The theme of week 8’s power ranking’s is…Trick or Treat. We take a look at the more volatile players on each team and assess their impact.
1. Knockn On Evans Door (↔️)
Record: 7–1
Trick or Treat: Jamison Crowder
When Darnold is haunted by ghosts, the Jets slot receiver becomes a warm safety blanket (9.26 points per game in the last 3 weeks). Crowder’s route tree is limited to less than 6 yards per route run, so the odds of him posting a ceiling game are limited. However, Crowder’s low games have minimal impact on Danny’s team since Danny owns several studs who are likely to pop off (see: A. Jones).
2. Revenge of Charky (↔️)
Record: 6–2
Trick or Treat: Corey Davis
Davis’ first start alongside Ryan Tannehill in Week 7 was extremely encouraging, as he racked up six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. But just when it looked like Jesse found his WR2 upgrade off his bench, Davis was contained to fewer than 40 receiving yards for the third time in his past four outings. One silver lining from week 8 is how far Tannehill’s passes are traveling in Davis’ direction. Tannehill is leaning on Davis for chunk gains, so maybe there are some boom games coming, but it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
3. Vincent’s Team (↑2)
Record: 5–3
Trick or Treat: Robby Anderson
Robby managed only eight catches for 108 yards in three games while Sam Darnold was sidelined with mono. But in games with Darnold stretching back to week 14 last season, Robby has averaged 4.6 rec, 69 yards, 0.48 TD on 8 targets per game, which are solid WR2 numbers.
If Darnold is seeing ghosts, it could be an empty week for Robby. But with Barkley doing Barkley things, Robby’s low games will not matter much, until the playoffs.
4. Hyde Yo Chubb (↓1)
Record: 5–3
Trick or Treat: Carlos Hyde
When the Texans are losing big, Hyde is more trick than treat (averages 48 rushing yards per game). In victories, Hyde averages 72 rushing yards. In five of those Texan victories, he has three rushing touchdowns. Hyde’s floor is awfully low, but there could be some potential positive game scripts for Hyde to payoff as Paul’s X-factor in the playoffs (DEN, @TEN, @TB).
5. ZEKE is my cow (↑1)
Record: 4–4
Trick or Treat: Courtland Sutton
Caleb’s team is looking very balanced with a group of relatively high floor starters. Out of all the guys to choose from, the de facto choice would have to be Sutton. This isn’t based on previous production, but rather future production in light of Flacco’s neck injury. Even though Flacco has been a subpar QB, Sutton was seeing a steady stream of decent quality passes thrown in his direction.
With Flacco being out for several weeks over a neck injury (and potentially placed on the IR), Sutton’s upside for ceiling games is at risk of taking a hit.
6. Parris Hilton (↑1)
Record: 4–4
Trick or Treat: Melvin Gordon
Melvin has been a shell of his former RB1 self. The Chargers are averaging just 3.5 yards per rush, which is 26th in the league. Melvin himself has averaged 28 yards rushing per game. Efficiency may not be on the horizon soon: Chargers rank 24th in run block effectiveness. It rests on Melvin’s shoulders to overcome poor run blocking, or else, he’ll be a nightmarish flex start for Gordon’s suddenly shaky RB committee.
7. SBBEndgame (↓3)
Record: 5–3
Trick or Treat: David Montgomery
Montgomery finally had the breakout game. He averaged 11 carries in weeks 1–7, but finished week 8 with a career best 27 carries for a career best 135 rushing yards. He also caught a career best four receptions and ripped off a career best 55 yard run.
There were so many career bests for Montgomery, and a lot of it can be attributed to Nagy following through on his promise to fix his playcalling. It’s just a shame that Alex lost on a week where Montgomery had his career game.
8. ReleaseMe (↑1)
Record: 3–5
Trick or Treat: Miles Sanders
In week 8, Miles went yard against the Bills, totaling an awesome 118 yards on just six touches, scoring on a 65 yard run. Contrast that with his contest against the Cowboys in week 7, where he produced a pedestrian 32 yards on nine touches, and you get a snippet of Sanders’ full body of work. Any week could be a spike or basement floor game.
It doesn’t look like he’ll claim the lead role anytime soon, but the home-run ability is still there: Sanders has more catches of 25+ yards than Julio, Odell, and Thielen.
9. pop_$ecret (↑1)
Record: 3–5
Trick or Treat: Royce Freeman
Freeman has out-snapped Lindsay in weeks 6–8, earning 61% of Broncos snaps. And in terms of PPR compatibility, Freeman sees far more targets, averaging 3.9 per game, which ranks right below Ezekiel Elliott.
However, his ‘treat’ games hinge on his red zone usage, where Lindsay holds an edge over Freeman. Lindsay sees 30% of the team’s red zone touches vs. Freeman’s 28%.
10. ████████████████ (↑3)
Season Record: 3–5
███████████████████████.
11. Revenge of the Cooks (↓3)
Record: 3–5
Trick or Treat: Phillip Dorsett
The speedy threat is always capable of scoring a long touchdown, as he owns a 4.33 on the 40 yard dash. At first, Sanu’s addition downgraded Dorsett’s role, but with the inevitable release of Josh Gordon, Dorsett is back in the WR3 discussion. The NE defense influences the odds of Dorsett’s ceiling games since their defense often puts the Pats in the early lead, resulting in more run-heavy scripts. If the contests are closer, Dorsett could be more of a pleasant surprise.
12. why so derrius? (↓1)
Record: 3–5
Trick or Treat: JuJu Smith-Schuster
When Tomlin orchestrates a run-heavy game plan, JuJu starts seeing those dreadful red balloons from IT. Hard to blame the Steelers, who prefer to play it safe by limiting Rudolph’s pass attempts.
In weeks 4 & 6, JuJu’s yards per target cratered (3 yards on 3.5 targets per game). JuJu will have to overcome Rudolph’s ineffectiveness, and make spectacular catches (like this one on MNF) to return WR1 type output.
13. James White Claw (↔️)
Record: 3–5
Trick or Treat: Todd Gurley
Gurley’s snaps, usage, and health keep him in a difficult situation: in the past week, Gurley played on only 54% of snaps, which is a new low since 2017. Gurley had 4 carries in the second half, while Henderson had 9. Some weeks, McVay wants to save Gurley, while other weeks, like in weeks 4–5, he fully unleashes him by giving him over 85% snaps. Load management on his arthritic knee could lead to some RB2 games.
14. Leegion of Boom (↔️)
Record: 2–6
Trick or Treat: Marlon Mack
Mack’s write-up is somewhat similar to Carlos Hyde. When the Colts want to control the ball with the lead, Mack looks like a high-end RB2. However, when the Colts elect to pass when trailing, his fantasy value drains quickly to flex level production.
Mack’s ceiling is vastly higher than the likes of Hyde, which places him firmly in solid RB2 territory, but there may be some low output games if the Colts find themselves in catch-up mode (Mack averages 1.6 targets per game).
