Here are hot topics and burning questions heading into NFL Week 8.
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Will Adam Thielen make history?
Let’s get this out of the way — Thielen is the best wide receiver in football. Frankly, I’m getting a little sick of listening to high-paid analysts and announcers suggest with their tongues in their cheeks that he might be one of the best. He’s not scrappy. He’s not sneaky. He is the best, period.
He’s the best wide receiver in fantasy, too, unless you’re in a standard league that counts return yards. In PPR formats, he has 30 more points than the WR2 Tyreek Hill. It’s getting to the point where, if your DFS card doesn’t have Thielen (and Gurley), you’re donating money. He is that dominant.
The burning question now is whether or not he can make history. On Sunday, Thielen tied the late Charlie Hennigan’s record of consecutive 100+ receiving yard games to start a season after having done so in each of their team’s first seven games. This Sunday, at home against the Saints exploitable pass defense, he has a chance to make it eight and claim the record for himself.
Will Marshon Lattimore travel inside to shadow Thielen? Will anything else prevent him from making history? Or will the Saints allow another Minnesota Miracle, where a Vikings receiver defies all odds and accomplishes something we’ll never forget? If he gets the record for most 100-yard games to start a season, he’ll tie the record for most consecutive 100-yard games period, and has a chance to break Calvin Johnson’s record in Week 9, coincidentally against the Detroit Lions.
What about Todd Gurley?
Thielen isn’t the only player on a record pace. In 2006, LaDanian Tomlinson scored 31 touchdowns — 28 rushing and three receiving — and that is the high water mark for any non-quarterback skill position player in a single season. Gurley has 14 touchdowns in seven games — 11 on the ground, three in the air. That’s pacing for 32 over the course of a full 16 games. LT should officially be nervous, now. So should owners with no shares of Gurley.
What are all the butterfly effects from the Carlos Hyde trade?
What a rollercoaster this year has been for those who own Hyde and/or Nick Chubb. First, Hyde looked like a steal of the draft, throwing up RB1 numbers despite being drafted in the sixth round or later. Then, the coaches started talking about getting Chubb more carries, and those owners braced for the worst. Next, Chubb didn’t get more carries. The coaches kept talking. Chubb kept getting little to no carries. John Dorsey, never one for half-measures or indecision, took the matter into his own hands, and traded Hyde to the Jacksonville Jaguars for spare parts.
It’s hard to imagine this trade not having lingering effects across entire leagues. You either own Leonard Fournette (which sucks), or T.J. Yeldon (which sucks), or Hyde (which sucks), or Chubb (jackpot), or Duke Johnson (…we’ll call you back…), or you’re going to face someone who does own one of them. The happiest owners are those who rostered both Hyde and Chubb, who were spending two roster spots on a situation that was devolving into a messy three-man timeshare.
So what does it mean for Leonard Fournette and Chubb? One was a first-round pick who you could reasonably hope to return to RB1 status at some point, but now? The other was a late round stash who you can now reasonably hope to turn in low-end RB1 performance for the rest of the season. We’ll have to wait to see if these hopes come true.
How will Amari Cooper impact the Dallas offense?
Here’s a higher stakes trade with less fantasy impact than Hyde’s. Cooper will not be a fantasy WR1 this year, but can the change of scenery spark some more consistent production? Will Cooper help sustain some drives and open up more opportunity for Ezekiel Elliott? Cooper will not turn the ‘Boys into the Rams, but when your best receiver has been Cole Beasley, something has gone terribly wrong. Cooper is a boon in that regard simply because everyone else is ‘just another guy,’ and that’s generous to “JAGs” everywhere.
The Raiders secured a first-round pick for Cooper. Many (most) people think the Raiders robbed the Cowboys (that’d make for a hell of a crossover movie, wouldn’t it?). Time will tell, but although Cooper is only 24 years old, that time is running out for him to prove himself in the league.
Will Byron Leftwich save the Arizona Cardinals?
Leftwich has come out and said that they need to throw to David Johnson more. He worked directly under Bruce Arians as a QB coach in Arizona already. We had asked previously if Josh Rosen would save the Cardinals’ fantasy assets, and he did not. Here’s their last chance to start sustaining drives and unlock Johnson’s potential.
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Nick Zychowicz is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Nick, follow him @NJZychowicz.
