Week 8 Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers

Week 8 Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers: As the fantasy football season continues to roll on, player value will fluctuate week to week. Based on recent production, here are some running backs and wide receivers who are trending up and some heading in the other direction.

Week 8 Fantasy Football Risers 

Kyle Pitts (TE, ATL)

There were doubts coming into the season about Kyle Pitts’ first season potential. The past fantasy performances from rookie tight ends have left owners with disappointment as these first-round prospects usually take more than a year to figure out the NFL. 

In the case of Kyle Pitts, he has completely flipped the script on that mentality. In back-to-back games, Pitts has made defenses look silly with 119 then 163 receiving yards. With Calvin Ridley having his own issues being utilized in this offense, Pitts has taken over the lead receiver role in Atlanta for the time being. 

A.J. Brown (WR, TEN)

A.J. Brown finally broke through in Week 7 with a huge performance against the Chiefs. He dominated the Kansas City defense with 8 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown. Hopefully, we see more of this in the future for Brown as his season has been pretty disappointing so far. 

Joe Burrow (QB, CIN)

The Bengals faced their first true test of the season against their divisional rival, Ravens, on Sunday. They left little in doubt as they demolished the Ravens behind the chemistry of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.

The addition of Chase to this offense has greatly improved Burrow’s game as he’s been one of the more consistent quarterbacks this season. If Burrow continues his awesome pace with Chase dominating, he should be a top 10 quarterback for the remainder of the 2021 fantasy season.

Michael Carter (NYJ)

The Jets look like a complete dumpster fire after being dismembered by the Patriots on Sunday. One of the few bright spots for the Jets was actually from their rookie running back, Michael Carter. He didn’t necessarily “wow” anybody with his performance, but he was productive. Carter finished with 11 carries for 37 yards while also managing to gather 8 receptions for 67 yards. 

His receiving work out of the backfield is a good sign for his future production as it could be ticking upward while the Jets struggle with their mid and deep passing game. With Zach Wilson expected to miss some time, expect more productive dump-offs for Carter in this offense. 

Khalil Herbert (CHI)

Coming into the Bears matchup against the Buccaneers, Khalil Herbert was almost an afterthought as the Bucs have managed to shut down all running backs they have faced this season. But, despite the Bears getting absolutely flattened in Tampa Bay, Herbert managed to produce the most productive game for a running back against this stacked Bucs defensive line. He came away with 100 yards on 18 carries along with 5 receptions for 33 yards. 

With David Montgomery’s return looming, Herbert’s value could take a huge hit in the near future. In the case of his value though, he should be the second in command behind Montgomery in this backfield as it looks like he has passed up Damien Williams. As the RB2 in Chicago, Herbert may have carved out a season-long role in this Bears offense.

Week 8 Fantasy Football Fallers

Patrick Mahomes (QB, KC)

Mahomes is an incredible quarterback but something just seems off about him this season. Prior to the game, it looked like the Chiefs had an amazing opportunity to put up a lot of points against a struggling Titans defense. But in the end, the Chiefs were dismantled as they couldn’t get anything going at all. 

Unfortunately, the Chiefs have one of the worst defenses in the NFL which is forcing Mahomes to want to win the game on his own. This has put him in the situation where he attempts risky and downright dumb plays that ultimately make the games even worse for the Chiefs. Mahomes is still a top-tier fantasy quarterback, but he doesn’t hold that top spot any longer. Hopefully, this is a wake-up call for the former Super Bowl champions because things could get out of hand for them as the season progresses. 

Darren Waller (TE, LV)

Darren Waller missed the Raiders Week 7 game with an ankle injury and his production since a monster Week 1 outing has been somewhat disappointing. After hitting 19 total targets in Week 1, Waller has failed to hit 10 targets in any of the following weeks. 

If his ankle injury was playing into these disappointing games, a Raiders bye in Week 8 should help him greatly. More productive days should be on the horizon for Waller but his stock is taking a hit just because he isn’t living up to lofty expectations.

Miles Sanders (RB, PHI)

Miles Sanders looked like he was finally receiving the workload everyone has been clamoring for and then of course he suffered an ankle injury. Luckily, the injury doesn’t seem to be as serious as it looked during the game but he could miss the Eagles’ upcoming matchup against the Lions. 

The severity of this ankle injury should determine whether or not Sanders is falling further but if Kenneth Gainwell manages to produce effectively in Sanders’ absence, the Philadelphia backfield could be even more complicated. 

Mike Davis (RB, ATL)

As Cordarrell Patterson balls out in his random 2021 breakout season, Mike Davis is seeing his value tank. In a game where Davis should’ve seen some decent action, he only received 4 carries for 10 yards while not being used in the passing game at all. 

It certainly looks like Patterson is the player to own in Atlanta as his multitool skillset serves this offense much better than Davis’. Davis is pretty much unusable now as his role has been pushed back in this Falcons offense. 

Odell Beckham Jr. (WR, CLE)

Odell is back as a faller heading into Week 8. In the past few weeks, he has consistently disappointed fantasy managers with his drops and Cleveland quarterbacks being unable to find him in open space. Odell is a big name in the NFL but he is not a name you want to own from here on out in fantasy. 

The only thing that could possibly save his season is a trade to a different team as his time in Cleveland has been nothing short of a disaster for him. If nothing happens by the trade deadline, consider moving Beckham to someone else in a package deal of sorts. If that isn’t possible, he might be a drop candidate in the future.