| | | | Monday, November 2, 2020 | | Week 8 hasn't been a great one for Fantasy, and Monday only made it look worse. We learned the 49ers will be without Jimmy Garoppolo and, more importantly for our purposes, George Kittle, the latter of whom is likely done for the season with a fracture in his foot. Garoppolo might miss six weeks or more as a result of his lingering ankle injury, so that 49ers offense is going to take a hit moving forward, just like your Fantasy team if you lost Kittle. I've gotta tell you, my Michael Thomas-George Kittle- Chris Godwin combo in on of my home leagues looked a lot better at the start of the season. | | Here's the Cliff Notes version of what I wrote about the injuries in my reaction column: Garoppolo's absence matters a lot less than Kittle's, because Nick Mullens can do a passable imitation in an offense designed to make life as easy as possible for the quarterback. Mullens isn't as good as Garoppolo, but we've seen this offense with him at the head, and it isn't awful. Losing Kittle, however, makes the Giants offense worse in both the passing and running games. Brandon Aiyuk and (eventually) Deebo Samuel (hamstring) should step up and could both be Fantasy starters with Kittle out, but there's no replacing what Kittle can do. Go see if you can buy low on Mark Andrews via trade or add Dallas Goedert on waivers, but if you need a Week 9 replacement Eric Ebron should be your top target. | | That wasn't the only news we learned of Monday, of course. Before we get to our Week 8 Winners and Losers and Heath Cummings' Believe It or Not as well as our early look at the waiver wire for the upcoming week, check out my breakdown of what the Kittle and Garoppolo injuries mean and who you might be able to replace them with. And here's the rest of the news from Monday so far, including some potentially concerning COVID-19 situations we'll have to keep an eye on: | | A.J. Dillon was placed on the COVID-19/Reserve list, after testing positive Sunday. He played in Sunday's game, putting several of his Packers teammates as well as some Vikings players in the contact tracing program. With a Thursday kickoff against the 49ers, the Packers could be without some key offensive players if they were determined to have had close contact with Dillon, and as we've seen a few times already, there is some risk that this game could be postponed or re-scheduled if there is evidence of spread. Marlon Humphrey also tested positive for COVID-19 after playing Sunday for the Ravens, putting the Ravens and Steelers into the contact tracing program as well. That's another situation we'll have to monitor for the rest of the week, with the Ravens set to face the Colts in Week 9. Kenny Golladay is week to week with a hip injury, and won't play in Week 9 against the Vikings. Injured reserve is a possibility, so this may not just be a one- or two-week absence. Marvin Jones and T.J. Hockenson should see a bigger role moving forward, though that wasn't the case for either in the two games Golladay missed earlier this season. Expect the Lions to lean even more heavily on their running back rotation moving forward, because that's all Matt Patricia wants to do anyways. Rookie Jake Luton is expected to start for the Jaguars in Week 9 against the Texans. Luton is a sixth-round rookie who was just decent as a fifth-year senior for Oregon State in 2019, and expectations should be even lower for this Jaguars offense with Gardner Minshew (thumb) out. Jonathan Taylor has an ankle injury, though coach Frank Reich told reporters he didn't know about the injury until after the game — after Jordan Wilkins relegated Taylor to a backup role, that is. What that means for Taylor's role in Week 9 and remains to be seen, but Wilkins should be viewed as one of the top waiver-wire targets at running back for Week 9. Kenyan Drake is day to day after Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters the ankle injury is not as severe as initially feared. Whether Drake will be able to play in the Week 9 revenge game against the Dolphins remains to be seen, but Chase Edmonds' time as the starter may end up being more brief than we thought. | | And now here's everything you need to know coming out of Sunday's games, including my winners and losers for each game, Heath Cummings' breakdown of the biggest narratives, and my early waiver-wire targets: | | | | Week 9 Early Waiver Targets | | | | We'll have Jamey Eisenberg's full waiver-wire priorities list for you Tuesday, but here's an early look at my top options for the week: | | Zack Moss (71%) — If Moss is out there in your league, he's definitely worth adding. He seems to be the preferred option near the goal-line in the Bills offense, and seeing as he's been splitting time fairly evenly with Devin Singletary when healthy, that role gives him the edge. Jordan Wilkins (0%) — We'll see if it was just a one-week thing — Frank Reich said he just went with the hot hand — but Wilkins had over 100 yards from scrimmage Sunday, and just looked better than Taylor. Gus Edwards (39%) — If Mark Ingram remains out, Edwards should continue to be a viable Fantasy option, especially since he seems like the preferred option over J.K. Dobbins near the goal line. Corey Davis (67%) — Davis is having a heck of a post-hype breakout season heading into free agency, a lot like DeVante Parker did for Miami last season. He's benefitting from the defensive attention A.J. Brown is getting as well as Ryan Tannehill's high level of play, and looks like a WR3 moving forward. Jordan Reed (4%) — It's not clear if Reed will be ready to come off IR in time for Thursday's game, but if he does, Kittle's absence will make him a viable streaming option if you need one. | | | | Week 8's Winners & Losers | | | | I break down every game on the schedule every week, focusing on the biggest winners and losers and something you might have missed if you weren't watching the game. Here are my biggest winners and losers from Sunday's games: | | Biggest winners | | Myles Gaskin — Even with Tua Tagovailoa failing to do much in his NFL debut, Gaskin had an encouraging day. He ran the ball 18 times and was targeted six times on a day when the Dolphins threw it just 22 times, plus he continued to get the goal-line work. Gaskin is locked in as a No. 2 Fantasy RB who is dominating the high-value touches in this offense. Jerry Jeudy — We haven't seen the huge game from Jeudy yet, but with Tim Patrick out Sunday, he looked like a No. 1 receiver for the Broncos for the first time. He hauled in four of the 10 passes thrown his way for 73 yards, and earned an NFL-best 149 air yards in week 8. He also played a career-high 89% of the snaps and ran a route on all but one of Drew Lock's drop backs. Travis Fulgham — Even with Jalen Reagor and Dallas Goedert back from IR, Fulgham was still the top target and was still making plays in the red zone. He's the No. 1 option in this offense, of that I think there is little doubt. | | Biggest losers | | Rookie running backs — Jonathan Taylor lost snaps to Jordan Wilkins; D'Andre Swift had just 1 rushing yard; Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a total non-factor while splitting touches evenly with Le'Veon Bell. At least Zack Moss had a good game. A.J. Green — Just when we thought Green was turning it around, he was fourth on the team in targets in Week 8. He still played plenty of snaps, but Green just hasn't been good with the targets he has earned this season, and the fact that they made a point to get Auden Tate more involved Sunday doesn't bode well. Joshua Kelley — There's no predictability in how the Chargers will use their running backs without Austin Ekeler, but Kelley was losing snaps to Troymaine Pope Sunday before the latter left with an injury. That's twice in three games Kelley has been below Justin Jackson on the totem pole, too. | | | | Believe It or Not: Ignore Browns? | | | | Every week, Heath holds some of the biggest narratives in the NFL up to the microscope to see if you should buy into them. Here are the biggest storylines for Week 8 and whether you should believe in them and adjust your strategies accordingly: | | Believe it or not: Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jonathan Taylor are no longer must-start running backs. Believe it or not: You don't need to hold anyone from the Browns passing game. Believe it or not: Myles Gaskin is the only startable Dolphin. Believe it or not: Zack Moss is the best Bills running back rest of season. Believe it or not: Travis Fulgham is a must-start receiver no matter who is healthy for the Eagles. | | Sort out fact from fiction here. | | | | | | | | 24/7 Sports News | | Parlay Pick'em | ✔Scores & Highlights
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