I have a love-hate relationship with routines.

On the one hand, adding structure to my day keeps me on track. I have a daily set of milestones, tasks and objectives to guide my day. It’s like a mental calendar to go with my actual one. But getting a groove has its drawbacks. No system is perfect, and I find ways to cut corners for convenience. So, taking a step back to reset helps me refocus.

It’s why I sit down to write this column each week. Tuesdays are for waivers, Wednesdays I send out trades, and then I’m back on my couch for TNF before I know it. But locking in to go through the news and ranks is the perfect way to get my rosters set for Sunday morning.

Week 8 Fantasy Football News Update: Latest and Greatest

I usually have to brace myself on Fridays for the afternoon news. My rosters have been subject to the same litany of Q tags and limited or missed practice sessions that yours have. And yesterday wasn’t much different than any other, but at least we got some good news.

Lamar Jackson was back at practice for the third straight day and got in his first full practice since his hamstring injury. He’s trending in the right direction to return, but the Ravens have a tough call to make. They have a quick turnaround as Baltimore will open Week 9 with a Thursday night matchup against the Dolphins. Regardless, our rankers have Jackson as the QB3 for the week, assuming he faces Chicago. Hopefully, we’ll get more news later today. For Commanders, there’s a bit more uncertainty, though.

Playing in Arrowhead is tough enough. Having to do it without your starting QB only makes things worse. But at least Marcus Mariota will have his primary receivers back. Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel logged full practices on Friday. Accordingly, our projections slide them in as viable options for Sunday.

However, don’t forget Jaylin Lane. This will be McLaurin’s first game back and Samuel’s still managing his heel injury. Lane’s flashed in a limited role earlier in the season. It’s part of why Geoff recommended the rookie WR as a solid stash, with more bye weeks ahead of us.

“Both McLaurin and Samuel look set to return this week as they practiced in full this Thursday, but there is a great chance that Lane remains involved in this offense and potentially takes over the WR3 role given Noah Brown’s struggles and inability to stay healthy.  Even if he takes a step back in playing time this week, Lane’s a great stash given both his upside as a player and the fact that both WRs in front of him are high risks for reinjury.”

We’ll be dealing with “Questionable” designations through Week 17, but we’ll still have to make start/sit decisions all the same. Be sure to catch Ian and I on Sunday morning and bring your roster woes with you so you can blame us if things go south. In the meantime, check out the latest info on all of the injuries from Adam and Jorge.

• QBs

  • Bryce Young (ankle)

  • Baker Mayfield (knee)
• RBs

  • Josh Jacobs (calf)

  • D'Andre Swift (groin)
• WRs

  • Nico Collins (head)

  • DJ Moore (hip)
  • Chris Olave (ankle)
• TEs

  • Dalton Kincaid (oblique)

  • David Njoku (knee)

The Week 8 Weather Report

The elements understand the need for balance like Thanos. We had multiple games with adverse conditions in Week 7. There was a rain and wind storm in Cleveland (for half), 20-plus-mph air flow in Chicago and light precipitation in Nashville. Jaylen Waddle’s production was my primary concern, which came to fruition. Luckily, there’s little to worry about for Sunday.

• Game: Bills @ Panthers

  • Conditions: Rain, 21% chance, 0.0 inches per hour (max)

• Game: Commanders @ Chiefs

  • Conditions: Rain, 19% chance, 0.0 inches per hour (max)

BLUF: I’m only reporting these because there’s a (minuscule) chance of rain. However, the lack of any precip rate highlights the idea that even if we do see rain, it won’t impact the game.

Exploiting the Ranks, aka I Hope I’m Wrong

As is tradition, let’s poke at the ranks. Like you, I use them to help me make roster decisions. And, depending on where I find some of my players, I might look on the wire or consider a last-minute trade. But sometimes I have questions.

Workloads and utilization rates are our strongest signal for fantasy production. Rightfully, we should lean on them to prioritize which skill players have the best path to winning the week for us. However, in the case of one of our Tier 2 RBs, I’ve got my doubts that he’ll return top-10 value. 

