The eighth Sunday of the NFL season featured the New York Jets mercifully earning their first win, while the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers suffered demoralizing blowout losses as part of the AFC dominating the NFC. Four star running backs and one tight end surpassed 30 PPR points, perhaps the most noteworthy option being struggling Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley, who enjoyed his season-best performance. Ultimately, though, we may remember this week because another star, exciting New York Giants rookie RB Cam Skattebo, suffered a season-ending ankle injury.
Each Monday, before the current NFL weekend ends, we will identify players available in at least 50% of ESPN standard leagues worthy of your attention, from standard formats to deeper options. The NFL is a weekly league, and player valuation and roles seldom remain stagnant. It does not matter how you acquire players for your fantasy rosters, just that you acquire them!
Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks (21% rostered in ESPN leagues): Darnold and five other starting quarterbacks were on their bye in Week 8, and now they return. Darnold hasn’t been popular enough in fantasy leagues despite averaging better than 20 PPR points from Weeks 2 through 6, and he may add another 20-point game this Week 9 against the Washington Commanders.
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (14.2%): Tagovailoa tallied a season-best 24.2 PPR points in Sunday’s big win over the Falcons, featuring touchdown passes to four different players. Tagovailoa isn’t having a particularly strong fantasy season — he cost his managers points in Week 7 and he has scored more than 16 points in only three games. However, the Dolphins face the Baltimore Ravens this Thursday, and the injury-laden Ravens still struggle to defend.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants (41.9%): Tracy is having a rough season, but everything changed Sunday when Skattebo suffered a season-ending ankle injury against the Eagles. Tracy scored 7.3 PPR points in the loss, but we should expect better as soon as Week 9 against the San Francisco 49ers. Tracy totaled more than 1,100 yards from scrimmage last season, with six touchdowns and 10.7 PPR points per game. Perhaps he can produce at a borderline RB2/flex level over the final months of this season. For those in deeper formats, veteran Devin Singletary (1.3%) may matter, too.
Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins (10.6%): Gordon, a popular preseason sleeper, finally reached double-digit PPR points on Sunday against the Falcons, turning 11 touches into 66 yards, and he scored on a 20-yard reception. Star De’Von Achane scored 20.1 PPR points, so there is no concern of a timeshare here, but perhaps Gordon can continue earning more attention. The Oklahoma State product is considerably bigger than Achane, capable of bruising opposing defenders.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos (43.5%): Franklin pilfered the awful Cowboys defense for 26.9 PPR points Sunday, though things will not be as easy in Week 9 against the challenging Houston Texans defense (or perhaps any other defense, for that matter!). Still, Franklin boasts 18 targets over the past two weeks, more than the more established Courtland Sutton. We will continue to rank Sutton better, but Franklin is approaching WR4 range, which says something.
Malik Washington, Miami Dolphins (12.4%): Yep, more Dolphins. It doesn’t take too much to get fantasy managers excited, especially with a game pending against the struggling Ravens’ pass defense. Still, many expected Washington, in his second season from Virginia, to be the main WR beneficiary of the Tyreek Hill knee injury. Washington had a quiet October until Sunday, when he converted a 9-yard touchdown, and we still await him reaching 40 receiving yards in any game, but perhaps that is coming this Thursday.
Pick a healthy Houston Texans WR: Someone — or several someones — needed to step up with Nico Collins (concussion) and Christian Kirk (hamstring) sidelined Sunday, and Xavier Hutchinson (1.8%), Jayden Higgins (21.7%) and Jaylin Noel (12.7%) did. They combined for 42.6 PPR points, with Hutchinson leading the way. We don’t know if Collins will return in Week 9 against a challenging Broncos defense, but it will be hard to recommend any of the fill-ins. Kirk hasn’t done much this season, though, so even if Collins has a terrific second half of the season, one or more of these receivers may become relevant. Hutchinson is the least rostered, but perhaps in the lead for such an honor.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears (24.1%): Loveland scored a season-best 6.8 PPR points Sunday, which still isn’t much, but things are trending in the right direction. The Bears face the Bengals this week, and the Bengals just permitted 39 points to the Jets. Even before Week 8, the Bengals were allowing the most PPR points to tight ends, and then they gave up more on Sunday. Loveland and Bears starter Noah Fant (4.6%) may be the best available tight ends in your league for this week.
Deep-league options/streamers/random thoughts
The Week 8 bye-mageddon is over, and four teams will not play this week. Two of these teams boast solid offenses in the Eagles and Buccaneers. Then there are the Browns and Jets. Keep Browns rookie RB Quinshon Judkins (shoulder) rostered, but everyone else can go. With the Jets, keep RB Breece Hall and WR Garrett Wilson (knee) around.
Things are different with the Eagles and Buccaneers, of course. Keep each QB (Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield), top RBs (Saquon Barkley, Bucky Irving, Rachaad White) and top WRs (A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Emeka Egbuka). Eagles TE Dallas Goedert has become a touchdown machine, albeit one with an unsustainable rate based on targets/receptions, but it does make sense to keep him rostered.