Congratulations, you’ve gotten out of the bye-pocalypse and are to a more fantasy-friendly week 8! Only the Raiders and Ravens are off for the weekend and we’ve got a ton of good and bad matchups coming out way.
LOVE
Robert Tonyan – The probability of Davante Adams and Allen Lazard not playing on Thursday night because of Covid is almost inevitable. Without those two receivers on the outside, Aaron Rodgers will have to look other places to throw the ball which could open up more opportunities for Tonyan.
Jalen Hurts – Hurts has been absolutely phenomenal in fantasy ranking second at the quarterback position and second overall. The Detroit Lions defense is not good, giving up over 260 yards passing and almost 30 points a game. The Lions have trouble containing the quarterback as Lamar Jackson was the leading rusher for the Ravens offense when they faced Detroit.
Mike Williams – Justin Herbert and Williams have been connecting for big plays and touchdowns all year and look to continue that as they face a Patriots secondary who have lost their number one corner in JC Jackson and traded Stephon Gilmore to the Panthers. Jalen Mills would probably stay mostly on Keenan Allen in this game with his to win in the slot.
Elijah Mitchell – As long as Mitchell stays healthy, head coach Kyle Shanahan will feed him the ball a bunch. Mitchell will get about 20 run attempts and could catch a few passes out of the backfield as they try to keep the ball out of Jimmy Garoppolo’s hands.
Calvin Ridley – Since the Jaycee Horn foot injury, the Carolina Panthers defense has lost a couple of steps and haven’t won a game since then. Ridley in his six games against the Panthers averages over 18 fantasy points per game.
HATE
Kirk Cousins – The Cowboys defense has been very opportunistic this season, leading the league in interceptions with 11. Their run defense is one of the best and get heavy pressure on the quarterback, and could force Cousins into some tough situations and create some more turnovers.
Mike Evans – Marshon Lattimore has shut down Evans in every matchup except one since Lattimore was drafted in 2017. Evans would need a multiple touchdown game and blown coverage to have a good outing because Lattimore has been playing his best football this season.
Mike Gesicki – In his first matchup versus the Buffalo Bills, Gesicki only caught three passes for for 41 yards as the Dolphins were shut out 35-0 in that game. The Bills have given up two touchdowns to tight ends in six games this season.
Leonard Fournette – The Saints are second in the league in run defense and lately has been good at limiting running backs to a bunch of catches too. Fournette has been really good the last three games but New Orleans has only allowed four rushing touchdowns to running backs this season.
Brandin Cooks – Cooks will have one of the worst possible matchups imaginable with Jalen Ramsey covering him on Sunday. Cooks has had duds lately, scoring under 10 fantasy points three of the last four games.