Fantasy Football Start Sit Week 8: Bet on the Bernard Bounce Back
This is where good fantasy managers separate from lucky ones. The right lineup decisions, powered by Draft Sharks rankings, can make all the difference in Week 8.
Knowing which players to target and fade becomes especially critical in a week with four teams unavailable.
Your Draft Sharks Team Intel page will help you set your ideal lineup, applying our award-winning weekly projections to your custom scoring.
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Quarterback to Start
LG Quenton Nelson is here to help.
Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
Sam Darnold has struggled with turnovers over the first half of the season, accounting for an INT in five straight games since returning from his glute injury.
But he’s coming off his most efficient outing this season, averaging 8.3 adjusted yards per attempt, the 10th-highest mark among QBs in Week 7. That even came against a Chiefs defense that’s allowed the third-fewest points to QBs.
He’s throwing to his top WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a league-leading 36.3% target share, which Smith-Njigba has turned into 867 yards, the highest mark in the league and 216 more than the next guy.
Darnold now gets LG Quenton Nelson a trade with the Colts. That should improve his 22nd-ranked 7.3% sack rate, as Nelson hasn't allowed a sack among 136 pass block snaps this season.
Week 8 holds a Bears defense that’s boosting QB points by the fifth-highest rate at 22.9%. Darnold is a start.
QB to Sit
The Vikings' suffocating defense is too much for the Lions QB.
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions
Jared Goff is the only QB to surpass 200 attempts without throwing an INT this season. But that streak meets a Vikings pass defense in Week 8 that’s intercepting QBs at a league-high 3.9% rate.
Minnesota's also allowing the fewest points to QBs, giving up 29.6% fewer points than the closest defense while reducing QB points by 52.4%.
That doesn’t bode well for Goff, despite his QB3 ranking on the season. The Vikings have already faced two top-12 QBs in Caleb Williams and Tyler Shough and held them to QB27 and QB31 finishes, respectively.
Goff’s 1.3 rushing points per game isn’t enough to offset his expected dip in passing production, making him a QB to leave out of your lineup this week.
Running Backs to Start
One makes his return while the other takes advantage of an absence.
Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals
Jeremiyah Love returns from the ankle injury that cost him the past two games. It’s been an issue since he initially suffered a high sprain in the Cardinals’ preseason opener.
Love was able to return for Week 1 but tweaked the ankle in the fourth quarter of Week 4, which limited him for the remainder of that game and into Week 5 before the Cardinals shut the rookie down for a couple weeks.
Prior to tweaking his ankle, Love posted 21.9 PPR points in Week 3 to rank behind only RBs Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson. It came with a season-high 77.8% carry share and 10.0% target share, making him the seventh RB to reach 75% and 10% in a week this season.
Two weeks off to rest his ankle should set Love up for high-end usage (though we'll watch his practice participation to confirm).
Play the rookie against a Cowboys defense that’s boosting RB points more than any other.
Rachaad White, Washington Commanders
Rachaad White handled just 7 carries for 27 yards in his first game after a groin injury landed Jacory Croskey-Merritt on IR. But he added 4 receptions on 5 targets for 30 yards and a TD. White's 15.7 PPR points ranked as the RB10 in Week 6, marking his second RB1 finish of the season.
The 7 carries don’t stand out, as White’s reached that number every time he has played this season. He drew a season-high 43.8% carry share but saw the volume limited by negative game script. The Commanders threw 40 times vs. just 17 rushing attempts in a game that found them trailing 20-3 at halftime and 23-3 late in the third quarter.
White's 14.3% target share ranked seventh among Week 6 RBs and combined with the carry share to position him as the clear lead back. Expect that to continue against an injury-ravaged Eagles offense that doesn't look capable of driving negative game script.
That should mean plenty of touches for White against a defense that ranks just 21st in scoring and 27th in total yards allowed per game.
RBs to Sit
Unproven producers meet more proven defenses.
Emanuel Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
Emanuel Wilson has turned in an RB2 or better performance in three of the past four weeks with both RBs Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price on IR.
He accounted for at least 20 rush attempts in each of his RB2 finishes, producing just 5.2 PPR points in the lone week he fell short of 20 rush attempts over the last four games.
But with Charbonnet expected back this week from a knee injury that prematurely ended his season last year, Wilson’s path to a high-volume workload is the murkiest it’s been since before Price landed on IR with a chest injury in Week 4.
Price was designated to return from IR and has been practicing this week following his chest injury, further clouding the Seahawks backfield distribution.
The Seahawks play on Monday night, which means we might not have a clear projection for their backfield approach until nearly all players have already concluded Week 8.
There is simply too much risk to leave him in your lineups this week, especially against a Bears defense allowing the sixth-fewest points to RBs.
Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers
Omarion Hampton’s first half has been underwhelming. He ranks RB34 with 9.6 PPR points per game and just one top-12 finish.
He was one of 14 RBs to handle at least a 50% carry share in each of the first three weeks, but it resulted in just 10.5 PPR points per game. That ranked 13th among those 14 RBs and led to a decrease in usage.
After accounting for a 61.7% carry share through Week 3 -- 13th among RBs -- he’s been responsible for just a 34.1% carry share since (35th). That includes being out-carried by Keaton Mitchell in Week 4 and tied by Kimani Vidal in Week 6.
