Could Cooper Kupp be on the move? 🧐

Make sure to tune in to today’s episode of the Upper Hand Fantasy Podcast! We’ll be answering questions from the community and share some of our top buys and sells going into Week 8. In the meantime, catch up with the latest episode from yesterday!

• Saints WR Chris Olave (concussion) could return to the starting lineup this week vs Chargers

  • Olave missed last Thursday’s debacle of an offensive performance against the Broncos in Week 7, but it seems like things could be trending in the right direction for the Saints’ top wideout heading into a date with the Chargers this Sunday. Of course, Olave has struggled as injuries to Derek Carr, the offensive line, and the team in general have piled up since New Orleans’ magical two-week run to begin the season. That resulted in Olave catching just three passes for 15 yards in his last two active games in Weeks 5 and 6, the latter of which he exited with the concussion in question. With Spencer Rattler at quarterback and morale draining out of the team by the minute, the outlook isn’t terribly rosy for the former first-round pick – however, with Rashid Shaheed out for the rest of the season with a peek-a-boo knee injury that caught the entire fantasy community off guard, there’s a chance that Olave could see a higher concentration of targets coming his way moving forward. Don’t get it twisted; the Saints offense is a shell of itself compared to what we saw early in the season. However, Olave can sustain himself and his fantasy value off of volume alone, and if he plays this week, he’ll likely profile as a fringe-WR2 with a low floor.

• Rams designate WR Puka Nacua to return from IR, rumors swirl about Cooper Kupp being available via trade

  • File this under ‘one piece of news we anticipated, and one piece of news we didn’t’. At long last, Puka Nacua’s 21-day practice window has opened – though it’s quite unlikely that he’s activated tomorrow night to play in LA’s game against the Vikings. HC Sean McVay had originally laid out Week 9 as a potential return date, but given the way returns from injury have gone this season, fantasy managers will likely be better off circling the Rams’ Week 10 matchup against Miami as the week to see him back out there. He’ll re-enter a Rams WR room that’s lacked any real kind of teeth in his absence. Cooper Kupp, meanwhile, had a chance to be back last week before ultimately being ruled out of the game against the Raiders. The anticipation was that he could have a good chance to re-enter fantasy lineups in Week 8, but his name has popped up unexpectedly in trade talks as the NFL’s trade dealine looms in the near future. The Athletic’s Diana Russini says that the Rams are ‘definitely’ open to dealing the 32-year old WR in exchange for premium draft compensation. The rumors are new at this point and likely won’t affect his availability this week barring a drastic escalation in trade talks, but it appears a change of scenery could be on the horizon for Kupp. In that event, Puka Nacua would become the bona-fide WR1 for Matthew Stafford.

• 49ers WR Deebo Samuel (illness/pneumonia) released from hospital, status remains to be determined for Week 8

  • Samuel was a surprise, last-minute addition to the injury report before being officially ruled out last weekend in San Francisco’s loss to the Chiefs. Up to this point, it was unclear what Deebo’s availability for this weekend’s matchup against the Cowboys would be – and for the most part, that’s still the case even after this report. However, getting out of the hospital is absolutely a step in the right direction. The 49ers could desperately use Samuel in a pivotal matchup against the Cowboys to get their season back on track after falling to 3-4 last week, especially with WR Brandon Aiyuk officially done for the year with an ACL tear. Fantasy managers should monitor Deebo Samuel’s practice status this week, as he’s been one of the most productive fantasy WRs in games where Brandon Aiyuk is sidelined. If Deebo ultimately wouldn’t play this week, TE George Kittle and WR Ricky Pearsall would be in line for additional work, as well as Jauan Jennings. It may be a few weeks until the 49ers offense is back to full power sans Aiyuk as Samuel and Jennings make their way back, but Deebo can be re-inserted into fantasy lineups as soon as he’s cleared to take the field in the coming weeks.

Sell Javonte Williams - RB, Denver Broncos

• Javonte Williams found the end zone for the first and second time this season in a complete dumpstering of the injury-riddled Saints.

• HIs utilization hasn’t changed all season. His snap share, rush attempt share, route participation and target share, and target rate were all on par with his season-long average – meaning his role hasn’t improved or gotten worse. 

• What Williams did have working for him was game script. The Saints were helpless on offense and that allowed the Broncos to jump out to an early lead and play from ahead. That allowed Williams to log his second-most carries (14) on the season and average his best yards per carry, as well (6.3). 

• The Broncos have a good matchup next week against the Panthers, but things get much more questionable after that with the Ravens, Chiefs, and Falcons on deck. On a Broncos offense that leaves a lot to be desired (and that won’t have as many touchdowns to go around on a weekly basis as there were in the Saints game), I’m looking to move the running back that needed to score two touchdowns to have his first top-15 weekly finish.

Buy Chris Olave - WR, New Orleans Saints

• Olave could be back in Week 8 after missing last week’s game and the majority of the game in Week 6 with a concussion. In the two games before that, Olave caught just three passes for 15 yards, which should have the asking price deflated with Spencer Rattler still likely to start this week.

• In five games to begin the season, Olave posted a 22% target share from Derek Carr and had three top-24 finishes. That was with Rashid Shaheed earning a 27% target share of his own as well as commanding 51% of the air yards share. Shaheed was placed on season-ending IR last week, which should open up more targets for Olave once he returns.

• Fantasy managers will want to capitalize on his very low price considering that A) the last two times he’s been on the field, he’s been disappointing and B) Derek Carr will likely miss one more week. The matchup against the Chargers is less than ideal, and there’s even a chance that Olave isn’t back until Week 9 – which could coincide with Derek Carr’s return as well. Their matchup in Week 9? The Panthers.

• There’s a good chance that Olave hasn’t been useful all year for whichever manager has him, and taking him off their hands could be easy game. Olave’s playoff schedule isn’t terrible either, with matchups against the Commanders and Raiders on tap.

Buy Diontae Johnson - WR, Carolina Panthers

• Diontae Johnson left fantasy managers hanging in a great matchup against the Commanders last week, posting his second single-digit fantasy performance in three weeks as part of a Panthers offense that has quickly lost its luster with Andy Dalton under center.

• It’s the same old story as before with Johnson – he remains an elite target earner with a 27% target share and target rate, but when your offense is barely managing a touchdown per game, that opportunity isn’t likely to translate into production.

• There’s always the chance that things can get better for Johnson in Carolina as long as Andy Dalton is under center. Johnson rattled off back-to-back top-10 finishes in the first two games with Dalton at quarterback, but things hit a low last week when Johnson wasn’t able to come through in a great matchup. The better scenario at this point for Johnson would be to be traded to an offense more conducive to fantasy production.

• Amari Cooper was a buy two weeks ago and has since been traded to the Bills, where his stock has skyrocketed. The same can happen with Johnson – and even if it doesn’t, he’s still going to be a solid enough WR2 play each week based on volume alone.