Week 7 was brutal, to put it mildly.
Monday Night Football featured the Ravens and Buccaneers, the latter of which saw Chris Godwin lost for the season and Mike Evans out for the immediate future with injuries. It was the cherry on top of a dismal week across the league for the wide receiver position; if you started the likes of Demario Douglas & Deebo Samuel (illness), D.K. Metcalf & JuJu Smith-Schuster (injury), Malik Nabers & Tyreek Hill (bad QB play), or DeVonta Smith & Jameson Williams (blanked in targets), you probably had a bad week.
And those are just some of the bigger names to suffer this past weekend. I can’t stress enough — Week 7 was BRUTAL for fantasy scoring.
If you’re scrambling through trades or the waiver wire to make up for last week’s ineptitude, fear not; the week ahead looks extremely promising for matchups across the board.
Let’s jump right into it; here are my Boom & Bust picks for Week 8.
Booms: Week 8
Rachaad White, RB – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 8 Matchup: vs. Atlanta Falcons (vs. RB – 7th)
Last Week: vs. Baltimore Ravens (MNF) (vs. RB – 14th):
10 Carries, 40 Yards (4.0 Average) | 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 71 Yards, 2 TDs
It seems to be nothing but doom and gloom for the NFC South contenders after last week.
Godwin as mentioned suffered a dislocated ankle and will be out for the rest of the season — a play that happened in the waning seconds of garbage time, with the game’s outcome arguably out of reach at that point. It was a sobering loss, and a dog pile of injuries given the Bucs had already lost star veteran Mike Evans earlier in the matchup (hamstring). Now that Tampa Bay is down two of its most potent weapons, the future is extremely murky for the Buccaneers in 2024.
To that end, there is still hope. The defense is solid. QB Baker Mayfield is still doing his absolute best. And there’s the return of Rachaad White to the fold.
White, for all the bad, had himself a decent return party against the Ravens in the early Monday Night window, rushing for a solid 4.0 yards a carry. The worry with him was obviously his health, and the committee backfield he now finds himself a part of — but it was his performance through the air that merits attention. With Tampa Bay’s top receiving weapons out, White stepped in, going a perfect 6 for 6 on targets with 71 yards and two scores.
The other options for the team are unproven at best this week against Atlanta, so I fully expect the young third-year RB to contribute heavily as a safety net and downfield threat out of the backfield for Mayfield and Co. Even against a stout Falcons run D (7th in the league at points allowed to the position), I think White eats this Sunday on volume alone.
David Njoku, TE – Cleveland Browns
Week 8 Matchup: vs. Baltimore Ravens (vs. TE – 27th)
Last Week: vs. Cincinnati (vs. TE – 29th):
14 Targets, 10 Receptions, 76 Yards (7.6 Average), 1 TD
The Browns, at 1-6, find themselves at a crossroads. WR Amari Cooper is gone, traded last week to the Buffalo Bills who intend to compete this year. Then, the news broke quickly that starting QB Deshaun Watson would be forced to miss the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles. It’s a tough series of events, but it will have to be the next man up for the Browns, one way or another. As Jameis Winston is set to start in Watson’s place this week against Baltimore, he will need a reliable pass-catching option to have a chance against the AFC North leaders — it looks like he found one already with veteran TE David Njoku.
Njoku filled nicely in the vacuum that Cooper left behind, leading the team with a whopping 14 targets and finishing the game with a 12-76-1 line. He was as steady an option for both Winston when he entered late, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson before his injury, and caught the Browns’ only TD through the air. Cleveland’s Week 8 opponent isn’t very tough against TEs, and should the Browns be forced to throw early and often, I would think Njoku will be at the forefront.
If he can continue to be peppered with targets, there should be fireworks for the fantasy rosters who start him at home this week.
Javonte Williams, RB – Denver Broncos
Week 8 Matchup: vs. Carolina Panthers (vs. RB – 32nd)
Last Week: at New Orleans Saints (TNF) (vs. RB – 28th):
14 Carries, 88 Yards (6.3 Average), 2 TDs | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 23 Yards
It was about time for Javonte Williams.
The Broncos made a trip to the “Big Easy” and handled business on Thursday Night Football, largely off of the feat’s of Williams feet in the running game. He made absolute mincemeat of the Saints’ front seven, averaging 6.3 yards per carry on his way to 2 scores. It was the type of performance that many had expected Williams capable of in head coach Sean Payton’s offense — it just took seven weeks to get to it.
