The fantasy football regular season is officially halfway over. Week 7 was rough for various reasons, but it’s time to look forward. Here are some fantasy football lessons for Week 8 and the rest of the season.
Fantasy Football Lessons for Week 8 and Beyond
Brock Bowers Is on a Historic Pace
In the 2024 NFL Draft, most analysts had Brock Bowers as a top-five prospect. Some even said he was the best tight-end prospect ever. The only reason he slipped out of the top ten in the draft was his position and teams having more pressing needs. For fantasy purposes, Bowers had an ADP of 95 and was the 11th tight end off the board on average.
There was no denying Bowers’ talent, but he was tied to bad offense with uncertainty at quarterback, competition for targets with Davante Adams, and on a team that needed his tremendous blocking ability. Now, with Adams gone, the sky is the limit for Bowers. He is second in the NFL for receptions and is the TE1 in fantasy. Remarkably, Bowers has done this while only scoring one touchdown so far.
In the past three games, Bowers has had games of 12, 10, and 14 targets. He’s the clear first option. He is on a record-breaking run, and things only look to be getting better. Bowers is the favorite to finish as the overall TE1.
Buccaneers and 49ers Offenses Could See Huge Dip
Baker Mayfield has had a phenomenal fantasy season thus far. He’s the QB2 overall and leads the NFL in touchdown passes. However, on Monday Night Football, disaster struck. Mike Evans was forced to leave the game with a hamstring injury and is now week-to-week. Chris Godwin, who had been one of the best mid-late-round picks in fantasy this season, gruesomely dislocated his ankle with about a minute to go in the game.
The Buccaneers will now have to turn to rookie Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer, and Sterling Shepard at receiver. This will undoubtedly hurt Mayfield’s production and the offense as a whole. Mayfield now projects as a lower-tier QB1 or even QB2, but the backfield duo of Rachaad White and Bucky Irving may see more work due to these injuries.
Another team that got bit by the injury bug was the San Francisco 49ers. Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL and is out for the season. Deebo Samuel was hospitalized with pneumonia, George Kittle has a sprained foot, and Jauan Jennings is dealing with a hip issue. These are mostly shorter-term issues, but there’s a chance that rookie Ricky Pearsall is their top target this week.
If he’s available, Jennings should be the top waiver wire add this week, but Pearsall should also be rostered. Samuel and Kittle may still end up playing, but losing Aiyuk is massive despite his poor play this season. Brock Purdy isn’t startable in fantasy this week if they’re all out, as he struggled mightily without them in Week 7 but had his fantasy day salvaged by two one-yard touchdowns.
Fantasy Football’s Unpredictability Keeps Showing Up
By most accounts, Week 7 was the worst fantasy football week all season. Many star players struggled, leading to a lot of low-point totals. Whether it was Deebo Samuel starting the game but leaving three snaps in, C.J. Stroud throwing for only 86 passing yards, or Tyreek Hill having zero targets at halftime and ending with two, Week 7 was brutal.
No wide receiver scored more than one touchdown, which, in turn, meant that it was a bad day for quarterbacks as well. Aside from the happenings on the field, trades have been a factor. Amari Cooper going to the Bills makes him a top-20 WR for the rest of the season. DeAndre Hopkins being traded to Kansas City turns him into a WR3 or even low-end WR2 after being practically unstartable all season.
When making decisions regarding fantasy, keep an eye on names such as Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Diontae Johnson, and others who are on the real-life trade market. Week 7 showed why fantasy football can be so frustrating but also how it can be rewarding. There will always be an element of randomness, no matter how many people use data and trends to try to predict weekly matchups.
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