Week 8 Starts of the Week
Last week our starts of the week were solid. Daniel Jones was QB4 with 32.80 points. Christian Kirk finished as WR15, and Zeke put up two touchdowns and finished as RB12. Tyler Conklin stunk. We have another group of starts for week 8, below.
Tua Tagovailoa is our start of the week at quarterback. The Dolphins get the Lions this week, who give up the fourth most points to the quarterback position on the season. Tua bounced back from his absence for 265 yards and a touchdown last week against the Steelers. Tua is QB6 according to ECR, and we believe he has the upside to finish ahead of that ranking.
Tony Pollard is the low-hanging fruit for the start of the week at running back. Zeke is set to miss this week’s contest, and the duo is averaging 25 opportunities per week (targets & rushing attempts). Chicago is additionally giving up the eighth most fantasy points per game to the running back position. They have given up at least one touchdown in every game since week one, except for week four, when Saquon put up 165 scrimmage yards.
Travis Etienne is another start of the week for us since Pollard is such a layup. The situation is similar, as Etienne has also lost his backfield running mate, James Robinson, after he was traded to the Jets this week. The tandem averaged 28.3 opportunities per game so far in 2022, and Etienne has averaged 6.2 yards per attempt. He has been efficient all year and showed the ability to break huge plays last week. Etienne should be a smash play this week, and a target to acquire in trades if his owners’ team needs help.
DJ Moore is our pick at wide receiver, despite the fear that it brings us. Moore definitely has the individual talent; we’ve seen him be a top-ten receiver in the past. The offense in Carolina has been dreadful this season. The good news is Christian McCaffrey (20% target share) and Robbie Anderson (15% target share) are both gone via trades. Last week, Moore saw a massive 47 percent target share in week seven, seeing ten total targets. Next on the team saw three. Moore should be in for another high-volume role this week and should outperform his ECR ranking of WR21.
Zach Ertz has been a solid tight end for Arizona all season. They play Minnesota this week; the Vikings are giving up the 2nd most points to the tight end position since week 4. Ertz will be heavily involved in the offense, as he has been all season, averaging 7.8 targets per game. Ertz should be a solid play this week (and next week versus Seattle).