This week the Broncos draw an even more tantalizing matchup at home against the hapless Carolina Panthers, a team that has been unable to stop anyone through the ground — or through the air, for that matter. The 32nd-ranked run defense should allow for a monstrous continuation for Williams if he continues to ride his hot streak this week.
Fire him up in your lineups with full confidence this Sunday afternoon.
Busts: Week 8
Terry McLaurin, WR – Washington Commanders
Week 8 Matchup: vs. Chicago Bears (vs. WR – 7th)
Last Week: vs. Carolina Panthers (vs. WR – 19th):
6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 98 Yards (16.3 Average)
Rookie QB Jayden Daniels has been a miracle worker for the Commanders through the first seven weeks of the season, but with him hurt (rib injury) and Marcus Mariota manning the helm, I’m not very convinced they’ll excel this upcoming week.
Sure, Mariota filled in perfectly against Carolina last weekend to the tune of two passing TDs, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a QB who HASN’T dominated the Panthers this season. This week they get a much tougher draw with the Chicago Bears coming to town, and I predict that the tougher defense will be able to clamp down on Washington’s passing attack and its best receivers.
Specifically, that’s Terry McLaurin.
“Scary Terry” likely draws the coverage of shutdown corner Jaylon Johnson in the Bears’ secondary, a tough task. On top of that, Chicago’s front seven should make life miserable for Mariota in the pocket, putting an even further strain on how effective the WR can be in this matchup.
McLaurin is talented and capable, that much is certain, and his rapport with Daniels has only improved with each passing week. But with the rookie phenom out for this game, and a physical defense coming to town, it doesn’t bode well for his chances.
Malik Nabers, WR – New York Giants
Week 8 Matchup: at Pittsburgh Steelers (MNF) (vs. WR – 10th)
Last Week: vs. Philadelphia Eagles (vs. WR – 23rd):
8 Targets, 4 Receptions, 41 Yards ( 10.3 Average)
Malik Nabers returned from concussion protocol just in time to host the hated division rival Philadelphia Eagles but was a virtual nonfactor in the game. Granted, it wasn’t his fault — the Giants offense is a dumpster fire, and the blame for that falls on the ineptitude of the Giants’ QB play and coaching. Still, the rookie could not produce, and I don’t think his woes will end anytime soon.
Daniel Jones has been at the helm through this nightmare season for New York, but he has been wildly inconsistent. As a result, the offense has greatly suffered, and it was on full display at home with the whooping that they received from the Eagles. Nabers at least led the Giants in receiving yards (41) on eight targets, but it was paltry in comparison to the games he was stringing together earlier in the season.
This week, New York gets to travel to Pittsburgh to take on the 10th-ranked defense against opposing wideouts, a tall task considering the uncertainty surrounding the starting signal caller moving forward. Between Jones and Drew Lock, the pickings are appallingly slim, and I expect Naber’s numbers to suffer yet again because of it.
Brock Bowers, TE – Las Vegas Raiders
Week 8 Matchup: at Los Angeles Rams (vs. TE – 31st)
Last Week: vs. Kansas City Chiefs (vs. TE – 32nd):
14 Targets, 10 Receptions, 93 Yards
This may be more wishful thinking on my part, but anything is possible in a division rivalry game.
Brock Bowers has been dominant of late for the Raiders offense, a bright spot on an otherwise dim unit. With the loss of star WR Davante Adams through trade (and injury before that), the rookie had no problem filling the void and was at the tip of the spear against the Rams last weekend. Through seven weeks, Bowers is on pace to shatter multiple records for a TE’s first year, and Vegas seems intent on feeding him and making that happen.
So why wouldn’t the Chiefs want to hinder that?
Kansas City is dead last at points allowed to TEs, so the matchup is once again primed for a duplicate performance by the former Georgia Bulldog. Given just how inept the rest of the Raiders’ weapons are, however, you’d have to think KC defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will scheme up something to take him out of the picture. There are no other truly dangerous threats to key in on in the Raiders offense, and until WR Jakobi Meyers can return from his ankle injury, that isn’t likely to change.
This game really could go either way this weekend. It’s also worth noting the Chiefs have struggled of late against their division foes in the desert, so there’s that, too. It’s an outlandish prediction, to say the least — but one that has a chance. After all, the Chiefs aren’t Super Bowl contenders without reason.
I fully expect a solid plan to be put in place to neutralize the impressive rookie. We shall see.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@kurtwasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)