered by Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer and Miami Dolphins signal-caller Jay Cutler, respectively, in Week 7.

They are injuries that affect the fantasy prospects of more than just those two players. It also impacts the likes of Arizona receiver Larry Fitzgerald and Dolphins tailback Jay Ajayi.

The second unfortunate reality is the helter-skelter manner in which the NFL schedules bye weeks. In Week 8, it means that six teams (Arizona, Green Bay, Jacksonville, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants and Tennessee) are on a break.

Just as many fantasy owners in your league are trying to keep their seasons from going off the rails.

The combination of the factors leaves more than a few folks in a bind this week—with more holes than ever in their lineups and a limited pool of options with which to fill them.

That's why we're here—to try to help you find the tastiest fantasy sleeper fish in that Week 8 pool that's more like a puddle.

Let's get a line in the water.

Accountability Time

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Before we get into the Week 8 recommendations, let's re-examine the Week 7 calls to see who was masterful and who was miserable.

If a player I recommended finished inside weekly starter territory (the top 12 quarterbacks, tight ends and defenses, top 24 running backs and top 36 wide receivers), I'm calling that a win.

Orleans Darkwa, RB, New York Giants (9 carries, 35 yards, 3 catches, 13 yards, RB34): After gashing the NFL's best run defense (at the time), the Giants gave Darkwa just 12 touches against the Seahawks. Because logic. LOSS

Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams (235 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, 13 rushing yards, 1 touchdown, QB10): Goff's numbers were far from jaw-dropping, but in a down week at the position, he got the job done. WIN

Brett Hundley, QB, Green Bay Packers (87 passing yards, 44 rushing yards, 1 touchdown, QB20): I still rather like this call, but Mike McCarthy had Hundley's training wheels Gorilla Glued on in Week 7. Let the kid play, coach. LOSS

Tyrod Taylor, QB, Buffalo Bills (268 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 53 rushing yards, QB11): Taylor is quietly playing some of the best football of his career for the 4-2 Bills. He's a solid low-end QB1 so long as he does. WIN

Chris Ivory, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (17 carries, 47 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 FL, RB24): Ivory was surprisingly upstaged by T.J. Yeldon in Jacksonville's blowout win in Indy, but a touchdown run saved his fantasy day. WIN

Thomas Rawls, RB, Seattle Seahawks (11 carries, 36 yards, 1 reception, 16 yards, 1 FL, RB40): Rawls and Eddie Lacy each carried the ball 11 times against the Giants. Neither did much of anything. Stay away from the Seattle ground game. LOSS

Bennie Fowler, WR, Denver Broncos (5 receptions, 45 yards, WR36): While you're staying away from Seattle's ground game, go ahead and steer clear of Denver's receivers, too. But Fowler out-pointed Demaryius Thomas and snuck into the lowest of low-end WR3 territory. WIN

Taylor Gabriel, WR, Atlanta Falcons (2 catches, 24 yards, 1 carry, -5 yards, WR71): Gabriel was a complete non-factor against the New England Patriots, managing just two grabs and an ill-advised jet sweep. LOSS

Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams (4 catches, 51 yards, 1 touchdown, WR15): That those four catches for just over 50 yards and a score were good for top-15 fantasy production tells you all you need to know about how choppy Week 7 was across the NFL. WIN

Austin Hooper, TE, Atlanta Falcons (1 catch, 6 yards, TE51): Speaking of choppy, a Falcons offense that was a buzzsaw a season ago looks out of sync right now. Steve Sarkisian has some work to do. LOSS

Nick O'Leary, TE, Buffalo Bills (2 catches, 58 yards, TE24): If you add O'Leary's numbers to that of fellow Buffalo tight end Logan Thomas, it makes for a nice stat line. Unfortunately, fantasy football doesn't work that way. LOSS

Tennessee Titans Defense/Special Teams (284 yards allowed, 9 points allowed, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions, D/ST7): At least we know we can count on the Cleveland Browns for one thing—allowing solid fantasy stat lines to opposing defenses. WIN

WEEK 6 TOTAL: 6/12 (.500)

Sure, a couple of the "wins" were by the skin of my teeth, and had Week 7 not been such a miserable week where offensive performances were concerned, a couple more may not have ranked as highly as they did.

