Week 8 of the 2020 NFL season is right around the corner. All games are on schedule as it appears as though COVID-19 will not cause any delays *knocks on wood*. Bye weeks are officially up and running, which means that fantasy football owners are once again looking to their benches for the best wide receiver start/sit options. Rashard Higgins and Brandon Aiyuk should be great options, while CeeDee Lamb should stay on your bench.
Week 8 Start/Sits: Running Back – Wide Receiver – Quarterback
Rashard Higgins, Brandon Aiyuk Highlight Fantasy Football Week 8 Wide Receiver Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em
Start: Rashard Higgins
Odell Beckham is gone for the season, which means that Rashard Higgins is in line for a major role in this offense. With Jarvis Landry and Austin Hooper battling injuries of their own, there is a very good chance that Higgins ends up leading the team in targets. As discussed in the waiver article, Mayfield might be better without Beckham, and Higgins has the talent required to start and succeed in an NFL offense.
Last week, the former fifth-round pick caught all six of his targets for 110 yards against an admittedly weak Cincinnati Bengals defense. Higgins saw the field on 85% of the snaps, and that usage and snap rate should remain constant for the remainder of the season. Cleveland faces off against a Las Vegas Raiders team that can actually move the ball pretty well through the air, so there should be scoring opportunities aplenty in this one.
Sit: CeeDee Lamb
CeeDee Lamb is still an incredible asset in dynasty formats, but you can’t trust him for the remainder of the season. The incredibly talented first-round pick was great through the first six games of the season before putting up zero fantasy points on five targets in Week 7. If Andy Dalton was still in the lineup, you could forgive this bad performance. However, Dalton looks like a long shot to play in Week 8. This leaves undrafted free agent Ben DiNucci running the offense, and that’s terrible news for the entire offense. Lamb is a great talent, but DiNucci will need to prove himself before you can start Lamb in fantasy.
Start: Brandon Aiyuk
The San Francisco 49ers just cannot stay healthy. Second-year wide receiver Deebo Samuel suffered a hamstring injury late in Week 7 and is going to be sidelined for a couple of weeks. This makes Brandon Aiyuk the top receiver on the depth chart and a must-play in just about every format.
George Kittle is still going to be the star of this offense, but San Francisco has the volume to support two fantasy-relevant pass-catchers on a weekly basis. Last week, Aiyuk recorded six receptions for 115 yards on seven targets against the New England Patriots. Aiyuk is deadly in the open field, and nobody is better at scheming players into space than Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers face off against Russell Wilson and the white-hot Seattle Seahawks, so Aiyuk should see plenty of looks in this high-scoring affair.
Sit: DeVante Parker
As far as fantasy football is concerned, there is nothing worse than a quarterback change. Through the first six weeks of the season, DeVante Parker was well on his way to proving that his fantastic 2019 wasn’t a fluke. However, despite their hot start, the Miami Dolphins decided to switch over from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa, of course, had a great college career but has yet to play an NFL snap. Quite frankly, his inexperience makes Parker too risky to start, especially against a good Los Angeles Rams secondary.
Start: Travis Fulgham
Jalen Reagor could make his return in Week 8, but that doesn’t mean you should stop playing Travis Fulgham. The former sixth-round pick has been absolutely fantastic since joining Philadelphia, and he won’t be going anywhere any time soon. The Old Dominion product has the seventh-best PFF receiving grade in the league and currently sits at WR5 in my opportunity model.
Even if Reagor comes back and immediately earns a starting spot, Fulgham will still stay on the field. DeSean Jackson is back on the injured reserve, so Fulgham will see the field in two-receiver sets. Reagor might eat into a portion of his massive workload, but there should still be enough targets for Fulgham to be a valuable start in fantasy football.
Sit: Chase Claypool
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool is one of the most exciting rookies in fantasy football. However, there might be too many mouths to feed in Pittsburgh’s offense. The second-round pick only had one reception for -2 yards last week, and that minimal usage wasn’t a one-week fluke. So far on the season, Claypool has only eclipsed the four-target mark on one occasion.
Pittsburgh is running the ball more than usual this year, and it appears as though Claypool is behind Diontae Johnson and Juju Smith-Schuster on the depth chart. As long as both players are healthy, Claypool is nothing more than a desperation, touchdown-dependent flex play. Chances are, you have a better option on your bench.
Week 8 Start/Sits: Running Back – Wide Receiver – Quarterback
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