Stars Of Week 8 

QB: Drew Brees, NO: 40-50, 511 yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT

RB: Todd Gurley, STL: 20 carries, 133 yards, 1 TD                                                            

WR: Odell Beckham, NYG: 8 catches, 130 yards, 3 TDs

TE: Ben Watson, NO: 9 catches, 147 yards, 1 TD 

Before we dish out praise for our top performers this week, let’s take a moment to acknowledge one of the worst weeks in memory with respect to injuries. Following last week’s season-ending injury for Arian Foster, we now add Le’Veon Bell, Keenan Allen Steve Smith and Reggie Bush to the out-for-the-year group, among others. For Bell’s owners, hopefully you can get your hands on DeAngelo Williams if you don’t already own him. Also in this rough weekend there were many additional injuries which knocked players out of the game early, but which will not end the players’ seasons. A few points missed here and there will affect wins and losses, as we all know. Alright, with that said, let’s look at this weekend’s stars and then put this week behind us.

Drew Brees had his best game in years, torching the Giants’ secondary and spreading the wealth among pass catchers Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead and Ben Watson. Brees lacks the consistency he had during his heyday, but on any given week he can go off and win your matchup almost single-handedly. While Brees’ career is winding down, another superstar’s is just starting. Todd Gurley has gotten off to a historic start to his rookie year. We’re likely looking at the top overall pick in next year’s draft. Odell Beckham also needs little discussion – he’s comfortably a top five WR. As for Ben Watson, who was mentioned along with Brees, we’ll take a closer look at him below. 

Week 8 Takeaways – A Closer Look 

Each week we take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward.

- Eli Manning, QB – NYG: 30-41, 350 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs

Analysis: Eli Manning’s name came up from a handful of Twitter followers in terms of start/sit questions this past week. Coming into the week, Eli had a nice matchup, so he would be the recommended starter in most cases. But what if you also had a stud along the lines of Aaron Rodgers, who was facing a tenacious Denver defense? Because Aaron Rodgers is the league’s best QB, it would be tough to sit him for Eli Manning. With hindsight being 20/20, sure Eli proved to have a beastly week. But also note that Eli’s last two starts providing the following stat lines:

vs. Philadelphia: 24-38, 189 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs

vs. Dallas: 13-24, 170 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs

So there was strong logic to stick with a top QB over Eli in this week’s matchup, even if the results ended up going sideways. Note that neither Philly nor Dallas boasts a strong defense, so those results were Eli being Eli, as was this week’s explosion. Throughout his career, Eli has been inconsistent, which as kept him from reaching the upper echelon of QBs. Those of you that own Eli Manning, don’t lose sight of this. He’s a low end QB1 – one that will both win you weeks and lose you weeks. Don’t overreact to this week’s performance.

- Chris Johnson, RB – ARZ: 30 carries, 109 yards, 0 TDs                                                                                   

Analysis: Chris Johnson had a solid fantasy outing this week against the Browns, clearing the 100 yard plateau – although it took large volume for him to do so. The volume of carries is actually the telling stat that we’re most interested in, as no other Cardinal had more than 3 carries. The takeaway from this game as it relates to the Cardinals’ backfield is that CJ2K has sole status as the team’s lead back, as opposed to the timeshare that was suspected upon the return of Andre Ellington. Both David Johnson and Andre Ellington figure to factor more into the passing game than the rushing equation. Unfortunately for Ellington’s owners, he’s not making much of a dent in the passing game either, so feel free to drop Ellington if you need a roster spot. As for David Johnson, I like his upside a bit more than Ellington, although it’s safe to view Johnson as more of a long-term hold (i.e. next season and beyond) than a meaningful contributor for this season.

- Ronnie Hillman, RB – DEN: 19 carries, 60 yards, 2 TDs

- CJ Anderson, RB – DEN: 14 carries, 101 yards, 1 TD 

Analysis: We looked at the Broncos backfield a few weeks back, concluding that Ronnie Hillman would likely take the lead on carries for the near future, while CJ Anderson should be demoted to a bench stash (but not drop), to see if he can show some signs of life. Well, signs of life! Ronnie Hillman found the end zone twice in the early part of the game against the Packers, and CJ Anderson took some turns carrying the rock as well, and he showed a spryness that we’ve been waiting to see all year. We cautioned in this space that the Broncos RB situation will remain fluid throughout the year, and that does not change. The most likely scenario going forward is to continue to see a timeshare between the two backs, with CJ Anderson getting the opportunity to make it more of an even split. Let’s see how things shake out in the next few weeks, but it’s possible that both could return RB2 value if Anderson’s rejuvenated game is a sign of things to come. Stay tuned!

- Michael Crabtree, WR – OAK: 7 catches, 102 yards, 1 TD

Analysis: The Oakland Raiders’ offensive rebirth has lifted many boats, including this ex-49er’s. Standout rookie Amari Cooper’s praises have been sung frequently, as he’s looking like a perennial pro-bowler for the Raiders at their top WR. On the other side of the field, Michael Crabtree has settled in nicely as the perfect #2 wideout for the Raiders, serving as their possession receiver. Through seven games, Crabtree has 40 catches from 68 targets, with 483 yards and 3 TD catches. Derek Carr picked the vaunted Jets’ defense apart on Sunday, and the arrow for the offense continues to point up. Crabtree should be rostered in all leagues and viewed as a solid WR3/flex option, with a slight bump in PPR leagues.

