NFL Week 8 Live Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em Lineup Advice and Latest Injury Updates

Every fantasy manager starting Omarion Hampton or Ladd McConkey this week is nodding--as they reach for the Advil.

The folks starting Justin Herbert are reaching for the tequila.

Putting fantasy faith in the Tennessee Titans' passing "attack" isn't easy--no team in the AFC is gaining fewer yards per game through the air this year.

But with Carnell Tate (shoulder) out, Elic Ayomanor will be the No. 1 receiver for a Tennessee team that will likely be playing catch-up Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Fantasy managers looking for a one week fill-in could do worse.

There's one big weather note in Week 8--it's expected to continue raining heavily all day in south Florida, so the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins are gonna be soggy.

Expect heavy doses of Rhamondre Stevenson and Ollie Gordon--and down weeks from the pass-catchers on both teams.

Neither Zach Charbonnet nor Jadarian Price have injury designations for Monday night's game with the Chicago Bears.

Both might play. The backfield share in Seattle is anyone's guess. And it's the last game of the week, because of course it is.

Steer clear if at all possible. From the lot of them--including Emanuel Wilson.

OK, that straddled the line between clever and, um, not.

However, Jamey Eisenberg of CBS Sports believes that starting Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett in Week 8 is a significantly better decision than my phrasing choices.

"This is the setup we love for Brissett," he wrote. "Dallas should build a lead against Arizona, and Brissett should be throwing a lot in a comeback effort against the Cowboys, who are No. 8 in most Fantasy points allowed to opposing quarterbacks. Only Jalon Daniels in Week 5 and Tanner McKee in Week 7 failed to score at least 22.2 Fantasy points against Dallas, and Brissett has scored at least 18.5 Fantasy points in three of his past five games." 

No big surprises here--although the Breece Hall situation has officially hit "sigh" levels.

Sometimes the bye week comes at the ideal time.

Kincaid (chest) got banged up two weeks ago, but with the bye to rest up and after a week of limited practices the fourth-year pro will play in Week 8 against the Ravens.

In most fantasy leagues, we're nearing the trade deadline.

Friendly tip. Your first offer doesn't have to be your best offer. But ridiculously lowball offers are insulting and will more often than not kill any chance you had of actually making a deal.

Ain't saying. Just saying.

There are no shortage of reasons to like Demario Douglas of the New England Patriots as a Week 8 spot-start. With A.J. Brown (knee, ankle) out, Douglas will be the No. 1 wide receiver for the Pats Sunday in Miami.

But while the Dolphins are a bad team, they are a bad team allowing the third-fewest PPR points per game to wide receivers.

This isn't the smash spot some think it is.

This isn't exactly breaking news, and given that he's facing a leaky Buffalo Bills defense in what should be a high-scoring game most fantasy managers with Lamar Jackson on the roster don't have a better Plan B.

But high-ankle sprains tend to linger, and Jackson's rushing upside will likely be limited this week.

There hasn't been a wide receiver in the NFL on a bigger rip of late than Jameson Williams of the Detroit Lions--Williams has scored twice in each of the Lions' last two games, and he's a top-10 fantasy option in PPR points per game over the last month.

Keeping that hot streak going won't be easy. Since Week 2 the Minnesota Vikings are allowing just 19.3 PPR points per game to wideouts--dead last in the NFL.

Per Raza Umerani of NFL.com, since Marvin Harrison Jr. was traded the highest-scoring wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals hasn't been Michael Wilson. It has been veteran Kendrick Bourne.

With the Cardinals taking on a Dallas Cowboys team Sunday that couldn't cover a wall with paint, Bourne is a sneaky-good WR3 or "flex" play in Week 8.

Between injuries, bye weeks and guys who just aren't getting it done (you know who you are), more than a few fantasy managers could use a spot starter at tight end.

Coming off his bye week, ESPN's Eric Moody believes that Brenton Strange of the Jacksonville Jaguars could be "that guy" in Week 8.

"Strange might have slipped through the cracks while Jacksonville was on bye last week," he said. "He has had at least seven targets and at least 13 fantasy points in two of his past three games. Now, he faces a Colts defense that has allowed five touchdowns to tight ends this season. For fantasy managers looking to replace George Kittle or Isaiah Likely during their byes, Strange is worth a look."

D.J. Moore's first season as the No. 1 wide receiver hasn't gone according to plan, but the 29-year-old is expected to return from his shoulder injury Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens are allowing the eighth-most PPR points per game to receivers this year, so Moore's on the WR2 radar.

The Chicago Bears are cooking with gas offensively, and quarterback Caleb Williams has been on a roll--he's averaging over 20 fantasy points per start this season.

Per SI's Michael Fabiano, Williams faces an uphill climb in Week 8 against Seattle's "Dark Side" defense.

"Williams is a tough player to sit," he said, "but he has a brutal matchup against the Seahawks. Their defense has allowed just one quarterback to beat them for more than 9.8 fantasy points at home, and that includes holding Drake Maye and Patrick Mahomes to fewer than 10 points. Overall, Seattle has allowed the second-fewest fantasy points per game and the second-fewest points per dropback to enemy field generals." 

Whew. We really dodged a bullet.

For a second there, it looked like Brian Thomas Jr. might actually be fantasy-relevant.

It has been over a month since New York Jets running back Breece Hall took the field. And apparently it's going to be at least one more week before the fifth-year veteran returns from his quad injury.

Braelon Allen is a RB2 (again) in Week 8 against the Raiders.

It has been an underwhelming first half of the fantasy regular season for Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown.

But Rotoworld's Kyle Dvorchak expects Brown to shake off that sluggish start Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

"Brown is currently the league leader in fantasy points under expected among running backs," he said. "Is that a good thing? Of course not. Should we expect it to hold true for the rest of time? No. Entering Week 7, the lowest expected fantasy point totals belonged to Ashton Jeanty, Tony Pollard, J.K. Dobbins, and Quinshon Judkins. Three of them finished as RB1s, and Dobbins found the end zone as well. Volume predicts fantasy production better than anything else and Brown is seeing plenty of it. He's the RB14 in expected points per game. Facing a Titans defense that just got mangled by the aforementioned Judkins, I'm betting on Brown getting back on track this week."

Brown's a low-end fantasy RB1 this week.

Don't ask me, I don't know.

Fantasy managers with Colts running back Jonathan Taylor probably don't have much recourse but to start him.

But there's a real chance he's getting dealt, and that could mean fewer touches in Week 8--or even a late scratch.

The latter might be a blessing. At least the decision would be made for us.

I'm forever vigilant for y'all.

I might be sleeping on the inside, though.

Because fantasy managers didn't already have enough problems, let's add "potential healthy scratch ahead of a trade" to the list.

Cue Jonathan Taylor managers mumbling as they rock back and forth.

A Saquon Barkley deal was never especially likely, but it's officially off the table per reports.

His injuries, on the other hand, are still very much there.

There are no shortage of fantasy managers staring at holes in the lineup in Week 8.

But after popping up on Friday's injury report with a hamstring issue, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens isn't expected to add to that list--he'll reportedly be a go Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

So will Jaylen Waddle of the Denver Broncos--after getting dinged up on a reverse last week against those same Cardinals a week ago, Waddle is expected to play Sunday afternoon against the Kansas City Chiefs.