Week 7’s fantasy football sleeper page produced a mediocre return. JuJu Smith-Schuster’s case vanished quickly via an early injury, and although Drake Maye clicked, we paired him with the wrong pass-catcher. Cade Otton (TE5) was the best pick of the week, and Noah Fant (TE15) was somewhat useful.
Now we’re onto Week 8, with an obvious caveat; there are no byes on this slate. Hopefully, your roster is filled with several slam-dunk options, as you want to play the hits whenever possible. But we also want to keep collecting depth weekly, and we know some of the players below will be useful in deeper formats.
Here’s a look at several Week 8 fantasy football sleepers to consider:
WR Rashod Bateman at Browns (41% rostered)
Bateman is finally coming around in his fourth season, on a 12-250-2 binge the last three weeks. Alas, he’ll likely have to do it on modest volume, as he’s only collected 16 targets over that span. Perhaps Zay Flowers won’t be 100% after last week’s ankle injury, which could push Bateman into a more prominent role. And the Browns pass defense has been leaky most of the year, the fifth-best matchup for opposing wide receivers.
WR Jalen McMillan vs. Falcons (42%)
It’s not clear how the Buccaneers will react to the gigantic losses of Chris Godwin (season) and Mike Evans (multiple weeks), but McMillan is a plausible place to start. He’s a good fit for the slot role Godwin was thriving in, and the Bucs did skim nine opportunities to McMillan last week, even if only 26 yards came from it. Deeper-league managers might look to Sterling Shepard (Baker Mayfield’s college teammate) or Trey Palmer, but given how most teams look to attack Atlanta through the slot, McMillan’s skill set and pedigree draw my attention first.
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TE Hunter Henry vs. Jets (38%)
I’m surprised Henry hasn’t graduated from this column yet, but he’s still under the 50% threshold we use for qualification. The Jets’ defense has good stats defending the tight end this year, but it’s been vulnerable in recent weeks — the Bills and Steelers combined for a 13-149-1 tight end line against New York over the last two games. Perhaps that’s cheating since we’re allowing four different players to filter into that stat, but Henry’s play the last two weeks speaks for itself: 14-133-1, finishing TE8 and TE6. He’s quickly become the target Drake Maye trusts the most.
WR Cedric Tillman vs. Ravens (11%)
Although Tillman had a stunning 8-81-0 breakout last week on 12 targets, most of the activity came early in the game — only two of Jameis Winston’s 11 targets were directed at Tillman. Still, the pair did connect on a 25-yard reception, and I don’t have much faith in the other receivers in Cleveland’s lineup. The Ravens have handed out the second-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, so don’t fear the matchup.
RB Braelon Allen at Patriots (37%)
This is a deep-league play and a vote on possible game flow; the Jets are seven-point favorites at New England and handled the Patriots easily in Week 3. New England is also a funnel defense — stingy against the pass but leaky against the run. Allen’s role has been diminished the past two weeks, so only sign up for this angle if you see New York winning comfortably. Allen has performed well in wins this year, scoring twice and averaging 12.5 touches in those two games.
QB Bo Nix vs. Panthers (19%)
Nix starts off with a solid floor from his rushing production; he’s pushed past 60 yards rushing or scored a touchdown in five of his starts this year. And although it’s hard to know how much Nix will do as a passer, Carolina’s terrible defense has been equally inept against the run and pass. The only major concern to Nix’s fantasy projection here is the idea that the Panthers might not move the ball — no one is eager to see Bryce Young again — and it could allow the Broncos to win this game with a vanilla offense. Still, Nix’s athleticism and resourcefulness as a runner must be respected.
RB D’Ernest Johnson vs. Packers (6%)
This gambit is strictly tied to the status of Travis Etienne (hamstring); if Etienne suits up, fantasy managers can’t risk it with Johnson. But if Etienne is out, consider two things: the Packers are likely to control the game against Jacksonville, and the Jaguars don’t trust Tank Bigsby as a pass-catcher and pass-protector (two career catches). A negative game script could lead to Johnson catching multiple passes and collecting a sneaky bucket of fantasy points.