Fantasy Football Takeaways: Week 8

Week 8 was full of huge performances, and with one more game left tonight between the Bengals and Browns, we could have a few more to add to it. 

Out of these performances, what was real, and what was fools gold? I’ll break down a few key takeaways with Week 9 on the horizon.

Alvin Kamara is back! 

Alvin Kamara was a player many fantasy managers were avoiding this draft season whether it was the off-the-field issues or Jameis Winston not checking down. While sadly Winston suffered an injury, in his absence Andy Dalton has won the starting job. That has been great news for Kamara, as he has posted a top-15 finish in the last four weeks in PPR scoring. This cultivated in a monster performance this week, as he produced 158 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns on 27 touches (42.8 PPR points). As of now, this is the top running back performance of the week in PPR scoring. 

If Dalton can hold onto the starting job, Kamara could become a true league-winner. Kamara has averaged 24.75 touches, 145.25 yards and .75 touchdowns with Dalton in his four games thus far. This is elite usage, and he should be treated as an RB1 moving forward, especially if Mark Ingram misses any time. 

Jakobi Meyers continues his strong play 

I wrote about Jakobi Meyers after Week 6, and at the time I mentioned he was the lead target in the Patriots offense and a breakout player. Well, we are within that breakout now two weeks later, as Meyers continues to make noise weekly. This week in a tough matchup, Meyers produced a top-12 finish with 21 PPR points. He led the team with 12 targets which he turned into a team-leading nine receptions, 60 yards and a score. His 12 targets were 10 more than the next-closest wide receiver (Tyquan Thornton), but Rhamondre Stevenson did see eight targets at the running back position. 

Meyers is currently averaging 15.9 PPR points per game this year, which is WR13 on a points-per-game basis. Additionally, he is averaging 7.5 targets, 5.8 receptions, 83 yards and .5 touchdowns per game. Even with only five games played thus far, he leads the Patriots in all the major receiving categories. He is a weekly start for the rest of the season no matter the quarterback situation in New England. 

Jamaal Williams is a thorn in D’Andre Swift’s side

After a huge Week 1, it felt like D’Andre Swift season was upon us, but this has not been the case. In Week 2, Swift went down with an injury. He then tried to play through it in Week 3 but was sidelined until this week. Jamaal Williams took full advantage of the Swift injury, producing 247 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns on 51 touches in that time span. This earned him run even when Swift returned this week, especially in the red zone. Williams saw 13 touches for 76 yards and two touchdowns this week compared to Swift, who only saw 10 touches for 33 yards and a score. Williams produced 22.6 PPR points, good enough for a top-10 finish this week, while Swift only produced 14.3 PPR points and a top-20 finish. 

Using the FTN Stats Hub, we see that through the Lions’ first six games, Williams has seen 16 red-zone carries (10th in NFL) and 10 goal-line carries (2nd). He is also tied for second in the NFL with four goal-line touchdowns. It is pretty clear from these numbers that the Lions trust Williams in these critical moments. Sadly, I do not anticipate this to change much in the future, limiting Swift’s upside tremendously.

Justin Fields is a top option moving forward

It has been a rough start to his career thus far, but Justin Fields is looking better each week. This week was not his best football performance, but it was his best fantasy performance to date. He posted 26.04 points on 261 scrimmage yards and three scrimmage touchdowns against a stout Dallas defense. Now, 61 of these yards and one touchdown came on the ground, but this rushing ability is what helps him hold a great fantasy floor. The Bears have realized this is a key factor to their offense and have found success in the last few weeks. 

As a result, Fields has posted four straight top-12 finishes, including two top-5 finishes. In this four-game stretch, Fields is averaging 21.71 points and is QB2 with 86.82 points, trailing only Joe Burrow. The performance this weekend against one of the best defenses in the league makes it pretty clear this is sustainable. Even as the Bears struggle, Fields is a must-start every week as he has proven to have top-3 upside no matter the matchup. 

Could Terrace Marshall become relevant?

After a dismal rookie season and start to his sophomore season, Terrace Marshall was written off by many. However, at the beginning of the season, some people did see a path to relevance, and that path is coming now that Robbie Anderson is gone. In Sunday’s game against the Falcons, Marshall saw nine targets – this was more than the rest of the season combined (8). As a result, we saw him catch four balls for 87 yards. Unfortunately, despite seeing a few red-zone targets, he was held out of the end zone, which limited him to only 12.7 PPR points. 

This performance was the second time in as many weeks that Marshall saw the second-most targets and produced the second-most receiving yards on the team behind only DJ Moore. The offense looks a bit more explosive with PJ Walker at the helm. 

By no means is Marshall a player I am comfortably plugging in weekly, but he could become a quality bye-week fill-in for now. This could transition into more, though, if he continues to progress in his development and the offense continues its upward trend.