Hampton has produced just 6.4 PPR points per game over his past two games, good for RB45, and now takes on a Rams defense reducing RB points by 10.2%.
Leave him out of your lineup in Week 8.
Wide Receivers to Start
First- and second-year WRs continue to trend upward.
Germie Bernard, Pittsburgh Steelers
Germie Bernard surpassed a 90.0% route share for the first time after Roman Wilson landed on IR with a finger injury ahead of Week 5. He hasn’t fallen below since.
The rookie's commanding a 25.5% target share that ranks 17th among WRs over that span and leads the Steelers, including DK Metcalf (24.5%).
Bernard has turned that into 15.3 PPR points per game that ranks WR23, including a WR3 finish in Week 6 with 25.7 PPR points against the Buccaneers.
Bernard deserves a spot in your lineup against a Browns defense that's not reducing WR points.
KC Concepcion, Cleveland Browns
KC Concepcion is coming off his highest-scoring week of his career, posting 23.2 PPR points to finish as the WR8 without scoring a TD. He joined WR Amon-Ra St Brown as the only WRs to finish as a WR1 in Week 7 without reaching the endzone after hauling in eight of a team-high 10 targets for 129 yards.
He achieved it by way of a 28.6% target share for his sixth week with at least a 20% target share, giving him the fourth-most weeks with a 20% or higher target share among WRs. His 21.7% target share on the season leads all Browns’ pass catchers.
The difference in scoring came from a season-high 110 air yards, after his average depth of target expanded past 10.0 yards for the first time since Week 1. But QB Deshaun Watson’s average depth of target was the lowest it’s been over the past three weeks, indicating the Browns’ desire to target, specifically, Concepcion further down the field.
Against a Steelers defense that’s a neutral matchup for WRs and reduces WR points by just 0.4%, Concepcion should be in your lineups for Week 8.
WRs to Sit
Don’t fall for unsustainable production.
Omar Cooper Jr., New York Jets
Omar Cooper Jr. produced WR1 finishes in back-to-back weeks coming off his IR stint for a high-ankle sprain. His 22.3 PPR points in Week 6 ranked as the WR6, while his 22.5 in Week 7 landed him at WR9.
But that’s come while Garrett Wilson sits at WR64 with just 6.5 PPR points per game over the past two weeks.
Wilson commanded just a 15.5% target share over that span, the lowest two-week stretch of his career and the 55th-highest mark at the position. It also trails Cooper’s 20.7% target share, which ranks 34th since Week 6.
Don't expect that target distribution to continue. HC Aaron Glenn said after last week’s loss that “we have to do everything we can to try to get [Wilson] the ball.”
If that pursuit starts this week, then the Jets will have a hard time also supporting Cooper's fantasy output within an offense that's producing the 12th-fewest yards and TDs.
Cooper makes for a risky Week 8 start.
Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders
Tre Tucker held just the third-highest target share among Raiders entering Week 7, trailing TE Brock Bowers and RB Ashton Jeanty.
But Bowers fell to a season-low 18.6% target share against the Rams' No. 2 TE defense, allowing Tucker to out-target him.
It’s only the second time Tucker has led the Raiders in targets and the first time he’s done so with Bowers playing.
Tucker also took advantage of a favorable game script, facing a deficit nearly the entire game. That led QB Kirk Cousins to throw 44 passes, his second-highest mark this season.
Week 8's matchup against the Jets doesn't appear likely to generate such favorable circumstances.
The Jets offense is accounting for the sixth-fewest points per game, limiting the chances for a pass-happy script. And the Jets D is reducing WR points 6.7%.
Tucker is a sit in Week 8.
Tight Ends to Start
A matchup against the Lions defense is as good as it gets.
T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota Vikings
T.J. Hockenson is commanding a 20.9% target share, a mark topped by only five other TEs. That comes just a season after he produced a 15.6% target share, his lowest mark since his rookie season.
Hockenson's resurgence has come with Kyler Murray, who has historically hyper-targeted his TEs.
In Murray’s last full season, he targeted the TE 34.0% of the time to lead all QBs. He also led all QBs with a 34.8% TE target share over the five games he played last season.
This week brings a Lions defense allowing more points to TEs than any other and more TE1 finishes than games played. Opponents have racked up 10 total tight end TDs, with just two of six opponents failing to score at least two.
Hockenson needs to be in your lineups for Week 8.
TEs to Sit
A production profile too reliant on TDs.
Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pat Freiermuth has yet to eclipse 50 receiving yards in a game, a mark 36 other TEs have achieved this season.
Yet he’s still managed two TE1 weeks to this point, the same amount as fellow Steelers TE Darnell Washington.
It hasn’t been because of target volume or efficiency. His 13.4% target share ranks 27th, while his 28.6 receiving yards per game rank 25th at the position.
His 0.6 TDs per game is the seventh-highest mark at the position and is accounting for 36% of his production. He’s one of just five TEs to produce multiple TE1 weeks with at least 30% of PPR production coming via TDs.
That TD-reliant profile makes Freiermuth a risky Week 8 start.
