Full Week 8 Rankings are available now!

Tune into the latest episode of the Upper Hand Fantasy Podcast: Week 8 QB & RB Matchups! Plus, stay tuned later today for the WR & TEs episode, and make sure to check out our full rankings on our website! They’ll be updated over the weekend all the way up to our final tune up on our IG Live – join us there Sunday morning at 11 AM ET!

• Ravens WR Zay Flowers logs second DNP on Thursday with ankle injury, status for Week 8 vs CLE remains up in the air

  • Flowers was able to play through the ailment on Monday night against the Buccaneers, though he posted his least productive performance since Week 4 while watching teammate Rashod Bateman catch four passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. With two of the team’s three practices in the rearview and Flowers not participating in either, he’s officially trending in the wrong direction heading into Baltimore’s Week 8 matchup against the Browns. Should Flowers end up being ruled out in the coming hours, Rashod Bateman would receive a significant upgrade and profile as a potential WR3 against Cleveland. He’s been running a full complement of routes (86% route participation on the season) and has earned at least four targets in all games but one so far this season. TE Mark Andrews could also benefit from the absence of one of the Ravens’ top playmakers, though his utilization hasn’t changed all season and seems unlikely to change in response to what could amount to be a one-week absence from Baltimore’s top receiver. Fantasy managers likely will want to find an alternate option in the event Flowers’ status for Sunday’s game wilts. If he does play, he’ll be a boom-bust fringe WR2 given the potential for him to be limited in the game.

• Buccaneers rookie RB Bucky Irving (toe) misses practice for second-straight day on Thursday, status for this weekend in doubt

  • Tampa Bay has been hit hard by the injury bug in the wake of their Monday night loss to the Ravens, taking heavy losses both at wide receiver (Mike Evans and Chris Godwin) and now potentially at running back. The second of the three heads in the recently expanded backfield by committee, Bucky Irving is dealing with a toe injury that has held him out of both practices so far this week. That obviously doesn’t bode well for his availability this weekend, and he’s in danger of missing what’s a relatively difficult matchup on paper against the Falcons’ run defense. Should Irving miss this week, the Buccaneers backfield would be condensed to Rachaad White and Sean Tucker. Both running backs would have utility in fantasy lineups considering their abilities in the passing game, especially with the losses of Godwin and Evans looming large over Tampa Bay’s offense. Rachaad White can likely be started as a mid-low RB2 if Bucky Irving is ultimately able to go, but in the event Irving doesn’t play, White would be upgraded to a high-RB2 while Sean Tucker would be worth a look as a flex play. Fantasy managers should monitor the final injury report for the week later today, as another DNP would likely mean that Irving would miss the first game of his NFL career to injury.

• Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, WR Michael Pittman Jr., and WR Josh Downs all practice in full Thursday

  • It’s become standard protocol for the Colts pass catchers to have their ceremonial day off on Wednesday as they continue to tend to their respective injuries. Both Downs and Pittman Jr. have been opening the past few weeks without practicing on Wednesday before being upped to full practices on Thursday, and neither player has missed time as a result of their injuries on that plan. A relatively tough matchup agaisnt the Texans secondary awaits them and the low-volume Colts passing attack this weekend, which will likely keep both players from being started as anything more than desperate flex plays. The best news out of Colts practice this week, though, involves their start running back in Jonathan Taylor, who has been inactive both in games and in practices for the past three games. After logging a limited practice on Wednesday, Taylor was listed as a full participant in Thursday’s practice with one more day to go before the Colts hit the road for Houston. A full practice this early in the week all but ensures that he’ll be on the field this Sunday, and fantasy managers can start him as a solid RB2 with upside on a Colts offense that’s likely to lean heavily on the ground game.

START WITH CONFIDENCE: WR Drake London vs TB

• London posted his best fantasy performance of the season three weeks ago against the Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, catching 12 of his 13 targets for 154 yards and a touchdown (33.4 PPR Points). 

• Since a quiet week against the Steelers, London has averaged a 27% target rate, 29% target share, and 20 PPR points per game. He’s scored in five of his last six games and has ranked as a top-20 receiver in those same five games out of his last six, as well. 

• London has caught exactly six passes in each of his last six games, and he’ll have a good chance of extending that streak to seven games with the Buccaneers allowing the 4th-most receptions to WRs per game this season.

• Tampa Bay is also allowing the 6th-most receiving yards and the 5th-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers this season overall, and the most fantasy points per game to perimeter receivers over the last four weeks. London runs a majority of his routes from the perimeter.

• Not that I have to tell you, but London should be locked into lineups as a high-end fantasy WR1 this week.

BENCH: WR Diontae Johnson vs DEN

• Between dealing with a handful of injuries, the return of Bryce Young under center this week, and a very difficult matchup against Denver that could feature shadow coverage from CB Patrick Surtain, Diontae Johnson should be held out of starting lineups this week.

• Johnson’s 28% target share and target rate with Andy Dalton since Week 3 has propelled him to three top-15 finishes in the past five games. Given this elite target earning ability, he would normally be ranked as a solid WR2 play at the worst, even in matchups against strong defenses like Denver.

• However, Andy Dalton has been ruled out with a thumb injury after being involved in a car accident this week. That means it’ll be Bryce Young once again under center, a QB with whom Johnson averaged 4.2 PPR points and 6 targets per game with in Weeks 1 and 2. 

• The Broncos are a bottom-5 matchup for fantasy wide receivers in receiving yards, touchdowns, and fantasy points per game allowed. Miraculously, the Panthers aren’t projected to have the lowest implied points of the week, but are still the second-lowest at just 17.5.

• The falloff will be steep for Johnson as long as Bryce Young is taking snaps. He’ll be difficult to trust even as a flex play for the duration of Young’s stint as Carolina’s starter moving forward.