But if you fill up a lineup with sleeper plays expecting to get a bunch of top-five performances, you're going to wind up a very sad little panda.

And I'll take wins any way I can get them.

SEASON TOTAL: 37/84 (.440)

Sleeper of the Week

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Mohamed Sanu, WR, Atlanta Falcons (at NYJ)

There are no doubt those who would say that veteran wide receiver Mohamed Sanu of the Atlanta Falcons doesn’t really qualify as a “sleeper.”

But per Alex Gelhar of NFL.com, the 28-year-old is owned in less than one in five fantasy leagues at that site.

Of course, that number will probably increase a bit this week. After hauling in six passes for 65 yards in last week’s loss to the New England Patriots and narrowly missing on a touchdown catch, Sanu will likely be a trendy add off the waiver wire.

It was Sanu’s first action since pulling his hamstring back in Week 4, but the sixth-year pro showed no ill effects from the injury against the Pats.

And given that, fantasy owners should go one better than just rostering Sanu—they should start him Sunday as the Falcons continue their tour of the AFC East.

For starters, it’s a favorable matchup. The Jets have been kind to opposing receivers so far this season, allowing the tenth-most PPR fantasy points per game to the position through seven games this season.

Sanu should be a big part of the game plan against Gang Green. On Sunday night, only Julio Jones saw more targets than Sanu’s 10, and as Matt Lutovsky of Sporting News reported, in his four full games, Sanu has averaged 5.3 catches for 56.3 yards. He’s been targeted at least six times in every one of those games.

The Falcons badly need to get their passing game on track, and the Jets would appear to offer a good opportunity to do so.

That should mean a nice afternoon for Sanu.

Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. IND)

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It hasn’t been a fun season for Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Over six games this season (six games in which the Bengals are 2-4), Dalton has averaged just over 225 passing yards and 1.5 touchdown passes per game. He’s thrown just nine touchdowns against eight interceptions.

And as you might have guessed from those haughty numbers, Dalton has been a complete non-factor in fantasy. He’s 25th in fantasy points among quarterbacks this season, and “The Red Rifle” has only one big outing in six starts in 2017.

It’s rifle, Jim Nantz. Rifle.

However, while Dalton and the Cincinnati offense has sputtered this season, there’s reason for optimism that a second big outing could be in the offing when the Bengals welcome the Indianapolis Colts to Paul Brown Stadium in Week 8.

As bad as things have gone for the Bengals offensively in 2017, they’ve gone even worse for the beleaguered Colts defense. Indianapolis ranks 31st in total defense, allowing a whopping 425.4 yards per game. The Colts are also one of two NFL teams who are surrendering more than 300 passing yards per contest in 2017.

Best of all, the Colts are also allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to the quarterback position this season.

If ever there were a week for Dalton to rise from the ashes of what’s looking like a lost season and throw up a big fantasy score, this is it.

Josh McCown, QB, New York Jets

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Last week’s game with the Miami Dolphins ended in heartbreaking fashion for the New York Jets. The team blew a two-touchdown lead and lost the game after Josh McCown’s late interception set up the deciding field goal.

Still, Jets head coach Todd Bowles told ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini he doesn’t regret getting aggressive late in a tie game.

“(I wanted to) go for the win,” Bowles said. “(McCown) didn't see the guy. He made a mistake. He'll learn from it. ... I don't feel any regrets about the play."

The game may have ended terribly, but for most of it, McCown played relatively well. The 38-year-old threw for just 209 yards, but he connected on three passing touchdowns and scored another on the ground.

Only four quarterbacks posted better stat lines for fantasy owners in Week 7 than McCown.

It wasn’t an aberration, either. In Week 6, McCown ranked sixth in fantasy points at his position. Back in Week 2, he was ninth—which just so happens to be where McCown ranks for the year.

However, despite ranking inside the top 10 fantasy quarterbacks, McCown is owned in less than 25 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues.

This week’s opponent (the Atlanta Falcons) admittedly isn’t a great fantasy matchup—they rank 20th in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks on the season.

