Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire
Happy Tuesday Fantasy Footballers. I’m sorry for all of you that missed it, but the Mitchell Trubisky train has now left the station. With his ownership rising to above 50%, there is no more room at the inn for this article moving forward. I’m kicking myself too because I dropped him after I decided Andy Dalton would do fantastic against the abysmal Kansas City defense. Well……Andy Dalton is dead to me. I will never own him or start him ever again. We all have those players that burn us, right? Those guys that are supposed to bring us good fortune, but turn out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The past few years, that guy for me has been Danny Woodhead, whom I won a championship with despite my mistake of trading for him late in the year last year. Well, now he has a quarterback to hand him the ball off in the dead-to-me football league. Maybe next year I will add a wide receiver to the list, but for now, I’m furious that Andy Dalton made me lose my week. Let me know in the comments if you have any of those guys on your dead-to-me list.
As my team heads into Week 8 at 5-2 as I try to defend my title, I hope you found better fortune than me in Week 7. Now we turn another page and with it come more team needs and more bye weeks. On vacation this week are Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles Chargers, and Tennessee. If you are in a FAAB league, you are getting close to the use it or lose it stages, especially if you find yourself on the bubble for your season. Let’s hop into our Week 8 Priority Adds and see who will help you win this week and moving forward.
Priority Adds
QB – Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns (41% Owned)
I told you. I’m not doing it. Andy Dalton will never be recommended by me for anything ever again. With the main QB names that are on bye next week being Matt Ryan and Phillip Rivers, there isn’t a lot of need to fill in for your stud QB. However, if you are streaming, look no further than Baker Mayfield. Locked into a GUARANTEED shootout with the Pittsburg Steelers coming off their bye, Baker the Touchdown Maker will be twirling the pigskin early and often. It helps that Pittsburg is near the bottom of the league in passing defense. Now locked in with his soulmate Jarvis Landry, Baker is destined for a big day, even if his recklessness with the football can and probably will lead to a couple of turnovers. Trust Baker as a filler for the bye-week blues this week. You shouldn’t have to use more that a couple bucks as there aren’t many big names on byes, but his name does carry more weight than others.
FAAB: 3%
RB – Jalen Richard, Oakland Raiders (25% Owned)
Oh baby, I hope you grabbed Marlon Mack. If you did and started him, let me know because you probably won your week. He won me a week in two leagues. This week, we have another guy that could be a PPR dandy like Buck Allen was earlier this year. With Marshawn Lynch hitting the IR, Doug Martin is expected to be the early down back, but do you honestly believe that the Muscle Hamster will be anything more than a lame plodder at this point? Jalen Richard has shown talent when given opportunity with four games over 10 points in PPR leagues this season. That is sexy-flexy right there. This week he gets Indianapolis who have actually had a decent defense so far this year, but with Richard seeing a lot of work out in space, he will be able to get loose one on one with some linebackers.
FAAB: 15%
WR – Danny Amendola, Miami Dolphins (10% Owned)
Can you believe it? Brock Osweiler has been serviceable since he took over as the Dolphins starter. He has been a sight for sore eyes for slot man Danny Amendola, as he has thrown 18 targets his way in two games. With Kenny Stills already ruled out this week, Amendola will be his go to target. Before you go to sleep on Tuesday night, make sure that Amendola is still on track to play as he was a limited participant on Monday, but it is my guess that he is in the lineup on a short week. After posting 6/84/1, he has a good chance of bettering those numbers this week and beyond as he is Brock’s favorite target so far this season.
FAAB: 12%
TE – Chris Herndon, New York Jets (1% owned)
The tight end position is THIN this year. Paper thin. It is my guess that a lot of you are grasping at straws just to try and get double digits from your TE slot. With back to back weeks scoring a touchdown, Chris Herndon is quickly turning into one of Sam Darnold’s favorite targets. With only two targets in Week 6, Herndon piled on seven targets last week on his way to 4/42/1. If you are looking for a fill in or streaming like half of us are, then you could do worse than a dart throw at Herndon.
FAAB: 2%
Wildcard of the Week
WR – Jakeem Grant, Miami Dolphins (7% owned)
Both Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills are out this week and the Dolphins are now lacking a deep threat on the outside. Enter Jakeem Grant. He has blazing speed (4.38 40 yard dash) and has already shown it a few times on the field this year. Now he has a chance to showcase it with a high snap count on Thursday Night Football. I know I already suggested Danny Amendola, but Jakeem plays an entirely different role and has long touchdown upside if you need a flex fill in in deeper leagues.
FAAB: 2%