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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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Sell Deebo Samuel
Deebo is great. We all know that. But other than Jeff Wilson, Samuel may be the member of the Niners offense most negatively impacted by the team’s acquisition of Christian McCaffrey. Once he is fully acclimated to the offense (which, based on Week 7 won’t take long), CMC is going to be the center of everything they do. Not only will they lean heavily on McCaffrey in the run game, but we all know how talented he is as a pass-catcher. McCaffrey is going to take some of those underneath, catch-and-run opportunities that Deebo has been getting. And we know a lot of Samuel’s points have come from lining up in the backfield and taking rush attempts to the end zone. I’m not sure they will need to do that anymore considering the versatile weapon they just acquired. Of course, they will find other ways to get Deebo the ball. But there’s no doubt some of his fantasy points are going to be funneled to McCaffrey, ultimately capping his ceiling. Not to mention, Brandon Aiyuk has been ascending (22 targets over the last two weeks) and George Kittle is back to being a significant factor in the passing game (20% target share in three-straight games).
Buy Raheem Mostert
Chase Edmonds came into the season as the Miami RB1. But it wasn’t long before Raheem Mostert ate into that role and then completely took it over. Mostert has averaged 16 carries per game over the last four. And he’s done well with those attempts. He’s getting opportunities as a receiver, too. In fact, he is with just Leonard Fournette and Joe Mixon as one of three running backs to have run at least 20 routes in each of the last four weeks (@jlarkytweets) and he found the end zone on a receiving touchdown in Week 7. The Miami offense is one of the most electric units in the league when Tua Tagovailoa is healthy. Go buy their bellcow back.
Add/Buy Rachaad White
I talked about Rachaad White as a must-add off the waiver wire a few weeks back. I even called him “the most valuable handcuff in fantasy football” and recommended you trade for him in leagues where he was already rostered. While I don’t typically do repeats in this Gameplan series, I felt it’s important enough to bring this one back. The Bucs offense is in trouble. Changes could be coming. Rick Stroud, the Tampa Bay beat reporter, paraphrased Todd Bowles after Sunday’s loss to Carolina saying they “have to see if the older guys can still play and if the younger guys are good enough to play.” We could interpret that as saying some veterans are in danger of being benched. Considering Leonard Fournette has averaged fewer than three yards per carry in five of seven games, the running back position could be one of those where the team wants to see “if the younger guys are good enough.”
It may already be happening. In Week 8, Leonard Fournette played a season-low 60-percent of the snaps while Rachaad White played a season-high 43-percent. White also ran 20 routes to Fournette’s 24. Now, I don’t expect a full changing of the guard any time soon, but I would not be shocked to see White become the lead guy in this backfield. Even if I’m wrong, White still has huge appeal as the handcuff to Fournette in an offense that we have to believe will find its way eventually.
Hold/Add Isiah Pacheco
“Isiah Pacheco Day” was kinda a dud. But, it was still encouraging that he was announced as the starter after taking first-team reps during the week. Things are at least trending his way. He did, in fact, out-snap and out-touch Clyde Edwards-Helaire for the first time this season. It just wasn’t the full takeover that we were hoping for. It’s a great step, though, and a situation to monitor. If Pacheco continues to take advantage of his opportunities, more work will go his way. And as we’ve seen with CEH, touches in this backfield will eventually lead to touchdowns.
Add Craig Reynolds
D’Andre Swift was not able to return from injury coming out of the bye week. He could be back in Week 8 which would make this recommendation irrelevant. But, in the case that he sits again, Craig Reynolds is worth an add as a possible streamer with six teams on bye. Jamaal Williams fumbled in Week 7 and Dan Campbell said after the game, “If you can’t hold onto the football, you can’t play for us.” That could indicate Reynolds sees more work in place of Williams. Against the Cowboys, Reynolds led Lions running backs with 11 routes (34.4% route participation rate). Before the bye, Reynolds had a 68-yard receiving game against New England. We know he can get fantasy points when given the opportunity, considering he scored as a top-24 running back in Weeks 14 and 15 of 2021 when both Swift and Williams sidelined. This is not a long-term play, but with all the bye weeks he’s a viable streaming option in deep leagues where you need a one week running back.
Buy Rashod Bateman
Rashod Bateman returned from a multi-week absence to catch four passes for 42 yards. That’s not exactly awe inspiring. However, Lamar Jackson only attempted 16 passes which is nearly half of his season average. The good news is that among those 16 attempts, 31-percent went in the direction of Bateman. On top of that, when we examine Matt Flowers’ Strength of Schedule charts, the Ravens have the best schedule for wide receivers in the fantasy playoffs with games against the Browns, Falcons, and Steelers. Bateman managers are undoubtedly frustrated at this point. But saw what he can do with a couple big-play scores early in the season. It probably won’t cost more than a couple bench players to get him.
Add Cade Otton
Cade Otton ran 72.5-percent of the routes in Cameron Brate’s absence. He was targeted five times, catching four for 64 yards. When Brate sat out with a concussion a couple weeks back, Otton caught six of his seven targets for 43 yards. We don’t know how long Brate will be out, but I would imagine it will be several weeks. Otton has shown he can be productive when given the opportunity. He may even keep the job when Brate returns.
Buy Tyler Lockett
It sounds like D.K. Metcalf is going to miss several weeks with his knee injury. That leaves Tyler Lockett as the top option in the surprisingly good (really good) Seattle offense. Geno Smith has been playing fantastic and he’s shown no hesitation to push the ball down the field to his playmakers. Lockett has already had multiple 100-yard games with two more outings over 75 yards. He’s getting plenty of looks, with a target share over 24-percent in five of seven games, including 30-percent in Week 7. We know Lockett can explode for week-winning performances at any time. Go buy him now and enjoy the ride.
Add Harrison Bryant
David Njoku is going to miss several weeks with an ankle injury. That leaves Harrison Bryant as the top tight end in Cleveland. There are opportunities for targets here and Bryant has flashed in the past. He’s worth an add if you’re streaming the position.
Sell Ezekiel Elliott
On my Sunday morning start/sit show on the Yards Per Fantasy YouTube channel, I declared Week 7 “Zeke Week,” saying if you’re ever going to play Ezekiel Elliott, this was the week. I was right, as Elliott gave you nearly 20 fantasy points. While I can certainly celebrate the take, let’s remember why I was saying it. The Cowboys were up against a league-worst Lions defense in Dak Prescott’s first game back from thumb surgery. Of course, Zeke was going to get a lot of action. He wound up falling into the end zone twice and he’s now scored three times in the last two weeks. That’s our selling point. We all know Zeke is not the same runner he used to be and Tony Pollard’s role continues to grow.
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