But this is also a reeling Falcons team coming off three straight losses—including an embarrassment on the road in a Super Bowl LI rematch in Week 7.

The Falcons are going to look to start fast. To make a statement. To save their season.

If they get a lead and force the Jets to air it out in the second half, it could mean another top-10 stat line for McCown in a Jets loss.

Latavius Murray, Minnesota Vikings (at CLE)

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The “sleeper” running backs in this week’s column all share one thing in common. They are part of committee attacks, and uncertainty about their workload adds a measure of risk to trusting them as fantasy starters.

We already learned that the hard way with Latavius Murray of the Minnesota Vikings. When Dalvin Cook went down with a season-ending knee injury, fantasy owners scrambled to add Murray to rosters—only to see Jerick McKinnon emerge as the team’s best option on the ground.

That script flipped last week against the Baltimore Ravens, though. Murray had far and away the best game of his Vikings tenure, gashing the Ravens for 113 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

It’s essentially become a matter of attempting to predict the flow of that week’s game for the Vikes. If you think Minnesota will be in a close game or playing from behind, McKinnon’s receiving ability gives him an edge.

But if you’re of the mindset that the Vikings will be grinding away with a lead, it’s Murray, and his skills between the tackles, that rises to the forefront.

Well, this Sunday the Vikings will be across the Atlantic facing the winless Cleveland Browns, who are one of if not the worst football team we’ve seen in the NFL in the 21st century. The Browns are bad in just about every way a team can be bad, and while they are only giving up about 84 rushing yards a game and are 25th in fantasy points allowed to running backs in 2017, if the Vikings don't hold a commanding lead in this game, I’ll eat my hat.

It’s a Browns hat, coincidentally—because irony.

Murray’s burned me once in this column already this year, but sometimes you have to forget about the past and embrace the present.

Jalen Richard, RB, Oakland Raiders (at BUF)

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The Oakland Raiders got a season-saving win last week over the Kansas City Chiefs, but as the Raiders try to keep the good times rolling Sunday in Buffalo, they will do so without their lead running back.

With Marshawn Lynch serving a one-game suspension after making contact with an official against the Chiefs, the Raiders will turn to a two-headed attack of Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington against the Bills this week.

Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio told Matt Schneidman of the San Jose Mercury-News that Richard and Washington add a different element to the Oakland offense:

“They don’t have the size and the power, but they have a little more quickness. They catch the ball a little easier, better route-runners, things like so. So if you’re playing a little more wide open, in some respects they give you a little more juice. Marshawn gives you the power back when you want to finish people and in tough situations. Those guys give you more than a change of pace.”

Frankly, it’s not like Lynch was tearing up the league before his gaffe a week ago. The Raiders are 24th in the league in rushing. So his absence won’t be a huge loss. And the Bills haven’t been a great fantasy matchup for the position—they’re allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points to running backs in 2017.

But given the injuries at running back and a six-team bye in Week 8, sometimes beggars can’t be choosers.

Washington will likely handle the short-yardage and goal-line work, making him the preferred play in standard scoring formats. Richard’s ability as a receiver gives him the edge in leagues that award a point for catches.

Wendell Smallwood, RB, Philadelphia Eagles (vs. SFO)

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It’s been one heck of a season for the Philadelphia Eagles. They have the best record in the National Football League at 6-1.

Among the many areas the Eagles have had success this season is on the ground. The team is fourth in the NFL in rushing, grinding out over 130 yards a game on the ground.

That number’s all the more impressive when you consider that Philly doesn’t have a “bell cow” lead back. They also lost veteran scatback Darren Sproles to a season-ending injury earlier this year.

For the Eagles, it takes a village to run the football. And while bruiser LeGarrette Blount has handled the early-down, short-yardage and clock-killing work, second-year pro Wendell Smallwood has also carved out a role—or at least he had before he got hurt.

Smallwood made his return from injury in last week’s Monday night win over the Washington Redskins, touching the ball 10 times and picking up 39 yards.

