Top 5 Fantasy Football Takeaways: Surprises & Disappointments

Week 8 was noteworthy for the lopsided scores. Only one game was decided by a single score. It’s more difficult to draw hard-and-fast conclusions about player usage in blowouts. Nevertheless, there was a mix of pleasant showings and disappointments to choose from for this week’s takeaways.

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Top 5 Fantasy Football Takeaways

Let’s dive into the biggest takeaways from Week 8.

Fantasy Football Week 8 Surprises

The Titans Might Have Something At Wide Receiver

One game could be a fluky outburst. However, a second consecutive stellar showing from an explosive rookie wide receiver is noteworthy. According to the Fantasy Points data suite, Chimere Dike had a 66.7% route participation rate, 14.8-yard average depth of target (aDOT), 30.4% air yards share, 11.8% target share, 0.15 targets per route run, four receptions and 70 receiving yards in Mike McCoy’s debut as Tennessee’s interim head coach in Week 7.

The Titans granted Tyler Lockett‘s request to be released after that contest, and Dike stepped into a full-time role this week. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Dike played 63 snaps and ran 39 routes in Week 8, the second most on the team, behind only Elic Ayomanor‘s 42 routes. Dike rewarded McCoy for playing him more often by securing seven receptions for 93 yards on eight targets and adding a one-yard rush. Dike is a priority waiver claim on a team that will likely be in pass-heavy, negative game scripts most of the rest of the year.

Troy Franklin‘s Expected Points Were Onto Something

Among 61 wide receivers with at least 150 routes entering Week 8, Troy Franklin was 20th in expected half-point per reception (half PPR) points per game (13.7) as measured by Fantasy Points. From Week 4 through Week 7, Franklin had the following stats.

• 69.4% route participation rate
• 14.1-yard aDOT
• 32.5% air yards share
• 16.1% target share
• 0.22 targets per route run
• 16.7% first-read rate
• 13 receptions (3.25 per game)
• 128 receiving yards (32.0 per game)
• One touchdown reception
• Three end-zone targets
• 6.9 half-PPR points per game
• 14.7 expected half-PPR points per game

Franklin’s underlying data suggested he was due for better box-score numbers, and he produced them in an eye-catching showing against the Cowboys. The second-year wideout ran the second-most routes (26) for the Broncos, trailing only Courtland Sutton‘s 28. Yet, Franklin was the team’s leading receiver, pacing the team in targets (eight), receptions (six), receiving yards (89) and receiving touchdowns (two). In fact, Franklin is this week’s WR1 in half-PPR scoring, amassing a week-high 23.9 half-PPR points. Franklin is a higher-priority waiver claim than Dike, but he’s also available in fewer leagues.

Having said that, he’s not necessarily a must-start option against the Texans in Houston next week. The Texans have a fierce defense, and Bo Nix is notably worse on the road than at home. Still, Franklin should be rostered in all 12-team leagues and larger and some 10-team formats as well.

Fantasy Football Week 8 Disappointments

Quentin Johnston Was A Cardio King On Thursday Night Football

Sadly, Quentin Johnston’s production has largely disappeared with the emergence of rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden. Johnston had zero targets on Thursday Night Football. Meanwhile, Ladd McConkey paced the team with 10 targets, followed by Gadsden’s five and Keenan Allen‘s five.

According to the Fantasy Points data suite, Johnston’s 25 routes on Thursday Night were the third most for the Chargers, behind Gadsden’s 30 and McConkey’s 29, but ahead of Allen’s 17 and Tre Harris‘s 11. Johnston had only two receptions for 30 yards on six targets in Week 7. Yet, the third-year pro salvaged his week with a touchdown reception.

Ultimately, gamers are likely disappointed by Johnston’s five targets, two receptions, 30 receiving yards and one touchdown in the previous two weeks. In fact, in last Friday’s Discord AMA, a Discord member asked me if they should use $5 in FAAB on Johnston, which indicated someone cut him, and the Discord member wasn’t entirely sure he was worth even a modest FAAB investment to add.

Ups and downs are part of the equation for non-elite wide receivers, and even some of the best have a few duds. During the third-year wideout’s two-week drought, Johnston was second on the team in route participation rate (83.2%). For the year, Johnston has a rock-solid 11.7 expected half-PPR points per game, per the Fantasy Points data suite.

Better days likely lie ahead for Johnston, even if he’s more of a boom-or-bust option with the emergence of Gadsden in an already crowded pass-catching corps. The Chargers won’t blow out every opponent like they did in Thursday’s 37-10 victory against the Vikings, though. The Chargers had only a 30.3% pass rate in the second half because the outcome of the contest wasn’t in doubt. According to nfelo, the Chargers were second in pass rate over expectations (+5.6% PROE) entering Week 8, and Justin Herbert was sharp in Thursday’s blowout victory, benefiting from the return of left tackle Joe Alt. Again, Johnston will have better days, albeit with a boom-or-bust profile, making him a WR3, flex or high-end bench player instead of a locked-in WR2.

Injuries Were Too Much For Atlanta’s Offense To Overcome

Michael Penix was sidelined with a bone bruise in his knee, and Kirk Cousins filled in for him in Week 8. However, the more shocking absence was Drake London after he was added to the injury report following Friday’s practice. The Falcons had a mouthwatering matchup at home against the Dolphins, but it didn’t matter without their starting quarterback and No. 1 wide receiver.

The Dolphins were getting gashed on the ground entering Week 8, but without the threat of a passing attack from the Falcons, they bottled up Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier. Gamers obviously aren’t advised to bench Robinson under any circumstances. Nevertheless, Atlanta’s dud was a reminder of the threat of systemic failure when injuries mount.

Without London, Darnell Mooney had four targets, one reception and 11 scoreless receiving yards on 30 routes. Kyle Pitts stepped up for nine targets, nine receptions and 59 scoreless receiving yards on 32 routes. Gamers in 12-team leagues with deep benches can stash Mooney, hoping for him to snap out of his season-long funk. Yet, it’s not outrageous to cut him. Pitts could see a hearty target share if London were to miss more time, but his potential to score touchdowns would be diminished if the Falcons can’t move the ball without their big-bodied wide receiver.

The Wheels Came Off The Bus For The Saints

Spencer Rattler was benched after taking three sacks, throwing an interception and losing a fumble. He’d completed 15 of 21 pass attempts for 136 yards at 6.5 yards per attempt before Tyler Shough relieved him. Sadly, Shough also took two sacks, threw an interception and completed 17 of 30 passes for 128 yards at 4.3 yards per attempt.

Shough couldn’t beat out Rattler for the starting quarterback gig out of the preseason, and nothing he did in relief of Rattler inspired confidence in him breathing life into the offense. Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed each had a dozen targets, with the former tallying eight receptions for 63 scoreless yards, and the latter recording nine for 75. The following table has the receiving numbers for them on Shough’s pass attempts.

Gamers shouldn’t cut Olave or Shaheed in most leagues, but it’s probably prudent to keep them on the bench for alternatives for at least Shough’s first start to assess how to value them.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.