Fantasy Football Week 8: Matt Camp's Top Sleepers at Every Position

Even with just two teams on a bye week, the uncertainty with injuries continues to be a problem leading into game days. If you're not proactive on the waiver wire, the pickings can be slim. In fact, some of you may already be struggling to fill out a healthy starting lineup after missing out on some of the top waiver adds. 

Luckily, I'm here to help. 

Yes, that is a picture of Ryan Tannehill you see leading the sleepers article for this week. He provided the Tennessee Titans offense with a shot of life in Week 7, which proved the passing attack isn't a lost cause. There's a great chance to build on that with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the schedule in Week 8. 

Ty Johnson was the obvious add when Kerryon Johnson landed on the injured reserve earlier this week, but that doesn't mean he's the only Detroit Lions running back worth checking out if you need help at the position. J.D. McKissic may not be as busy as Ty, yet with a good matchup against the New York Giants, he's worth a look.

Still can't figure out your fantasy football lineup for the week? Check out Your Fantasy Fire Drill with Matt Camp, and he'll solve your problems live. Submit your questions and tune in every Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET, only on the B/R app.

Cole Beasley, WR, Buffalo Bills

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Beasley is back for the second straight week after a solid but far from spectacular performance in Week 7. With a positive matchup against the Miami Dolphins, Beasley turned six targets into just three receptions for 16 yards but managed to find the end zone for the first time in 2019. He scored 10.6 fantasy points for a WR34 finish. 

We'd like Beasley to wind up at least a little bit higher than the low end of the WR3 tier, and he'll have a good opportunity to do just that on Sunday. The Bills host the Philadelphia Eagles, who have one of the worst secondaries in the league. In the last four weeks, the Eagles have surrendered the third-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers.

John Brown gets the majority of the love in this passing game—as he should—but Beasley still leads the team in targets. If he continues to get his chances, he can make this Eagles defense pay for any mistakes.

Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders

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Through six games, Carr is outside the top 20 fantasy quarterbacks with just 13.5 fantasy points per outing. So why does he find his way into the sleepers article? Look no further than this week's matchup.

Despite possessing one of the best records in the AFC, the Houston Texans have had issues on the back end. That would explain why they have been the seventh-easiest matchup for fantasy quarterbacks over the last month. Only the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers have allowed more passing yards. 

Of course, the other reason for optimism when it comes to Carr are the struggles of the Raiders defense. It has been the second-easiest matchup for opposing quarterbacks in the last four weeks. If the Raiders can't slow down the dangerous Texans offense, Carr will need to throw more to keep his team somewhat competitive.

The final score isn't the key to Carr's success, but volume is. The sixth-year quarterback could get Tyrell Williams back from a foot injury, which would help Carr's chances of strong fantasy output. Admittedly, Carr is a pretty deep reach, so you may want to consider other, safer options before settling on his potential upside. 

Josh Hill, TE, New Orleans Saints

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Hill's fantasy viability will depend on the status of Jared Cook. Cook was inactive for Week 7 because of an ankle injury. He was unable to practice last week and seems to be on his way to another game as a spectator, as he was absent Wednesday and Thursday. If that's the case, Hill should be the one to pick up the slack.

In the Week 7 victory over the Chicago Bears, Hill caught all three of his targets for 43 yards and a touchdown in what was easily his best performance of the season. With 13.3 fantasy points, Hill was TE9 for the week. Without Cook available, Hill logged his second-highest snap percentage of the year at 67.9.

Besides Cook's injury, the biggest bump for Hill's fantasy stock is this matchup. Regular readers of this article know the tight end playing the Arizona Cardinals will likely have a strong fantasy outing, as Arizona has been the easiest matchup for fantasy tight ends. Another week without Cook would make Hill a viable replacement.

J.D. McKissic, RB, Detroit Lions

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Can the Lions replace Kerryon Johnson with one player? Probably not. So if you think you missed out on Ty Johnson, think again. 

In Week 7, Kerryon was limited to just five carries for 23 yards and didn't catch his only target while playing just 14.5 percent of the snaps and exiting with the knee injury that would land him on injured reserve. He hadn't dipped below 69.0 percent since Week 2, so he had a strong lead over the rest of the backfield.

