Can you hear that? It’s the snap, crackle, and pop of America!
It’s Election Day, but we’re not here to get political. No, we’re here to fulfill our fantasy football duty — to cast away the week’s flash-in-the-pan players and cast our vote for surefire starters moving forward. But who, exactly, can we trust? Into whose hands shall we rest our fantasy football fate?
It’s time to pull the lever, push the button, or punch the ticket. Whatever it is, it’s time to make our voices heard in the Week 8 Heat Index!
Import your team to My Playbook for instant Waiver Wire advice 
Corey Davis (WR – TEN)
I knew this day would come. It took eight grueling weeks, but we’re finally here. And honestly? I’m not happy about it. In fact, I hate it. But such is life in 2020.
In Week 8, Corey Davis hauled in eight of his 10 targets for 128 yards and a touchdown. The stats came in a losing effort against the pesky Bengals, but even though the Titans trailed early and often, quarterback Ryan Tannehill only attempted 30 passes (3.4 fewer than his weekly average). So it’s not as if we can credit Davis’ production to a negative game script — he would have gotten similar looks no matter what.
This was Davis’ first game back from being placed on the COVID-19 reserve list in Week 4, and he slid right back into his role as the WR2 behind A.J. Brown in the Titans’ offense. True, fellow wideout Adam Humphries exited the game early with a concussion, but it looks like Davis will continue to command targets whether Humphries takes the field or not.
After back-to-back weeks with 10 targets, Davis is tied with A.J. Brown with most on the team — and that’s despite missing two games. The Titans are a highly competitive team that will need to rely on Davis for the rest of the season.
Week 8 Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥
Rest-of-season Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥
DeeJay Dallas (RB-SEA)
Dallas is a crafty rookie running back from the University of Miami. With fellow rushers Chris Carson (foot) and Carlos Hyde (hamstring) out for the Week 8 contest, Dallas carried the ball 18 times for 41 yards and a touchdown. He also caught all five of his targets for 17 yards and an additional score. Not too shabby.
If you kept a close eye on the backfield situation in Seattle on Sunday, you might have scooped him up before the late afternoon kickoff. If you were savvy (or desperate) enough to start him, you were rewarded handsomely. According to NFL Fantasy, Dallas was the fourth-highest scoring running back of the week with 22.8 points.
As long as Carson and Hyde miss time, Dallas is expected to carry the load for the Seahawks. Right now, that window should be open until Week 9. After that, not so much. Dallas could be a Week 9 flex play and deep bench stash for the rest of the season.
Week 8 Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Rest-of-season Heat Index: 🔥🔥
Curtis Samuel (WR – CAR)
Curtis Samuel posted his best numbers of the season in Week 8. The fourth-year wideout caught four of his five targets for 31 yards and a score. Not impressed? He also had three rushes for 12 more yards and another touchdown.
Sure, this was a good game for Samuel. But it was also a largely touchdown-dependent performance against a Falcons defense that had given up the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers entering Week 8. While it was encouraging to see Samuel razzle-dazzle in primetime, he’s still behind D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson in the pecking order.
View Samuel as a boom-or-bust flex option or DFS punt play at the wide receiver position in future matchups. Don’t forget to use the over/under lines in matchups as a guide to entering him into your lineups. (The higher the line, the better the play). Remember, Vegas always knows.
Week 8 Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Rest-of-season Heat Index: 🔥🔥
Marvin Hall (WR – DET)
Marvin Hall stepped in for an injured Kenny Golladay (hip) in Week 8 and caught four of his seven targets for 113 yards. Hall did most of his damage on a broken play where quarterback Matthew Stafford eluded a sack, stepped up, and chucked a deep ball that connected for 73 yards. Hall almost scored, too, but was instead shoved out of bounds on the Colts’ nine-yard line.
As we’ve seen many times already this season, this is one of those classic situations where a player will only be valuable if the guy ahead of him misses time. In this case, Golladay is being classified as week-to-week, which could bode well for Hall’s playing time. However, the Lions are reportedly bringing in Mohamed Sanu for a visit — whether he signs with the team or not, the move isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for the Lions’ wide receiver corps.
Let’s also not forget that Hall will also have to contend with rookie wideout Quintez Cephus, though the latter has failed to suit up with much regularity for the Lions this season.
It’s a situation to monitor for sure, but for now, it’s murky at best. Hall could generate a nice return for a week or two, but are you feeling good about starting him? Definitely not.
Week 8 Heat Index: 🔥🔥🔥
Rest-of-season Heat Index: 🔥
DaeSean Hamilton (WR – DEN)
I could just copy and paste the Marvin Hall section here, swap out some team and player names, and be set. That’s because the situation is almost exactly the same. However, I’ve got slightly more integrity than that, so I’ll mix in some context with stats and stuff. What a guy, right?
In Week 8, DaeSean Hamilton snagged four of his five targets for 82 yards and a touchdown in Denver’s incredible come-from-behind win against the Chargers on Sunday. Of course, fellow wideout (and Week 4 Heat Index darling) Tim Patrick was ruled out for this game with a nagging hamstring. His absence, of course, paved the way for Hamilton’s increased role. Of course. And because it’s the NFL and these guys are world-class athletes, Hamilton stepped up big.
Hamilton may have collected 12% of the Broncos’ target share — which was good enough for fourth on the team behind Melvin Gordon (17%), Noah Fant (22%), and Jerry Jeudy (24%) — but he should resume his fantasy-irrelevant role for the foreseeable future.
Week 8 Heat Index: 🔥🔥
Rest-of-season Heat Index: 🔥
What’s past is prologue, and the future is ours. My name is Jim Colombo, and I approved this message.
Import your team to My Playbook for instant Lineup & Trade advice
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – that allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team, and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
Jim Colombo is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Jim, check out his archive and follow him @WideRightNBlue.
