RADIO
Whether due to their own play, the play of others, or injuries, players' stock increases and decreases on a weekly basis. Perhaps more than any other, the NFL is a league that experiences ups and downs at a rapid pace. With only 16 games, there’s little room for error and seemingly endless opportunities for improvement. The same goes for fantasy football; managing rosters effectively is key to winning that championship.
Throughout the season, players get hot and see an increased role while others struggle and fight to stay relevant. Experienced fantasy players know this happens every year. In this weekly column, we’ll showcase those who have taken important steps forward and those who have taken steps back.
These are the key risers and fallers heading into Week 8 of the NFL season.
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Week 8 Fantasy Football Risers
Justin Herbert (QB, LAC)
Since taking over the starting job in Week 2, Justin Herbert has scored at least 23 fantasy points in four of his five starts. Last week, Herbert finished as the overall QB1 with nearly 40 fantasy points. He's not just doing this on pure volume or by touchdown luck; Herbert looks fantastic. He's willing to push the ball downfield. He makes professional throws as evidenced by his 15 money throws, third in the league, and he performs well under pressure (fourth in pressured completion percentage). With not a single game against a scary defense remaining on the schedule, Herbert has solidified himself as an every week matchup proof QB1.
Diontae Johnson (WR, PIT)
Just in case there was any doubt who the WR1 is in Pittsburgh, Diontae Johnson got rid of it last week. For all intents and purposes, Johnson hadn't really played since Week 2. He was knocked out of the game early in Week 3, had a bye Week 4, was again knocked out early in Week 5, and didn't play in Week 6. During that time, Chase Claypool emerged, resulting in questions as to what role Johnson would play when he, Claypool, and JuJu Smith-Schuster were all on the field. Well, there are questions no more. In Johnson's three full games played, he's seen 10, 13, and then last week, 15 targets. He's the guy Ben Roethlisberger wants to throw to most. He's the guy Roethlisberger looks for in a big spot. He's the guy Roethlisberger targeted with the game on the line. Johnson is the most talented pass catcher on the Steelers and he's, by far, the best fantasy value.
A.J. Brown (WR, TEN)
On the other side of Diontae Johnson last week was a fell second year stud, A.J. Brown. Similar to Johnson, it took Brown a while to get going. He had a lackluster Week 1, then missed two games and then the Titans had their forced bye due to Covid. Brown finally got back on the field in Week 5 and all he's done is deliver WR1 weeks. He's scored between 22 and 27 fantasy points in each of his last three games. Brown is seventh in fantasy points per target and fourth in fantasy points per route run. He's the clear alpha in Tennessee and he's a clear alpha in fantasy.
Chase Edmonds (RB, ARI)
It's terrible timing for the Cardinals to have their bye because the long awaited Chase Edmonds takeover is upon us. No one likes to see Kenyan Drake get hurt, but Drake's injury forced Kliff Kingsbury to go full Edmonds down the stretch of last week's thrilling overtime win over the Seahawks and Edmonds delivered in spades. It wasn't just the production - he is noticeably better at football than Drake. With the exception of blowing out the Jets, Edmonds played between 32% and 37% of the snaps in every other game this season. That number shot up to 61% last week and Edmonds, unsurprisingly, had his best game of the season. He had 12 total touches, which included catching all seven of his targets. He totaled a season high 145 yards. With Drake set to miss multiple weeks, following the bye, Edmonds is going to be the primary back, and we have reason to believe he will stay on the field as much as possible. We've seen what a full Edmonds game looks like. He had an overall RB1 performance in 2019 after David Johnson got hurt, but before the Cardinals acquired Drake. Then, Edmonds himself got hurt and never got his job back. Now, the shoe is on the other foot, with Edmonds taking over due to a Drake injury. If you had Edmonds stashed, congratulations on your new RB1.
Leonard Fournette (RB, TB)
Here's a guy we just can't seem to get right. Leonard Fournette looked left for dead with Ronald Jones playing exceptionally well and Fournette unable to get healthy. Well, he was healthy last week and Jones' performance didn't seem to matter to Bruce Arians as Fournette out-snapped Jones 56%-43%. Fournette also commanded seven targets and looked the best he has all season. Jones was still the goal line back so I wouldn't call this a changing of the guard, but it definitely puts Jones on notice. If you stuck with Fournette, it sure looks like there's something here going forward and we know the upside is tremendous if Fournette can wrestle that primary role away from Jones. At the very least, Fournette is a viable starter for fantasy.
Week 8 Fantasy Football Fallers
Cam Newton (QB, NE)
There's really no way to paint a rosy picture of Cam Newton's rest of season outlook. Newton was flat out benched for Jarrett Stidham last week and it wasn't because of the score. In Newton's defense, he doesn't have a single playmaker on his team. Julian Edelman is done. N'Keal Harry can't play in the NFL. Damiere Byrd is a best suited as a rotational WR4. Jakobi Meyers is barely even a real player. This are the cast of misfits Newton has to throw to. With that being said, there's no excuse for passing yardage counts of 162, 157, and 98 in his past three games. Not to mention the one passing touchdown and six interceptions. Newton's rushing touchdowns have regressed and he doesn't have the passing acumen or supporting cast to make up for it. What once looked like a potential league winning pick now looks like a drop.
Tyreek Hill (WR, KC)
This is probably long overdue, but it's time to acknowledge there's a problem with Tyreek Hill. Well, not a problem with Hill himself, but Hill for fantasy. Hill has scored in five of his seven games this season, so his fantasy value has remained intact, but perhaps it shouldn't. Hill has yet to catch more than six passes in a game and, most troubling, he has yet to record a 100 yard receiving game. Whether it's due to defenses adjusting and not letting him beat them over the top or the Chiefs change in philosophy, it's bad for fantasy managers. Hill is a WR1 surviving on smoke and mirrors. When the touchdown regression hits, Hill doesn't have the receptions or the yardage this season to make up for it. The Chiefs have a phenomenal playoff schedule so you probably want to hang onto Hill, but realize he hasn't been the gamebreaking WR1 we've come to expect.
Jerick McKinnon (RB, SF)
When I tweeted out last week that Raheem Mostert's injury helped JaMycal Hasty more than Jerick McKinnon, I can't say I anticipated McKinnon legitimately just not playing. Kyle Shanahan said it was planned rest for McKinnon, and maybe it was, but the fact that a guy the team trusted suddenly became completely expendable and the team dominated wire to wire without him is not encouraging. McKinnon is just four games removed from playing 92% of the snaps. Last week, he played 18% of the snaps. Even with Jeff Wilson now joining Mostert and Tevin Coleman on IR, it will be Hasty carrying the load until Coleman or Mostert can return with McKinnon playing just sparingly. Unless, of course, Shanahan really was just resting McKinnon and goes back to pushing him this week, which would only be fitting for this crazy season we're having.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB, KC)
The rookie has been an RB1 this season. Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran extremely well last week. He broke tackles. He had an impressive touchdown run. By all accounts, this should've been the game that cemented his status for the rest of the season. I'm sorry to say that his days of mattering are numbered. CEH is not going to be irrelevant, but he's going to fall into RB3 territory because Le'Veon Bell is still really good. It was a strange game last week with the Chiefs scoring defensively and via special teams, which limited what the offense had to do, but percentages are percentages. CEH played a season low 53% of the snaps and had a season low nine touches. In his first game with the team, Bell played 33% of the snaps. That number is only going up and as soon as this week, expect Bell to be in an even split with CEH before ultimately flipping it in his favor soon enough.
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