5 Burning Questions for Week 8

Recapping the Week 7 installment of Burning Questions:

NOTES: Antonio Brown rebounded from three straight subpar weeks and exploited the Chiefs’ pass defense for 124 yards, while teammate Martavis Bryant found the end zone yet again. I was a little low on Charcandrick West but did value Matthew Stafford and Philip Rivers appropriately given their matchups. Checking in on a couple of players I weighed in on in this space during Week 6 byes, Doug Martin certainly fulfilled his outlook as an RB1 in Week 7 as he continues to break tackles left and right, although Tavon Austin was held to only 64 yards on five touches.

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On to Week 8:

1) Is Mike Evans back?

Apparently, this has been an actual question on people’s minds. Nevertheless, I was surprised to find that one in five owners in ESPN leagues still have Mike Evans on their bench for Week 8 even coming off a monster performance that placed him in the top-three at his position. He had a season-high eight catches last week and went over 100 receiving yards for the second time in four games. In that span, he has averaged 10 targets from Jameis Winston.

But things have really picked up over the last couple of games as that chemistry continues to bud. After catching only 36 percent of his targets over the first three weeks he was active, Evans has hauled in 69 percent of his targets over the last two games. And Winston has a 145.1 QB rating throwing Evans’ way in those games.

WEEK 8 AND BEYOND

Evans checks in with an expert consensus ranking as the No. 13 receiver at Atlanta this week. But with Vincent Jackson expected to sit with a knee injury, I like Evans as a WR1 this week, and frankly every week the rest of the way.

2) What are realistic expectations for T.J. Yeldon?

Jacksonville used a second-round pick on T.J. Yeldon to make him their featured running back. If that wasn’t previously evident, it should be now after Yeldon has averaged 17 carries a game over his first six contests as a pro.

And what he’s done with those carries has been encouraging. The rookie is averaging 4.0 yards per tote and has notched 19 first downs, including six as a receiver. His overall rating on Pro Football Focus is ninth-best among running backs.

Not only is he on pace for more than 1,000 rushing yards and 40 catches, Yeldon has also yet to put the ball on the ground, an all-important factor for earning the trust of offensive coordinator Greg Olson. Things have gotten even better of late, with Yeldon having gone over the century mark rushing in two of his last three games while ranking as a fantasy RB1 in that span.

The only real downside is that he’s managed only two touchdowns on the season (one as a receiver) and has often been taken out in goal-line situations. But that could change this week, according to Hays Carlyon of the Florida Times-Union, after Toby Gerhart got stuffed on four straight goal-line attempts against Buffalo.

WEEK 8 AND BEYOND

All told, Yeldon ranks as a back-end RB2 in standard leagues (No.21) after seven weeks, and that includes the one game he missed with an injury. Coming out of the Jaguars’ Week 8 bye, a tough matchup against the Jets awaits. But after that, the schedule lightens up considerably the rest of the way. The volume isn’t going anywhere for Yeldon as long as he’s healthy, so keep him dialed in as a weekly RB2. With the potential for an uptick in short-yardage TDs moving forward, he’s also a solid buy-low candidate.

3) What to make of Frank Gore’s usage?

Through seven weeks, Frank Gore ranks as back-end RB2 in terms of fantasy points per game. The 32-year-old has played 60 percent of the Colts’ offensive snaps and is on pace for 224 carries, which would be his fewest in a full season since his rookie year. That should not be surprising, considering Indianapolis has not featured a lead running back since the days of Edgerrin James.

Save for two lost fumbles, Gore has actually been rather productive with a 4.6 YPC average and a season-long pace for just over 1,000 rushing yards. But what’s been bothersome for fantasy owners is Gore’s recent usage, as he has played only 47 percent of the snaps over the last two weeks. That has coincided with the return of Ahmad Bradshaw, who saw a nearly 50/50 split of the workload in Week 7 and is better suited for passing situations. Given the Colts’ offensive struggles this season – they’ve been shutout in the first half during three of their seven games and have trailed in every game but one – that usage trend may continue.

The Colts signed Gore to a three-year, $12 million contract this offseason, and they would certainly like to try and preserve the NFL’s active career leader in carries (2,540) for the stretch run. At the same time, head coach Chuck Pagano said this week the team can’t afford to abandon the run game. Still, we’re entering the midway point of the season, and Gore has yet to rush for 100 yards in a game.