Those aren’t numbers that elicit smiles from fantasy owners, but the grins will be out after the Eagles host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

To say that the 49ers have struggled to stop the run the past two years is an understatement. San Francisco was gashed for 265 rushing yards by the Dallas Cowboys last week, and the team is giving up over 130 yards per game on average—fourth most in the NFL.

They are also the only team in the league surrendering over 30 PPR fantasy points per game to running backs.

Given that generosity, both Blount and Smallwood have considerable fantasy appeal in Week 8.

Josh Doctson, WR, Washington Redskins (vs. DAL)

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It appears the Terrelle Pryor era in the nation’s capital may be over before it really started.

Now, as Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post reported, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden cautioned that we shouldn’t read too much into his decision to start youngster Josh Doctson over Pryor in Week 7.

“Outside linebackers, they’re subbing; defensive linemen, they’re subbing all the time,” Gruden said. “So it’s just important for us to try to play the best players, the guys that give us the best chance to win. It’s not like we’re losing faith in anybody. We have faith in all our receivers.”

However, actions speak louder than words. Pryor barely saw the field in the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles. He played just a single snap in the first quarter (per Steinberg), and for the game Pryor was out-snapped by Doctson, 54 to 30.

Granted, those snaps didn’t translate to a ton of production against the Eagles—Doctson was targeted five times, catching three passes for 39 yards. But it seems that Washington’s confidence is growing with the notion that Doctson, who has seven catches for 129 yards and two scores this year, can be the impact the player the team expected when it drafted him 22nd overall in 2016.

As Gruden put it, “We drafted Josh to be the No. 1 guy.”

Headed into a must-win matchup with a Dallas Cowboys team that ranks sixth in PPR fantasy points allowed to wide receivers, the Redskins badly need a wideout to emerge, as Jamison Crowder has been just as disappointing as Pryor this year.

The opportunity is there for Doctson.

All he has to do is seize it.

Carpe De Doctson, if you will.

Ted Ginn, WR, New Orleans Saints (vs. CHI)

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The argument can be made that New Orleans Saints wide receiver Ted Ginn doesn’t merit “sleeper” status.

After all, the 11th-year veteran is on pace to post career bests in both catches and yardage. Ginn ranks 31st among fantasy wideouts for the season, and over the last two weeks, his 11 catches, 207 yards and a touchdown rank him seventh in fantasy points.

Well, someone must be asleep. Because despite all those numbers, Ginn wasn't even owned in one-third of fantasy football leagues at NFL.com entering Week 8.

Ginn (like every player every week in this column) is no sure bet. He’s long been regarded as a streaky wideout who is just as capable of posting a doughnut as he is catching a long touchdown. And while no one is talking about it outside of the Windy City, the Chicago Bears have quietly put together a solid defense. They rank ninth in the NFL against the pass at 196.4 yards per game, and Chicago is 22nd in fantasy points conceded to wide receivers in 2017.

However, over Ginn's recent hot streak, only Michael Thomas has been targeted more times by Drew Brees, and head coach Sean Payton told ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett that the Saints are making a conscious effort to get Ginn the ball in space.

“I think he provides speed, he’s a guy who’s elusive, and it’s trying to each week in a game plan put together things that guys do well,” Payton said.

With this game in the friendly confines of the Superdome, it’s worth the gamble that Ginn can buck the bad matchup and keep rolling this week.

Juju Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (at DET)

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I originally had listed Detroit Lions wideout Kenny Golladay here, but the rookie missed practice on Friday and has been ruled out for the game – so it’s back to the old drawing board.

Luckily, I don’t have to go far. As a matter of fact, I don’t even have to leave Ford Field.

After publicly demanding a trade via social media this week, Pittsburgh Steelers speedster Martavis Bryant instead got the hook—he won’t even be active Sunday night against the Lions.

Rookie Juju Smith-Schuster, who stands to see the biggest bump in snaps and targets with Bryant in the doghouse, told Ben Schmitt of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he sympathizes with Bryant frustration…to a point.

"I can put myself in his shoes," Smith-Schuster said. "There's only one ball. It's tough. At the end of the day, we have to do what's best for our team. Just moving forward, hopefully we do get him the ball more. He's a great player, a great athlete. I would like him to be on our team."

