Week 8 Adds, Drops, Buys, and Sells
What a week! Week 7 was exhilarating but the turnaround is quick. Waivers are running and we have championship rosters to build. With that in mind, here are the adds, drops, buys, and sells to consider making in Week 8.
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Add Kenny Gainwell
Miles Sanders is expected to miss several weeks with an ankle injury, thrusting rookie Kenny Gainwell into the RB1 chair in Philadelphia. In Sanders’ absence, Gainwell earned a 24-percent target share which ranked third among all running backs for the week. Gainwell has flashed his pass-catching prowess in previous weeks with target shares of 12-percent, 10-percent, and 17-percent in Weeks 2-4. Boston Scott will likely handle some of the early-downs work but I expect it will be Gainwell with the more valuable role for fantasy. He has the all-purpose skill set to grow his role over time as well.
Add Brandon Bolden
Brandon Bolden appears locked-into the James White role in New England. He has had a double-digit target share in three of the last four games, including 17-percent in Week 7. It won’t be easy to predict his useful weeks like we saw against the Jets, but he’s worth a roster spot as a bye-week flex fill in.
Buy Javonte Williams
Javonte Williams is still in a timeshare with Melvin Gordon in the Denver backfield. However, as we get deeper into the season, the Broncos have every incentive to see what they have in their young running back. If Williams earns more of a lead back role in the second half of the season, he will become a high-end RB2/low-end RB1 for fantasy. His season-high 21.9-percent target share in Week 7 is certainly a step in the right direction. Looking ahead to the fantasy playoffs, the Broncos get the Lions, Bengals, and Raiders, all of which are favorable matchups for running backs. Williams shouldn’t cost you a whole lot to acquire as your leaguemate is probably frustrated by the 50/50 split with Gordon.
Add Will Fuller
Will Fuller is eligible to return to the field in Week 8. He is still available in over 70-percent of Yahoo leagues. I know rostering a Miami wide receiver doesn’t feel great, but they’re actually one of the higher-volume passing teams in the league. They rank sixth in pass attempts per game and Tua Tagovailoa has attempted at least 40 passes in both games since returning from injury. If that’s still not enough, the Dolphins are the favorites to land Deshaun Watson. While there’s a lot of things to work out with that situation, there’s a chance we get a Watson-Fuller reunion down the stretch.
Sell Elijah Mitchell
I talked about Elijah Mitchell as a buy a few weeks ago. This is not saying that was wrong. In fact, for what you were able to get him for at that time it’s looking like a great call. But now is the time to shop him around. He’s coming off an 18 carry game where he ran for 107 yards and a touchdown against Indianapolis. The problem, though, is Mitchell is not being utilized in the passing game which really caps his ceiling (and his floor). He has four targets on the season and two games with none. Instead, it’s been JaMycal Hasty with 17-percent and 22-percent target shares in his last two healthy games. Mitchell is getting the early downs work which is still a valuable role in San Francisco, but without the receiving work, he’s looking almost touchdown-dependent.
Buy Cordarrelle Patterson
Like Mitchell, I talked about Cordarelle Patterson here a few weeks ago. At that time, Patterson was coming off a three touchdown game and was playing about 30-percent of the snaps. It looked like a terribly unsustainable role especially considering at 30-years old, Patterson has never done anything like this in his career. It was a good bet that it wouldn’t continue at that rate. It’s clear that was wrong, as the Falcons have increased his snap rate and touches significantly over the last few games. In fact, he’s out-carried Mike Davis 28 to 17 over the last two games while lining up at wide receiver more often as well.
Buy Dallas Goedert
We loved Dallas Goedert throughout the spring and summer when it sounded like Zach Ertz was likely to be dealt before the season. Then it became clear Ertz was going to be on the Week 1 roster and we had to fade. We were right to do so as Goedert’s production through the first six weeks was clearly capped by the presence of Ertz. However, we got to see Goedert’s role in Week 7 with Ertz now in Arizona and it was very encouraging. Goedert played a season-high 93-percent of the snaps and was the target on 15-percent of Jalen Hurts’ passess which was also a season-high. In an offense without a clear established alpha at wide receiver, Goedert has top-5 TE upside the rest of the way.
Add Allen Lazard
Allen Lazard has had target shares of 22-percent and 17-percent while playing more than 85-percent of the snaps over the last two weeks. With Davante Adams on the COVID-19 reserve list and unlikely to play Thursday night, Lazard is looking like Green Bay’s WR1 against a porous Arizona secondary. Their outside cornerbacks, in particular, have struggled against opposing wideouts. Lazard is available in 94-percent of Yahoo leagues.
Add Van Jefferson
This is the third time I’ve recommended adding Van Jefferson. This time he’s coming off a 14-point PPR performance against the Lions. He played a season-high 94-percent of the snaps as he continues to operate as the clear WR3 over DeSean Jackson. He was also 14th in air yards for the week with 107.
Sell David Montgomery
David Montgomery was a league-winner last year. And while he’s out for several weeks with an injury right now, his fantasy managers have been thinking he could be highly productive down the stretch once again. However, things have changed in Chicago in the last three weeks as rookie Khalil Herbert has emerged as a highly-productive and efficient all-purpose back. Herbert has carried at least 18 times in all three games that Montgomery has missed. He’s averaged 4.9 yards per carry over that span with target shares of 11-percent and 16-percent in the last two. Perhaps most impressive, is that he ran so well against a Buccaneers defense that had absolutely suffocated opposing running games up to that point. I still expect Montgomery to come back to the lead role in this backfield. However, his stranglehold on the opportunity share won’t be nearly what it was before Herbert’s emergence. If you can trade him to a leaguemate who hasn’t come to this realization yet, I’d do it.
Buy Zach Ertz
Zach Ertz made quite an impression in his Cardinals debut. He played about half the snaps and had an 18-percent target share. He showed he still has plenty of juice left with a career long 47-yard touchdown catch and run. We know the TE1 role in Arizona has some value as Maxx Williams had become usable with targets of seven, three, and five in the weeks before his injury. Even at this point in his career, Ertz is a better receiver than Williams and he’s clearly adjusting to his new team quickly.
Add Trey Lance
It sounds like Trey Lance is close to a return from his knee injury. While he may not get the starting job immediately, the clock is ticking on Jimmy Garoppolo’s time in the QB1 seat. The 49ers are 2-4 and Garoppolo has really done nothing to solidify his spot atop the depth chart. At worst, the team will almost definitely turn to their rookie when they fall out of playoff contention. While Lance may not be polished as a passer, his rushing skills give him that Konami Code fantasy production much like what we are seeing with Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia. Lance should be rostered in much more than the 21-percent of Yahoo leagues that he is currently.