Again, it’s not about James Cook’s usage. Or even his production to date. Cook is one of 10 RBs with +70% of his team’s rushing attempts. Even better for the fourth-year rusher, his QB isn’t bogarting all of the money touches. Josh Allen does have the fourth-highest green-zone rushing rate of all starting QBs, but has only cashed in on the carries three times. In other words, Cook is getting the work, but his environment in Week 8 doesn’t set up well for him.

• Week 4: Rhamondre Stevenson, 9-38-0 (rushing statline), 5.1 (PPR points)
• Week 5: De'Von Achane, 10-16-0, 16.6
• Week 6: Javonte Williams, 13-29-0, 8.4
• Week 7: Breece Hall, 11-38-0, 7.2

I provided the names to get a sense of usage outside of rushing. And from Achane’s fantasy point total, receiving RBs have had the best shot at being serviceable for fantasy purposes. But Cook’s averaging only 2.2 targets per game. Said another way, a goal-line TD can buoy his boxscore. Otherwise, there’s a chance Cook could fall short of his ranking. On the flipside, I can see one guy outkicking his spot. 

At first glance, I understand. It took four quarters for the Broncos’ offense to wake up just six days ago. However, since missing Week 3, Engram is the WR2B (or “pass catcher” 2B, given his designation) at 5.8 targets per game. While averaging fewer routes than Troy Franklin, Engram is earning more looks when he’s on the field (22% targets per route run vs 19% for Franklin). While facing Dallas is a boon for any receiver, assuming Bo Nix has to throw to keep up with Dak Prescott, Engram’s role and situation look better than most TEs ranked around him.

Planning Ahead

Congratulations. You survived the heavy bye week. We’re getting six teams back in Week 9. However, another four are taking their mid-season break. And we’ll need to fill in the gaps with our bench depth or guys off the waiver wire. But we can get ahead of the rush for the backups, considering the level of talent some of us will be without.

• Quarterbacks

  • Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield

• Running Backs

  • Quinshon Judkins, Breece Hall, Saquon Barkley, Bucky Irving, Rachaad White

Instead of using FAAB dollars or a waiver priority, there are a few guys we can pick up now. Danny had a few thoughts on backups to target. A couple of them stuck out on my initial review.

• Quarterback: Joe Flacco

  • “The 40-year-old Flacco went 31-of-47 for 342 yards and three touchdowns, good for QB6 on the slate. Somehow, the Bengals' offensive line held up against the Steelers' defensive front and actually opened running lanes for forgotten man Chase Brown.”

  • (Chris’ Notes) Of course, I’m going to endorse this one. Joe Flacco’s 2.36-second average time to throw is the fastest of the three QBs to start for Cincinnati. Coincidentally, defenses have pressured the veteran passer at the lowest rate of the Bengals’ trio. Chicago’s secondary is allowing just the 1th-fewest passing yards per game over their last four contests. But with the running game also opening up for the Bengals, Flacco has multiple paths to a solid outing in Week 9.
• Running Back: Brashard Smith

  • “Brashard Smith (12%) caught some steam after showing up with four carries and four targets for the Chiefs in Week 4, but the usage flattened out from there. That changed in Week 7's blowout win when the seventh-round rookie only narrowly trailed Isiah Pacheco in carries (15-14) and caught all five of his targets for 42 yards…Smith now has at least three receptions in four straight games and just might be showing Andy Reid what the ascending Chiefs offense would look like with a more dynamic back behind Patrick Mahomes.”

  • (Chris’ Notes) HC Andy Reid is optimistic that Kareem Hunt will play through the bone bruise in his knee, but the veteran RB has yet to practice ahead of their Monday night clash against the Commanders. Smith has a season-high snap rate and share of the carries after Hunt exited in Week 7. More importantly, the rookie more than doubled Isiah Pacheco’s target rate (15% to 6%), giving Smith viability as an RB3 if Hunt’s absence extends past Week 8.

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