NFL Fantasy Week 8 Heroes & Villains: Danny Dimes pays off on Sunday

Week 8 is in the books fantasy fans, and that means we’ve reached the halfway mark of the season. Congratulate yourself on making it this far, and remember there are still plenty of opportunities for winning your fantasy fixtures coming up in 2019. Using your cunning, your research, your gut and sometimes whoever you can squeeze into your last roster spot out of desperation, Week 8 was another such opportunity.

Let’s share the joy and the pain on decisions good and bad as we take a look at your Week 8 Fantasy Heroes and Villains!

4 TD day for DJ#NYGvsDET | @Headshoulders

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 27, 2019

Heroes

Daniel Jones – QB – New York Giants

It’s been a rough year to be a Giants fan. Hell, it’s been a rough half-decade or so, with single-digit wins seasons, drafting and then trading away Odell Beckham Jr and watching the gradual decline of franchise legend Eli Manning. Along came Daniel Jones and his exceptional debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3, and finally some hope!

Then Jones played terribly for 4 weeks. Hope extinguished…until Sunday! Jones took the Lions D to task throwing 28 of 41 passes for 322 yards and four passing scores. It wasn’t enough for the Giants to topple Detroit (sorry Giants fans), but it helped you to a win if he was in your fantasy lineup in Week 8!

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 27: Latavius Murray #28 of the New Orleans Saints is defended by Patrick Peterson #21 of the Arizona Cardinals during a NFL game at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on October 27, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Latavius Murray – RB – New Orleans Saints

Alvin Kamara is the best fantasy running back in the NFL when Drew Brees is playing. Brees returned from injury for the Saints on Sunday, but Kamara did not. Fantasy is all about finding opportunity each week though, and opportunity knocked for Latavius Murray in Kamara’s absence against a lacklustre Arizona Cardinals rushing defence.

Murray took full advantage of being alone in the backfield, carrying the ball for 102 yards and a score and adding a whopping nine catches for 55 yards and another touchdown through the air. That’s two weeks in a row that Murray has topped 30 points in fantasy with different quarterbacks, so even if Kamara stays out for the foreseeable future, you can dial up Murray in your lineup and expect more success.

ATLANTA, GA – AUGUST 15: A New York Jets helmet sits on an equipment case during the second half of an NFL preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 15, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Ryan Griffin – TE – New York Jets

We should all know by now that the Jets offense is a fantasy wasteland. Coming off a shutout at home against the New England Patriots in Week 7, it took a brave fantasy player to plumb for any Jets skill positions on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars, especially tight end Ryan Griffin, the stand-in for injured starter Chris Herndon. Right?

I hope you were brave, because Griffin turned in the highest score of any TE in Week 8, hauling in all four passes thrown his way including two TD grabs,. He even added a 2-pt conversion just for good measure.

This is a man who had one catch for one yard last week, so any fantasy player who stuck him in their lineup this week deserved to win their matchup. And a special medal for bravery.

Ryan Griffin became the first Jets TE since Dustin Keller in 2011 to have two TD catches in a game, per @ESPNStatsInfo. #Jets

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) October 27, 2019

Villains

Kyle Allen – QB – Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers have navigated losing their starting QB Cam Newton successfully in 2019, winning all four of their games with backup Kyle Allen under centre to make them playoff contenders. Allen has been an improvement over the injured Newton, and there have been rumours of a quarterback controversy when the former MVP comes back from his injury.

Sunday will not have fuelled those fires.

Allen had gone 153 passes at the start of his career without throwing an interception, but he started to make up for that against a stingy 49ers side by throwing three picks and only completing 19 of his 37 passes for 159 yards and no touchdowns. He could play weaker opposition than the 49ers before Newton returns but that’s scant consolation if you trusted Allen as your QB this week. You have my sympathies.

Le’Veon Bell – RB – New York Jets

So, back to the Jets being a fantasy wasteland. Lev Bell is the only player you probably took a swing on from Gang Green in Week 8, and that makes sense; he’s the most talented player they’ve got and he should have been the safety valvue for QB Sam Darnold coming off a week of ‘seeing ghosts’ against the Pats D.

Bell rewarded fantasy teams with a meagre 23 yards rushing and 12 yards on three catches in the passing game. You saw more fantasy production from people named Dontrell Hill and Alexander Mattison in Week 8 so your faith in Bell’s talent alone was sorely misplaced if he was in your lineup.

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 29: Cody Thompson #83 of the Kansas City Chiefs fails to make a catch while being guarded by Ka’dar Hollman #29 of the Green Bay Packers in the first quarter during a preseason game at Lambeau Field on August 29, 2019 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Marquez Valdes-Scantling – WR – Green Bay Packers

Coming off Week 7 a couple of things were apparent about the Packers offence: 1) Aaron Rodgers is still amazing, and 2) with Davante Adams out, the top fantasy receiver for Green Bay was Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The big-bodied wideout topped 20 points last week and burned the Raiders for an impressive 74-yard TD catch. With Adams still out in Week 8, there was only one Packers receiver you could count on against a porous Chiefs passing defence.

However, stats and highlights can be deceiving. His 133 yards last week came on just 2 catches, and MVS was carrying a lower-back injury this week prior to suiting up in Kansas City. It showed as he caught just one pass for four yards in a massively disappointing outing. So long as Adams is sidelined, figuring out which Packers receiver to put in your lineup is a lottery. Your ticket was a dud if you chose Valdes-Scatling this week.