Top Storylines from Week 8

The Injury Bug Has Struck

This was a brutal week for injuries in the NFL. Here’s a list of players who were injured in Week 8: Le’Veon Bell, Steve Smith Sr., Matt Forte, Keenan Allen, Reggie Bush, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, Eddie Royal, Khiry Robinson and Kendall Wright. The biggest name on that list is Bell, who will miss the rest of the season with an MCL tear. Smith going down for the year is tough as well, as he had been extremely productive. Forte and Allen may be able to return at some point, but their status is up in the air. So, what do we learn from these injuries? Depth is extremely important. Remember this lesson for next year’s draft; it’s the reason why I always draft best available and load up on skill-position players. Not only do you have to figure out who’s going to have a good or bad year (and factor in things like bye weeks and match-ups), you have to be ready at any moment for your star player or an everyday starter to go down. Draft deep at wide receiver and running back next year (and scour the waiver wire), and you may be able to withstand injuries. What can you do right now? Make acquisitions for the handcuff role players who now have larger roles. Look at Alfred Blue, Charcandrick West, DeAngelo Williams and Jeremy Langford among others.

The Giants-Saints Game

The Week 8 matchup between the Giants and Saints is exactly the type of football most fans want to see. It was an up-tempo, high-scoring contest with star quarterbacks throwing an insane amount of touchdowns. Drew Brees threw for 511 yards and seven touchdowns (also known as Rookie setting video-game stats). To make things even more fun, opposing quarterback Eli Manning threw for 350 yards and six touchdowns. Unreal. Brees spread the seven touchdown passes to an impressive five different receivers, with Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead being the two receivers with multiple touchdown catches for the Saints.

Meanwhile, Manning threw his touchdowns to just three different receivers, with his top target Odell Beckham Jr. catching three of them for 130 yards. Looking forward, I would be more than happy to have either of these QBs on my roster. There’s no doubt Brees and Manning deserve starting spots in just about any league. Since the start of the year, we’ve heard a lot of talk about Brees falling off. However, if he’s on your roster, stop listening to the haters and keep playing the man until he cools off from this seven-touchdown performance. If someone offers you a killer trade that you can’t refuse, take it. If not, be happy with Brees as your starter. As for the main takeaways from the Giants, Manning will remain a starter for the rest of the year (barring injury). And Beckham Jr. can be the best fantasy wide receiver on any given week. Two other Giants to keep an eye on are Shane Vereen and Dwayne Harris. Vereen is a solid play in PPR formats, as he does almost of all his damage through the air. Both are worthy of an add, if possible, although Vereen is already owned in a good portion of leagues. Harris is interesting because he looks good on tape, but he’s not a top option and he also got dinged up on Sunday. If you’re in a deep league, I’d think about picking him up (especially if you are a Beckham Jr. owner). By the way, the Giants play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ horrendous secondary next week, so keep that in mind as you set your lineups and Draft Kings rosters. Manning and Co. may be poised to go off again.

Waiver Wire Targets

With all of the recent injuries, fantasy owners are looking for replacements today. Here are some waiver-wire players to target as you try to keep your squad afloat.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

DeAngelo Williams will now be the feature back in Pittsburgh with Le’Veon Bell going down. He’s a must add for that reason and will be the hottest waiver pick-up this week. Williams looked excellent in Bell’s absence in the beginning of the season and continued to look good even while splitting carries. With Ben Roethlisberger back, expect the offense to pick up the pace and catch it’s groove again. Williams will now be a RB2 or flex candidate most weeks the rest of the year.

Jeremy Langford, RB, Chicago Bears

Jeremy Langford is on this list due to Matt Forte’s injury that occurred this past week. We don’t know the timetable yet on Forte’s return, but for now you have to plan for the worst with Forte. Langford is next in line for the Bears at running back and he will likely be the workhorse in Forte’s absence.

David Cobb, RB, Tennessee Titans

David Cobb was selected in deeper leagues if your draft took place prior to his injury. The rookie logged practice time last week, and may be ready to play for Week 9. The Titans’ backfield is still up for grabs, so Cobb should receive the opportunity to win the job. I doubt he gets the touches right out of the gate in Week 9, especially with recent reports about his conditioning being an issue, but I expect him to see enough carries to win over the coaching staff. Grab Cobb and stash him on your roster, especially if you were an owner who lost Bell or Forte.

Tavon Austin, WR, St. Louis Rams

Tavon Austin isn’t new to this column – we all know he can put up big numbers. He’s a versatile threat on offense, who can be used on deep balls, screen plays and even running plays. If Todd Gurley keeps running the ball in superstar fashion, the gaps will continue to be there for Austin to make big plays. With touchdowns in three of his last four games, there appears to be a trend here: Good things happen when the ball gets in Austin’s hands. He’s worth the add in most leagues, especially if you’re someone who lost a receiver like Smith Sr. or Allen.

Kamar Aiken, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Kamar Aiken has been on this list before, but he has to mentioned given what took place on Sunday. Old faithful Steve Smith Sr. will be out for the rest of the year with an Achilles injury, and Aiken is next in line to receive additional targets in his absence. He will obviously benefit from the extra workload, making his value increase, and he’s worthy of the add in deeper leagues.

Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders

It’s strange to type, but it’s quite enjoyable watching the Raiders these days. There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic if you’re a fan of the black and silver, and it all starts with sophomore quarterback Derek Carr looking more and more like a legitimate franchise quarterback. He just threw for 333 yards and four touchdowns against a talented New York Jets defense. He’s consistently throwing for around 300 yards and multiple scores each game. With the weapons he has around him, I don’t see him regressing. He gets better each game and is a solid back up or plug-and-play if you’re starter is on bye or gets injured. I haven’t been low on Carr at all this year, and I’m buying the hype right now as well.