- Brandin Cooks, WR – NO: 6 catches, 88 yards, 2 TDs

Analysis: Brandin Cooks’ pre-draft hype train had many passengers, with the Saints young WR having his number called in the second and third rounds of most fantasy football drafts. Cooks came into the game against the Giants with a stat line of 35 catches, 444 yards and 1 TD – not horrible numbers, but also not worthy of an early draft slot. Nothing cures a slow start to the season like the Giants’ defense, as Cooks found his groove on Sunday – and more importantly, found the end zone twice. Is Sunday’s performance a sign of things to come? I think there’s good reason to be cautiously optimistic. Drew Brees targeted Cooks 8 times this week, and 13 times the week before against the Colts. The stats and the eye test would support concluding that Brees and Cooks are increasing their chemistry as a passing duo. We need to see the trend continue to jump fully back onboard, but at this point in time you should view Cooks as a low-end WR2, with room to go higher. 

- Ben Watson, TE – NO: 9 catches, 147 yards, 1 TD 

Analysis: We’ve got a New Orleans-heavy writeup this week. We looked at Brandin Cooks above and now we turn to Ben Watson (with third amigo Willie Snead having been looked at a few weeks back). It was only a matter of time before a tight end stepped up to provide fantasy value in New Orleans. The slight surprise is that Ben Watson, and not Josh Hill, became the guy to own. Watson is a 12 year NFL veteran, and he’s in the midst of a career year. Over the last three games, Watson has been targeted by Brees 27 times, hauling in 23 passes for 333 yards. Brees clearly has a comfort zone with Watson, and as such, Watson owners should look for the good times to roll on. Watson profiles as a low-end TE1 going forward. 

Rapid Fire Pickups 

Each week we’ll throw out potential free agent pickups from each position for deeper leagues, in each case 1) someone who has NOT been referenced above, and 2) a player available in most leagues. 

QB:                  Derek Carr, OAK (somehow still owned in less than 50% of leagues)

RB:                  DeAngelo Williams, PIT (for those in budget leagues, worth whole remaining budget)

RB:                  Jeremy Langford, CHI

WR:                 Ted Ginn, Jr., CAR

WR:                 Danny Amendola, NE

TE:                  Austin Seferian-Jenkins, RB

Week 9 Rankings

Quarterbacks

1. Tom Brady

2. Philip Rivers

3. Aaron Rodgers

4. Drew Brees

5. Ben Roethlisberger

6. Andy Dalton

7. Eli Manning

8. Tyrod Taylor

9. Cam Newton

10. Matt Ryan

11. Derek Carr

12. Peyton Manning

13. Andrew Luck

14. Ryan Tannehill

15. Jameis Winston

16. Jay Cutler

17. Marcus Mariota

18. Sam Bradford

19. Geno Smith

20. Blake Bortles

Running Backs

1. Todd Gurley

2. Devonta Freeman

3. Mark Ingram

4. DeAngelo Williams

5. Adrian Peterson

6. Doug Martin

7. Jonathan Stewart

8. LeSean McCoy

9. Dion Lewis

10. Chris Ivory

11. Jeremy Hill

12. DeMarco Murray

13. Lamar Miller

14. Eddie Lacy

15. Darren McFadden

16. LeGarrette Blount

17. Ronnie Hillman

18. Latavius Murray

19. Jeremy Langford

20. Frank Gore

21. T.J. Yeldon

22. Giovani Bernard

23. C.J. Anderson

24. Antonio Andrews

25. Charles Sims

26. Ryan Mathews

27. Matt Jones

28. Melvin Gordon

29. Danny Woodhead

30. Duke Johnson Jr.

31. C.J. Spiller

32. Shane Vereen

33. Rashad Jennings

34. Dexter McCluster

35. Karlos Williams

Wide Receivers

1. Antonio Brown

2. Odell Beckham Jr.

3. Julio Jones

4. A.J. Green

5. Demaryius Thomas

6. Julian Edelman

7. Alshon Jeffery

8. Emmanuel Sanders

9. Brandon Marshall

10. Randall Cobb

11. Amari Cooper

12. Mike Evans

13. Allen Robinson

14. Martavis Bryant

15. Eric Decker

16. Dez Bryant

17. Brandin Cooks

18. Stevie Johnson

19. T.Y. Hilton

20. Jarvis Landry

21. Michael Crabtree

22. Stefon Diggs

23. Allen Hurns

24. Malcolm Floyd

25. DeSean Jackson

26. Donte Moncrief

27. James Jones

28. Travis Benjamin

29. Willie Snead

30. Jordan Matthews

31. Brandon LaFell

32. Sammy Wakints

33. Pierre Garcon

34. Davante Adams

35. Marvin Jones

Tight Ends

1. Rob Gronkowski

2. Greg Olsen

3. Tyler Eifert

4. Jordan Reed

5. Antonio Gates

6. Gary Barnidge

7. Martellus Bennett

8. Julius Thomas

9. Delanie Walker

10. Benjamin Watson

11. Jason Witten

12. Austin Seferian-Jenkins

13. Jordan Cameron

14. Jason Witten

15. Heath Miller