Flex Heroes and Zeroes - Week 8 Fantasy Football Picks

If there's one thing I've learned in fantasy football over the years, you have to set your bias aside. The largest and most prominent of these (for me at least) is the homerism and hero/villain effect. We all want our hometown players to succeed and that goes for college alma maters too. It isn't always going to happen. Likewise, if you grew up a rabid Miami Hurricanes fan like me, putting Jameis Winston in your lineup is actually physically painful.

But this is fantasy and it's all about the bottom line: winning. Oh, having fun too, but that's what the winning is for. So this week I did include a Seminole and an Aggie (my in-laws are huge Longhorns fans), while putting a surprising zero in the QB column despite the fact I own Newton in all of my dynasty leagues. It doesn't feel good but in the words of Rick Ross, I'm just doing my job.

Now, here are my fantasy flex-spot and streamer "heroes" and "zeroes" at each position for Week 8 of the NFL season. These players are borderline start considerations for your flex spot that I believe will perform unexpectedly well or that might fare poorly relative to expectations in this week's matchups. To see how our staff feels about all the players you might possibly care about, look no further than our very own RotoBaller consensus weekly rankings. And yes, I realize QBs aren't traditionally considered a "flex" position but there are "superflex" leagues.

Week 8 Lineup Heroes

QUARTERBACK

Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It won't be pretty but it might be good enough to get the job done. That sums up most of Winston's performances since turnovers are inevitably a part of each game he plays. Winston has thrown two picks in each of his three appearances this season but has gone well over 300 yards in his two starts. Viewers might have been confused when watching last week's game against the Browns, thinking it was an old highlight from the preseason of a Bucs running back reaching the end zone. No, that was actually Ronald Jones scoring in a regular season game. Is the running game starting to emerge? No sir. Jones tallied 13 yards on six carries and Peyton Barber managed 30 yards on 11 carries. Barber is now banged up and may be in jeopardy to play Week 8. Hypothetically, this is good for Jones. Realistically, it's bad for everyone else wearing a Bucs uniform. Actually, it could be good for Winston in the fantasy realm because the team will again be forced to rely on the passing game. It wouldn't shock me to see Winston hoist up damn near 60 pass attempts this game.

RUNNING BACKS

Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks
Recency bias prompts some to ask of Carson, "What have you done for me lately?" It's been almost three whole weeks since he's gotten me any points! Chill. Seattle was on a bye last week and Carson ceded some carries to Mike Davis and even Rashaad Penny in a walk-in-the-park 27-3 victory over Oakland the week prior. This isn't turning into a three-man committee any time soon though. Penny is getting just seven touches a game and is now dealing with a finger injury. Davis is a more realistic threat but he's seen his carries go down to 12 and six in the two games since Carson returned from injury. Carson is still the starter and the guy seeing 41% of offensive snaps while averaging 4.5 yards per carry. The Hawks will keep trying to establish a running game in order to keep pressure off Russell Wilson, as it's clearly working. In Weeks 1 & 2, there was no rushing attack and Wilson was forced to pass more than 30 times in close losses. In Weeks 3-6, Wilson has kept his attempts under 30 and the team is 3-1, only losing by two points to the undefeated Rams. Believe it or not, the Seahawks have run the fewest pass plays in the league and it won't change as long as it's working. Carson leads the way and has a nice matchup with a Detroit team that allows more rushing yards per game than any team other than Arizona.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Christian Kirk, Arizona Cardinals
In his rookie year, the Texas A&M product has grown into more than a deep threat already. He's been targeted 13 times in the last two games with an average of 6.4 per game over the last five contests. Kirk is second on the team in total targets with 37, behind only Larry "Legend" Fitzgerald. The difference is that Kirk is averaging 13.1 yards per reception compared to 9.8 for Fitz. That said, the Cardinals' playbook could open up this week under new OC Byron Leftwich, with more downfield shots than usual, which does benefit Kirk. A matchup with CB Greg Mabin also works in his favor. Coming off the heels of a blowout loss, many Cardinals will be ignored this week outside of David Johnson. Kirk is one to watch in this West Coast showdown of disappointing teams.

TIGHT END

Vance McDonald, Pittsburgh Steelers
Another player widely available following a bye week, McDonald was referred to by his quarterback as his #3 target, behind Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster. That's a pretty good indication he'll stay involved in the offense. In four games this year, McDonald has 17 catches for 248 yards and one score. Not outstanding numbers, but good enough to make him a consideration outside the top 10 TEs. This week he gets to face the Browns, who allow the sixth-most receptions to the TE and the 14th-most yards. With so much attention drawn to their two outstanding wideouts, McDonald could find plenty of room to operate in the middle of the field.

Week 8 Lineup Zeroes

QUARTERBACKS

Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
Superman as a flex consideration? He usually sustains a high-enough floor due to his rushing ability that matchups mean little to his owners. While Baltimore is the second-toughest fantasy defense against the QB, a sudden right shoulder concern also gives me pause. It won't hold him out of the game but could affect his accuracy. Moreover, Carolina is continuing last year's trend of passing less (fifth-fewest attempts per game) and trying to control the ball. Last year's QB5 can never be fully counted out but this is a spot where another quarterback on the rise with a better matchup (Trubisky, Winston, Goff).

RUNNING BACKS

Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
I think my man Dom Petrillo is on to something here:

Currently the expert consensus on Nick Chubb for this week is RB 13. I have them at RB 35. Standard scoring. In my way to low or are they way too high?

— Dominick (@Envisionff) October 25, 2018

While I can't go that low on any starting RB with no threat to his workload, I am totally on board with the sentiment. Chubb has immediately jumped into the RB1 conversation and is being treated as an automatic start. Are we suffering from a bit of Shiny New Toy syndrome? Carlos Hyde was off to a solid start no doubt, but he barely ranked within the top-20 fantasy running back ranks through seven weeks (half-point PPR scoring) and didn't have a single 100-yard game. In Week 1, although the weather wasn't the best, Hyde ran for 62 yards against the Steelers. Now, in Heinz Field, the Browns will keep the score closer and have a better running game? Is Chubb really that much more talented? He may actually find a way to be less useful in the passing game than Hyde, having caught none of his three targets on the year. The Browns will likely be playing catch up all game, which also mitigates the running game. Chubb will be the most overrated RB of the week.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Sterling Shepard, New York Giants
Coming off the biggest yardage of his career (167 in Week 7), Shepard will be on everyone's radar. It's highly debatable whether the Giants have found some semblance of offense or if they simply took advantage of a weak defense in the second half of an impending loss a.k.a. basura time. Now they face division rival Washington, whose secondary is not intimidating but they are effective against slot receivers, holding them to the fifth-fewest yards in the league. Evan Engram should be worked into the mix more in his second game back and the slow pace of both these teams works against the idea of a big performance from any player other than possibly OBJ or Saquon Barkley.

TIGHT END

Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins
Reed has just 21 receptions for 252 yards with only one score. Now he must face a Giants defense allowing the 10th-fewest receptions to tight ends and barely 50 yards, all while allowing just one touchdown. With almost every WR on the Redskins roster being injured last week, Reed should have been in a smash spot against the Cowboys but somehow managed just two catches for 43 yards. With Alex Smith at QB, how can he not be leading the world in receptions for a tight end??? It's too early to give up completely on him and he's too talented to cut as long as he's healthy. That's the problem, though. You have him and feel compelled to start him but he keeps failing to deliver. This week, pass him over for McDonald or another TE.

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