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7 Things We Learned: Week 8 (2019 Fantasy Football)

7 Things We Learned: Week 8 (2019 Fantasy Football)

Fantasy gives us plenty of twists and turns throughout the season, and Week 8 was no different. Some players came back to fantasy relevance, some hope to find new life via trades, and some just can’t seem to find a rhythm. Check out a few important things we learned from the weekend.

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Kenyan Drake will be traded in less than 36 hours.

(*EDITOR’S NOTE*: Drake was traded Monday morning to the Arizona Cardinals.)

The Dolphins have publicly stated multiple times they are seeking to trade their running back and are aiming to receive at least a fourth-round pick. Over the weekend, they declared Drake will not be traveling with the team to play against Pittsburgh which clearly shows their intentions. The current front runner landing spots appeared to be the Titans or Lions. It could easily be argued that anywhere but the Dolphins puts a positive outlook on his fantasy future, but the Lions could see him step into an ideal featured role immediately, which would put him firmly back on the RB2 map.

Mike Evans continues to redefine what it means to be a boom-or-bust player

You might remember a few weeks ago when Evans went off for 8-190-3 after starting with some pitiful performances. Well, he disappeared again for awhile, stirred up some feelings against the Panthers, and exploded again for 11-198-2. He likely won you your matchup this week, after weeks of possibly losing your matchups from near goose eggs. He’s shown he is far too good not to be in your starting lineup, but his lows are terrifying. Expect continued boom or busts weeks ahead as fantasy owners beg for some week-to-week dependability. 

The Jets are in complete chaos right now.

J-E-T-S, Just Escape This Season! Another week, another disappointing performance from Gang Green. Was Sam Darnold seeing ghosts again? He threw three interceptions, but at least they were able to move the ball down the field on occasion. Are all skill players taking a hit going forward?

Trade rumors for Robby Anderson and Leonard Williams were being spread throughout the week, so we’ll see what happens by the deadline, but losing their top receiver would not be conducive to a better scoring offense. Multiple players have been involved in these kind of talks, so this squad could very well look a bit different a week from now.

Perhaps even more alarming is how they handled the situation with Kelechi Osemele. After going against the Jets’ team doctors and wisely following the advice of multiple independent doctors, Osemele underwent needed surgery on Friday and was consequently released from the team for not playing through his injury. This looks disgusting for the Jets, trying to force a player to play through a serious injury, then cutting him for not doing so. Legal action is certainly coming between the NFLPA and the Jets’ organization. 

In a team that is under performing, trade-baiting multiple players, having disastrous quarterback play, and cutting veterans they were asking to play through injuries, you can safely downgrade all fantasy players on this team going forward. 

Tevin Coleman puts up colossal numbers in this week’s fantasy roulette of the 49ers’ backfield.

Matt Breida goes off, Raheem Mostert scores a multitude of touchdowns, and now it was Coleman’s turn. In what seems to be the backfield least deserving of your trust, one will go off each week, but you will be hard-pressed to guess the correct one. Shanahan has perfected his backfield usage from an NFL standpoint, which unfortunately involves little stability for our fantasy teams. All have their fair share of snaps, which gives them something of a floor but also usually limits their ceiling. Does Coleman continue his dominance from Week 8? Or does Mostert vulture more touchdowns? Will Breida breakout when fully healthy after leaving injured? Your guess is as good as mine. Each is worthy of a roster spot due to the fact that if injuries were to take any of them out for an extended period the others would rise in value. So if Breida’s hamstring injury lingers, Coleman’s value skyrockets. 

Austin Ekeler maintains a starter status despite the return of Melvin Gordon, who seems like a shell of his old self.

Many were told to sell Ekeler due to the return of Gordon a few weeks ago. While he has been somewhat inconsistent since Gordon’s return, he’s put together some worthy outputs, especially as a receiver, and another touchdown saved his week. More importantly, Ekeler has simply looked a bit better than Gordon considering the scope of this entire season. 

Gordon has been performing at a fraction of his previous career to this point, and it’s very fair to wonder what will happen going forward. Ekeler continues to see a healthy share of snaps, and that isn’t changing, while Gordon’s fantasy output has not been great. This leads us to question, is Gordon benchable? Also saved by a touchdown, he had a similar outing to Ekeler against a stout Bears’ defense. Depending on the other options at your disposal, his starting and even roster spot have definitely come into question.

Mohamed Sanu and Emmanuel Sanders make their team debuts with varying results

They’ve been on the team less than a week, but it was proved very clear that these two will be heavily involved in their new offenses going forward.  

In a low passing game for the 49ers, Sanders was second on the team in targets at five, only behind George Kittle. In addition, he was able to score a touchdown on the very first drive after they then relinquished to the run game in their stomping of the Panthers. Expect an increase in relative volume in future matchups, and things are already boding well for him as a go-to target. 

Sanu saw less action playing only 50% percent of the snaps and turned it into two receptions. Don’t fret yet, as he is likely just getting adjusted to a Patriots team that likes to be well-prepared before giving full-time snaps. Expect much better usage and results going forward. 

Tyrell Williams continues his scoring streak

We keep saying it’s not sustainable, yet Williams catches a touchdown every single week he plays. Here I am acting a fool saying it’s still not sustainable. Granted he’ll continue to be in my lineups as long as this magic continues, I’m just saying it will be near impossible to maintain a touchdown per game over the course of a season. Keep riding with him as a hot hand, however, until it proves otherwise.

Thanks for reading and stay golden!

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David Zach is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from David, check out his archive and follow him @DavidZach16.

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