We are only hours away from the start of week 8, but we can’t relax yet. With all of the relevant injury designations, weather and news, we have to stay focused. This article will cover the NFL week 8 injuries, news, and final lineups. This information will be continuously updated until the 1:00 PM EST kickoffs.
NFL Week 8 Injuries:
Last Updated: 10/28 12:50 PM EST
Marlon Mack, IND, RB – Questionable
Chris Thompson, WAS, RB – Active
Matt Breida, SF, RB – Active
Royce Freeman, DEN, RB – OUT
Theo Riddick, DET, RB – OUT
Cooper Kupp, LAR, WR – Questionable (unlikely)
Allen Robinson, CHI, WR – OUT
Randall Cobb, GB, WR – Questionable
Paul Richardson, WAS, WR – Active
Jamison Crowder, WAS, WR – OUT
Torrey Smith, CAR, WR – OUT
Pierre Garcon, WR, SF – OUT
Robbie Anderson, WR, NYJ – OUT
Quincy Enunwa, WR, NYJ – OUT
John Ross, WR, CIN – OUT
NFL Week 8 Weather:
Last Updated: 10/28 12:50 PM EST
According to NFL Weather, there are only two games that may be impacted by weather. Light rain is expected during the Tampa Bay-Cincinnati game, and 18 mph winds are expected during the New York (J)-Chicago game.
UPDATE: Not much has changed in terms of inclement weather impacting games. As of now, the Tampa Bay-Cincinnati and New York (J)-Chicago games are the only ones that are likely to be impacted.
NFL Week 8 Final DFS Player Pool:
Last Updated: 10/28 12:50 PM EST
Quarterbacks:
Aaron Rodgers, Andy Dalton, Russell Wilson
Aaron Rodgers and Andy Dalton will likely be two of the five most popular quarterbacks on the main slate, and for good reason. Rodgers doesn’t have an injury designation ahead Sunday’s game against the dynamic Los Angeles Rams, and he’ll have to throw the ball at least 35 times to keep pace offensively. With Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison on track to return, he’ll have every weapon at his disposal during this expected shootout. Dalton, while not as reliable, returns home to play the worst pass defense in the NFL. His $7,800 price tag reflects his fantastic matchup despite playing awful on Sunday night in Kansas City. Needless to say, building cash lineups around those players was easy.
Determining my GPP quarterback was difficult. I started with Jared Goff, then Matthew Stafford, and then I found my man, Russell Wilson. Wilson and company are coming off their bye against the Lions. While the Lions have a good pass defense statistically, it’s only because teams are running the ball so effectively. Quarterbacks against the Lions have thrown for multiple touchdowns in five out of their six games. With the addition of Damon Harrison, the Seahawks may be forced to throw the ball more than they want to. If that happens, Wilson is in a great spot. Not only does Wilson have the reputation for playing better in the second half of the season, he’s also been great when returning from bye weeks. When coming off a bye week, Wilson is averaging 263 yards, two touchdowns and 46 rushing yards, which equates to 23.12 fantasy points.
Running Backs:
Saquon Barkley, Kareem Hunt, James Conner, Adrian Peterson, Raheem Mostert
Do Saquon Barkley and Kareem Hunt need any explanation? They have incredible floors given their involvement in the passing game, and are locks for double digit carries. You’ll notice that Todd Gurley is not on any of my lineups for the first time all season. At $11,000, he is required to score a touchdown to have a prayer of making cash value. Gurley has rushed for less than 100 yards in 57 percent of his games this season. While he’s had a great role as a receiver, he’s only averaging three catches in his last three games. Both Barkley and Hunt can produce at Gurley’s level, and for $1,100 and $1,900 less, respectively, I’ll be riding those two in my full fade of Todd Gurley.
Phillip Lindsay is an obvious play to me, given that Royce Freeman is out. While Devontae Booker will have a role, Lindsay is slated to get all of the early down work, and likely, the goal line work as well. At $6,500, Lindsay presents himself as a cheaper running back with a higher floor than most of the players in his price range. Raheem Mostert is in a great spot against the Cardinals. Even without Jimmy Garoppolo and the uncertain health of Matt Breida, the 49ers are still third in rushing yards. Breida has left the game with an injury the last four weeks in a row and is questionable heading into this Sunday’s game. Mostert is a great way both to save some salary, and to not completely punt at this position.
Full disclosure, should Marlon Mack not play, I will be pivoting from Mostert to Jordan Wilkins against the lowly Oakland Raiders at $4,900.