WEEK 8 AND BEYOND

Gore carries an ECR17 among RBs this week when the Colts visit the Panthers, who are 26th in fantasy points allowed to opposing rushers. Despite the attractive matchup on paper, I think he’ll struggle to match that RB2 projection. Given the way things have gone, it’s just tough to envision a scenario where Indianapolis is preserving a lead Monday night on the road against unbeaten Carolina. But chances are, with bye weeks in full swing, Gore owners are short on alternative options.

At his age, the trade value is limited, but I’d consider shopping him to see if the name factor might net a decent return from one of your league mates in desperate need of RB help.

4) Is Jonathan Stewart getting enough credit?

Jonathan Stewart may be 28, but he says he feels like he’s 21 as a result of splitting carries with DeAngelo Williams for seven years and missing a season’s worth of games due to injury. Stewart, who took up yoga before last season to help his body, calls those circumstances “a blessing in disguise.”

His play of late backs that up. Since Week 4, Stewart has averaged 4.7 YPC and is Pro Football Focus’ top-rated halfback in that span, and by a pretty wide margin. He has long idolized Walter Payton’s mentality of not to be tackled by one person, and that’s evident in his 25 broken tackles on the season, second only to Carlos Hyde.

“Very rarely does the first guy bring him down because he is just such a physical runner, but he’s got speed,” said Eagles’ coach Chip Kelly, who was the offensive coordinator at Oregon during Stewart’s 1,700-yard rushing season.

Since Week 8 of last season, he has rushed for 1,094 yards on 236 carries (4.6 YPC). He is currently tied for eighth in the NFL in rushing attempts this season, averaging 17 per game. And get this: he’s lost just one fumble since 2010 (52 games).

WEEK 8 AND BEYOND

Feeling rejuvenated and with the Panthers’ backfield all to himself, I’m buying what Stewart is selling, especially this week against a Colts defense that ranks 25th in fantasy points allowed to opposing RBs, having yielded eight rushing scores. Cam Newton and Mike Tolbert have vultured their share of touchdowns, but I like Stewart’s chances to Hulk Smash his way into the end zone and surpass his ECR as the No. 13 RB for Week 8.

5) Is DeMarco Murray’s time up as Philadelphia’s starter?

Eagles’ coach Chip Kelly has $40 million reasons to keep riding DeMarco Murray as his starting halfback. But would Kelly, who also happens to be general manager, consider making the depth chart switch in favor of the more productive Ryan Mathews? If so, it would be a damning admission of misevaluation by Kelly, who signed Mathews for three years at $11 million. But with Philadelphia’s season in peril, the move seems all but necessary at this point.

The fact is that Murray is simply not a fit in the team’s zone-blocking scheme as an offset shotgun halfback, one who is often tasked with running parallel to the line of scrimmage in search of a lane. While true that he ranks as a fantasy RB2 on the season, Murray came crashing back down to Earth last week against Carolina when he earned PFF’s fifth-lowest Week 7 RB grade and also dropped two passes. On the year, he is averaging just 3.5 YPC along with 1.98 yards after contact per attempt, and he ranks 30th among 56 RB qualifiers in PFF’s elusive rating metric.

Mathews, on the other hand, ranks ninth in elusive rating. He is averaging 6.1 YPC, but the only time he cracked double-digit carries this season was Week 3 when he rushed for 108 yards – against the Jets, of all teams – and had a receiving touchdown while Murray sat with a hamstring injury. With four total touchdowns on the season, Mathews is the NFL’s leader among RBs with 0.56 fantasy points per snap.

The problem is that he’s been on the field for only 20 percent of the Eagles’ offensive snaps in the games Murray played. Still, despite averaging less than 10 touches per contest, Mathews, unbelievably, ranks as a fantasy RB2 in standard leagues after seven games.

WEEK 8 AND BEYOND

At this point, it’s virtually indefensible for Kelly to not give Mathews more opportunities, regardless of how much money he’s paying Murray. For his part, the coach did claim that Mathews was dealing with a hamstring injury last week which, if true, shouldn’t be an issue after the Eagles’ Week 8 bye (especially considering he was healthy enough to outrun everyone for this 63-yard score). Kelly also said that running backs coach Duce Staley is in charge of the running back rotation during games.

Whatever you choose to believe, believe this; Ryan Mathews will have a much more prominent role in the second half of the season, and he’s still available in one-third of leagues.

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Mike Castiglione is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, you can view his archive or follow him @RickDancin.