Fantasy Football 2018: Start or sit for Week 8

Start

JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. Cleveland– I would’ve thought the public knew better, but when I saw that Smith-Schuster is only starting in 50 percent of leagues on ESPN, I was determined to include him in this list. Do people know something I don’t? JuJu has largely been Roethlisberger’s go-to receiver working out of the slot, putting up over double-digit points in every game this season. Antonio Brown may offer the big name play-making, but Smith-Schuster is undoubtedly consist.

In his last meeting, Smith-Schuster caught five passes for over 100 yards in Cleveland on a day where the offense struggled as a whole. Now that the Steelers offense has picked up and Antonio Brown is still commanding double-teams, there’s no reason to believe JuJu shouldn’t replicate his Week 1 success at home.

Josh Gordon at Buffalo– The acquisition of Josh Gordon had everybody in the league turning heads to Foxborough. The Patriots had gotten their hands on a troubled veteran who still showed flashes of being a dominant NFL receiver. Gordon was worked in slowly through the first couple weeks, but now has seemingly gained a full grasp of the system, playing in 95 percent of the team’s snaps last week against Chicago.

Gordon has been largely hit or miss this season, alternating between good/bad fantasy outings since his arrival in New England. According to Graham Barfield of NFL.com, Gordon’s 16 targets in the last two weeks rank only second to James White’s 17 targets. With a high volume of snaps and targets, I’ll take my chances of Tom Brady continuing to find Gordon as the Patriots travel to Buffalo to take on a stingy Bills pass defense.

Sit

Alshon Jeffery vs. Jacksonville- Alshon Jeffery has had himself quite the last few set of games, hitting 20+ fantasy points in his last three out of four games. Yet things may change as the Eagles travel across the pond to London to take on the Jaguars. Jeffery may find himself guarded by Pro-Bowl corner Jalen Ramsey, and while the Jags defense as a whole has not lived up to standards, Ramsey still presents a daunting match-up.

The sit call for Jeffery is banking on multiple factors. While it shouldn’t matter, traveling to London has caused some players to be off their game due to change in time zones and just playing in a foreign place. I’m not hammering home Jeffery is a must-sit, yet I’m willing to trust Ramsey limiting Jeffery in a game that has question marks all around it.

Sammy Watkins vs. Denver- Much has been made of Watkins’ move to KC as a first round pick just a few years ago. The talent alone for Watkins still appears to be there. Yet Watkins sits behind Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and Kareem Hunt as the team’s fourth weapon. Consistency has also been an issue for Watkins in 2018, as his point totals since week three have been the following: 18, 0, 13, 3, and 11.

When Watkins is on, he’s been able to connect with Mahomes for decent fantasy outings. Yet the problem with Watkins is his reliability, or lack thereof. Netting an average of five targets per week, there’s simply not enough opportunity to believe in Watkins against a Denver defense that ranks in the top ten in passing yards allowed per game. Mahomes will likely turn to one of his more acquainted options when needing a play.