UPDATE: I have changed my running backs since discovering that Vance Joseph said that Devontae Booker would play in passing situation. While Lindsay should still get plenty of work, I don’t want to take a risk on Lindsay as they’ll likely be passing a lot. After removing Lindsay from my lineups, I identified a new value wide receiver that allowed me to pay up at my second running back spot.
James Conner’s coming out party was week one against the Browns, and the Steelers have had great success when establishing Conner early. His workload in the passing games and unquestioned role as the goal line back gives him an excellent shot to make cash value. Adrian Peterson will be facing a defense that is without one of the league’s best run stoppers, Damon Harrison, and a starter in their secondary, Eli Apple. In games that Peterson has received at least 17 carries, he’s rushed for at least 96 yards in each of those contests. As most of Washington’s wide receivers are still banged up, it’s likely that Peterson can get to that 17 rush attempts.
Wide Receivers:
Davante Adams, Tyler Boyd, Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Martavis Bryant
The first three receivers don’t need much explanation. Green, Adams and Cooks are all in good matchups, and are projected to play in a shootout, as both games are expected to yield more than 50 total points per Las Vegas. What also contributed to my Russell Wilson selection was my love for Doug Baldwin at $6,400. In his last outing, Baldwin recorded 90 yards receiving on six catches. In their last game against the Raiders, Baldwin was far and away the most targeted wide receiver, he just couldn’t haul in one of Wilson’s four touchdowns.
Christian Kirk and Martavis Bryant serve as salary relief in one cash lineup, and in my GPP lineup, as well. Kirk has emerged as Rosen’s favorite target, and has made cash value at his current price in three of his last five games. Bryant made my GPP lineup as a low-priced, high-upside play. He’s going to see an increase in snaps since Amari Cooper is gone and is by far the most explosive receiver on the team, as he can make cash value with one play.
UPDATE: I didn’t like how I was invested in so many receivers among my three lineups. After reconsidering my options, I saw Jermaine Kearse at $4,700. After disappointing so many last weekend, players will be hesitant to roster him, but this is not a game of emotion. Kearse is a sub-$5,000 receiver who will be playing without Quincy Enunwa and Robbie Anderson. Someone will have to produce for the Jets in Chicago, and Kearse has an excellent chance to do so. Kearse also allowed me to pay up for James Conner and Adrian Peterson.
Tyler Boyd emerged as a near necessity as I continued to pay up for running backs. He has a great matchup against Tampa Bay, and will absolutely out produce his disappointing performance from last Sunday night. Boyd also serves as a way for me to get cheap exposure to a game that is projected to shoot out.
Tight Ends:
George Kittle, O.J. Howard
On the Suck My DFS Podcast, I was pounding the table for C.J. Uzomah. He’s in a great spot against Tampa Bay; however, Howard emerged as an equally good, lower-risk play. Howard, with two quarterbacks, has had more than fifty yards receiving in five of six games this season. Conversely, Uzomah has only had one game in which he’s recorded more than fifty yards receiving, and has not scored double digit points on FanDuel once this season. Uzomah is still a good play, but I prefer Howard, since he’s had more than 60 yards receiving in both games that Jameis Winston has started.
UPDATE: After saving more salary with Jermaine Kearse and paying down at the second wide receiver position, I decided to spend the extra salary to upgrade tight end. George Kittle, with no Rob Gronkowski or Zach Ertz on this slate, Kittle presents himself as the second most stable tight end behind Kelce. He’s clearly the number one target of C.J. Beathard, and I’m willing to pay up for that consistency.
Defense/Special Teams:
Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens showed last week that defense still matters. If not for a fluke miss by Justin Tucker, the Ravens were in position to win the game against one of the league’s best offenses. Even though they travel to Carolina to face the dynamic Cam Newton, I still love their prospects. At $3,700, the Ravens don’t even have to score double digit points to make value.
UPDATE: With the little salary I had left on my third lineup, I decided to pay up for the Colts defense against the Raiders just to diversify a little at this position.
NFL Week 8 Final DFS Lineups:
Last Updated: 10/28 12:50 PM EST
The first two lineups are represented equally among my 50/50 contests. The third lineup is being used in all my single entry contests between 100-1,176 people. And just for full disclosure, I am playing in one large-field, single entry tournament, as well as one large multi-entry tournament, using all three of these lineups.
Featured Image Courtesy of Roto Street Journal
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