Smith-Schuster’s numbers in 2017 (17 catches, 231 yards) are hardly awe-inspiring, but one fact about the youngster is. He has three touchdowns so far this season—it’s the most in NFL history by a player before his 21st birthday.

Over his last three games, Smith-Schuster has nine catches for 129 yards and a touchdown. With Smith-Schuster sure to see more work this week against Detroit and Antonio Brown even more sure to be the focal point of the Detroit defense, the (really) youngster could be a sneaky good play in a middle-of-the-pack fantasy matchup for his position.

Darren Fells, Detroit Lions (vs. PIT)

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Fantasy football owners have long known something the Detroit Lions have apparently only recently figured out.

Tight end Eric Ebron is a bust.

Better late than never.

Over the past few games, Ebron has steadily lost playing time to fourth-year veteran Darren Fells. In fact, when we last saw the Lions in Week 6, Fells played five more snaps than Ebron did.

Fells has made the most of the playing time jump, too. His reception and yardage numbers the last two weeks aren’t impressive (four grabs for 50 yards), but three of those receptions went for touchdowns.

Fells, who is mostly known as a blocking tight end (he refers to himself as a “receiving tackle”) told Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press that he’s worked hard to be more than just a people-mover.

“One-dimensional is always a negative thing,” Fells said. “If I can go out there and be both a receiving tight end and a blocking tight end, if they see me out there, they don’t know if we are going to run the ball every time, that helps a team out, when I can go out there and catch a ball, too.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t been easy on opposing passing attacks this season—they rank first in the NFL against the pass and 24th in fantasy points per game given up to tight ends. Starting Fells is the fantasy equivalent of a deep throw into the end zone hoping for a score.

That long ball has paid off of late, though. Since Week 5, Fells ranks inside the top 10 tight ends in fantasy points per game.

Tyler Kroft, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. IND)

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There are essentially two camps in fantasy football in 2017.

Either you own one of the “Big Three” tight ends (Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots, Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles) and you’re happy.

Or you don’t—and you’re not.

That second camp is obviously much larger, in part because of the injuries that have struck players like Tyler Eifert of the Cincinnati Bengals.

But those injuries have also opened doors for other players, and in the case of Eifert’s replacement, at least Tyler Kroft is making the most of it.

In four games in place of Eifert, Kroft has reeled in 17 passes for 157 yards and three scores—including four grabs for 23 yards and a touchdown last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That production might not sound overly impressive, but since taking over as the team’s No. 1 tight end, Kroft ranks seventh in fantasy points per game at the position. He’s eighth in fantasy points overall since then—and that includes a Week 6 bye.

Kroft’s showing last week in Pittsburgh came in an unfavorable matchup, but Sunday’s home game with the Indianapolis Colts is considerably better—they rank 12th in fantasy points allowed to the position.

Andy Dalton trusts Kroft, especially in the red zone.

In Week 8, fantasy owners should, too.

Cincinnati Bengals Defense/Special Teams (vs. IND)

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We have to suspend the sleeper-defense ritual of just picking whatever team faces the Cleveland Browns this week. Sunday in London, the Browns will be throttled (probably) by the Minnesota Vikings…

And the Vikings are much too far up the defensive pecking order to qualify for “sleeper” status.

Thankfully, the Indianapolis Colts have us covered.

By virtue of their 27-0 spanking at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 7, the Colts have now tied the Browns as the team giving up the most fantasy points to team defenses.

Through seven games, the Colts have allowed a staggering 29 sacks—over four per game.

The Colts rank 28th in total offense at 291.3 yards per game. They are 21st in rushing offense, 27th in passing offense and 27th in scoring.

They are also tied for the 14th-most giveaways in the league and second in defensive touchdowns allowed.

In other words, just about all of the criteria that have spurred us to chase Cleveland’s opponent also apply to Jacoby and the Brissetts.

And while the Bengals defense didn’t play well at all last week against the Steelers, prior to their Week 6 bye, the team was seventh in fantasy points at the position.

Between that bye and last week’s faceplant, the Bengals are probably available in many fantasy leagues.

In Week 8, they shouldn’t be.