Every round of a fantasy football draft brings with it decisions to be made, pitfalls to avoid and potential league-winning upside if you make the right picks. And our analysts are here to make sure you’re well prepared for every round of your draft; here are their thoughts on what to do – and what not to do – with your eighth-round pick (rounds based on consensus ADP in 1/2 PPR scoring formats as of Aug. 3):
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Q1. Who has the greatest sleeper potential in Round 8?
A running back in the starting role tied to a top-10 scoring team going in the eighth round? Yeah, I’m good with Ronald Jones as the pick here. He played well down the stretch and seemingly earned some of Bruce Arians’ trust. There is now competition in LeSean McCoy, though he looked like he was finished last year in an even better offense. The risk of Jones losing the starting job is worth the potential reward, which is a top-15 running back.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)
If we’re looking for a player who should significantly outperform where they’re being drafted, Jordan Howard jumps off the screen in this range. While I don’t expect Howard to be a top-15 RB in 2020, he’s going to finish significantly higher than his current price tag of RB35. He’s going to see the majority of the carries in this backfield and this offense is going to be much better than what we saw in 2019. Howard should see 220-plus carries and he has the talent to capitalize on those touches.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)
Ronald Jones is a tough one to project. He ended the year last year on a high note with a couple of huge games, but the Bucs drafted Ke’Shawn Vaughn and have now added LeSean McCoy. Still, with no preseason games and a limited training camp, Jones should get the lion’s share of the touches given that he’s been in the system already. With the muscle he’s added this offseason and with Tom Brady under center, he has the potential at least for a big year if he can hold the job early.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)
Q2. Who has the greatest bust potential in Round 8?
There’s no way you should be investing an eighth-round pick on Austin Hooper this year. He was signed by the Browns, who are going to be featuring a lot of 2TE sets, similar to the way Kevin Stefanski ran his offense in Minnesota. The combination of Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr. combined for just 95 targets last year, and that was despite Adam Thielen missing half the season. Hooper will be sharing that work with David Njoku, a player the Browns picked up the fifth-year option on.
– Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)
Marlon Mack should still be involved in this offense in Indy, but not nearly enough to warrant going ahead of someone like Jordan Howard. Mack’s not going to see nearly enough work to be worth that draft price unless something were to happen to Jonathan Taylor. Mack’s a phenomenal handcuff, but Taylor has proven to be incredibly durable during his time at Wisconsin. It’s unlikely that Mack sees more than 175 carries on the ground this season and that’s simply not enough for a RB going in the 8th round.
– Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)
Brandin Cooks is a fine player, with no better evidence than the fact that he had three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons on three different teams. Taking over for DeAndre Hopkins, who has seen at least 150 targets in in five straight seasons, is an excellent spot. But Cooks has battled multiple concussions – at least five in his professional career – and the risk is of him missing time is extremely high. It would be wonderful if Cooks could play a full season this year, but considering he’s being drafted as a WR3, his injury history makes his bust value extremely high.
– Dan Harris (@danharris80)
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