As a rookie, Ty has been limited to a background role behind Kerryon. He hadn't played more than 20.0 percent of the snaps until the big jump to 64.5 percent in Week 7. McKissic hasn't played more than 35.5 percent of the snaps in any game and was on the field for just 25.0 percent last week against the Minnesota Vikings.

The snaps point to Ty as the guy in place of Kerryon.

However, a peek at the receiving numbers shows Ty has eight receptions for 35 yards on nine targets, while McKissic has seven receptions for 73 yards on 10 targets. McKissic has also been the more efficient runner, with 109 yards on 15 carries (7.3 yards per carry). Ty has 23 attempts for 83 yards (3.6 YPC).

McKissic has been involved and successful enough to take advantage of this week's battle with the New York Giants, who ceded the sixth-most points to fantasy running backs in the last month.

Still, touches will ultimately decide just how good he will be for fantasy purposes. McKissic has proved more efficient, which will be important if Ty continues to get more snaps.

Jonnu Smith, TE, Tennessee Titans

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Much like Josh Hill's, the primary reason for Smith's inclusion in this week's sleepers is the injury status of the player in front of him on the Titans depth chart. Veteran Delanie Walker came into Week 7 with an ankle injury and lasted just five snaps before exiting for good.

Smith stepped in and turned three targets into three receptions for 64 yards on 82.8 percent of the snaps. All those stats either set or tied season highs, so opportunity could be present for him once again if Walker's injury is bad enough to keep him off the active roster for gameday. 

Assuming Smith is in and Walker is out after the typical starter missed practice Thursday, the third-year tight end should get a nice bump from an excellent matchup. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a bottom-five unit against fantasy tight ends in the last four weeks.

Add in a renewed confidence in the passing attack under Ryan Tannehill and Smith starts to look like a legitimate option for Week 8.

Kenny Stills, WR, Houston Texans

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When the Texans acquired Stills from the Miami Dolphins prior to the regular season, he seemed destined to be a fantasy nuisance. The team was already in a great spot with DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller V and Keke Coutee occupying the top three spots on the depth chart.

Before Week 7, Stills had posted 11 receptions for 188 yards on 14 targets. After sitting out two games because of a hamstring injury, he came back to action and had four receptions for 105 yards on five targets. He was able to pick up the slack when Fuller suffered a hamstring injury that could keep him out for multiple weeks.

Eliminating at least one of the other wide receivers was the only way Stills had a chance to become fantasy-relevant once again, but a beatable matchup with the Oakland Raiders certainly helps. Oakland has been a bottom-10 defense against fantasy wide receivers over the last four weeks. The Texans defense has also struggled with wide receivers, which means this could be a high-scoring affair.

Stills should be considered for the last spot in your lineup, as both the matchup and opportunity will work to his advantage in Week 8.

Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee Titans

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Mercifully, the Titans made the switch from Marcus Mariota to Tannehill during Week 6, but they officially turned the page in Week 7 when Tannehill was named the starter. The move was obviously made to improve the offense, but expectations weren't very high. 

If the bar was set low, Tannehill far exceeded those expectations in both reality and fantasy.

He got the Los Angeles Chargers for 312 yards with two touchdowns and an interception on 23-of-29 passing and added another seven rushing yards on five carries. He was one of 14 quarterbacks to post at least 20 fantasy points last week and finished as QB13 with 20.2.

For at least one week, Tannehill made the decision to bench Mariota look smart. He now gets another chance to prove he can outshine the former starter with a nice matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who surrendered the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks over the last month.

Unlike Mariota, Tannehill showed a willingness to throw passes into tight windows, and he was able to take advantage of talented receivers around him such as Corey Davis, Adam Humphries, A.J. Brown and Jonnu Smith. 

It might seem like too much too soon. But based on so much going in his favor, Tannehill has sleeper potential.

All stats, unless otherwise indicated, courtesy of FantasyPros, NFL.com and Pro Football Reference.