Story by
Week 8 is in full swing after the Packers defeated the Panthers on TNF. With that, we await the rest of the slate. Here, our Yahoo analysts share their one bold prediction for Week 8 fantasy football.
Rookie Antonio Williams posts 70 yards and a TD in post-bye breakout
The Commanders have lost WR1 Terry McLaurin for the rest of this season and will come back from the bye with a reshuffled receiver corps. Dan Quinn already said that increasing Stefon Diggs' snaps will not be a part of that plan. They want to keep the veteran receiver fresh for the rest of the year. That means that rookie Antonio Williams is destined for a bump in his workload.
Advertisement
His tape has earned that promotion; he's been even more impressive on film so far than I expected, and I was a fan of his prospect profile. Williams looks explosive and separates against man coverage down the field. Washington needs a player like that to step up. Williams' mild coming-out party occurred in Week 1 against this same Eagles defense he faces on Sunday Night Football in Week 8. This will be an even bigger outing on a full complement of snaps.
He should see routes both inside and out. Philadelphia is vulnerable at the second corner spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell and gives up the fourth-most fantasy points to slot receivers so far. Williams can take advantage of both matchups. — Matt Harmon
Chase Brown silences haters, goes over 100 yards and scores
Brown has had a disappointing start to the season, failing to reach 85 scrimmage yards in any game so far. He also hasn't found the end zone since Week 1. I expect both those stats to change on Sunday, when Brown takes on a Titans defense that's allowed at least 85 yards to the last three starting running backs they've faced, including big performances the past two weeks from Quinshon Judkins (104 yards, two TDs) and Jonathan Taylor (151 yards, TD).
Advertisement
This spot got even better when news broke that Tennessee was trading its star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the Bears, removing his elite run-stopping from the equation. Despite Brown's struggles, he's still dominating touches and snaps in the Bengals' backfield. After a difficult opening stretch, which was almost entirely filled with challenging run defenses (Bucs, Texans, Steelers, Jaguars, Ravens), get ready for Brown to notch his first fantasy RB1 finish of the year in a much more generous Week 8 matchup. — Justin Boone
DJ Moore returns with a WR1 finish
I realize two games are a small sample. But think about the other first-time QB-WR duos struggling to get it together. Drake Maye and A.J. Brown. Kyler Murray and Justin Jefferson. DJ Moore and Josh Allen didn't need long to click. In Week 1, Moore earned a 27% target share and 46% of the air yards. By Week 3, those numbers climbed to 38% and 52%, and his target rate on third and fourth downs jumped to 56%. He went straight to the top of the target tree.
Advertisement
The shoulder is the obvious question. However, assuming he's active, Baltimore is the right spot for his return. The Ravens defense has bottom-10 marks in yards per game allowed to WRs, passing success rate allowed and fantasy PPG allowed. Chris Olave (22.6 PPR points) and both of my Bengals receivers have feasted on this secondary, and even Carnell Tate went for 145 yards. With Baltimore forced to account for Allen's legs, Moore will remind us he's a top-12 receiver. — Chris Allen
Michael Wilson bounces back for over 100 yards and a touchdown
It's been a frustrating season for Michael Wilson managers, but the opportunity is there. He's running a route on 89.4% of Arizona's dropbacks, commanding 23.3% of team targets and drawing 29.5% of first-read targets. He's involved. Now, we need that usage to turn into production.
Dallas just allowed Makai Lemon to catch seven passes for 67 yards and a touchdown, while Tanner McKee threw for 211 yards and looked more than functional for stretches of that game. Nobody's calling that an overwhelming passing performance, but we watched an inexperienced quarterback and a rookie receiver find success against this defense.
Advertisement
Now Arizona gets a 54.5-point game total, tied for the highest on the slate, with Dallas favored by 7.5 points. Let's be honest: the Cardinals should be able to move the ball against this defense, and Dallas can score enough to keep Arizona throwing. Wilson's on the field, he's earning first reads and the passing volume should give him opportunities to make plays.
If you can't start him against this defense, what matchup are you waiting for? The opportunity is there. The matchup is there. This is the week he converts. — Ray Garvin
T.J. Hockenson catches 8 (or more) passes versus Lions' last-ranked TE defense
Kyle Murray remains vexed by the intermediate and deep passing game, but the short throws to Hockenson — the biggest guy on the field — can bail him out here. Hockenson's no longer a consistent week-to-week fantasy start, but he did catch 13 passes from Murray back in Week 4, and now he's up against a Detroit defense that's been horrible in seam coverage . Even if the volume doesn't perk up for Hockenson, he can pay off with a touchdown — Detroit's allowed a tight end spike in five of six games this year. — Scott Pianowski
Advertisement
Ja'Kobi Lane scores his first career touchdown
The rookie is a red-zone threat to say the least. In college, Lane scored 18 touchdowns on 99 receptions, mostly on targets inside the 20. With Lamar Jackson back, Lane's odds of scoring his first career touchdown shoot up. Since entering the NFL, Jackson has an astonishing 32.4% of his red-zone pass attempts go for a score, easily the highest in the league. Lane hasn't played much, but when he's been on the field he's been targeted, specifically in the red area, where his nine routes this season has got him six targets if you include a nullified touchdown catch. With Buffalo unable to slow down receivers this season, I expect the rookie to hit pay dirt in a shootout. — Joel Smyth
Makai Lemon has the most fantasy points among rookie WRs
There are a lot of emerging players right now, from KC Concepcion to Omar Cooper Jr. to Ja'Kobi Lane and so on. Lemon has had the quietest start, but his time to shine is now with DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks out and Saquon Barkley limping. Lemon had his best game last week without them, finishing as the WR10 on WR17 expected half PPR points. He was targeted in ways that better suited his skill set, and Tanner McKee is just good enough to hit these underneath throws. The Eagles will need quick throws against an aggressive Commanders defense, and their corners aren't ones to fear. They've allowed the 7th-most fantasy points to WRs, and opposing offenses pass against them at the second-highest rate (60%) in neutral situations. — Hayden Winks
