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Quarterbacks
1. Aaron Rodgers 34.1 FPs (GB vs. JAC) –Not only does Aaron Rodgers project to score SEVEN more points than any other player (or defense) this week, three of the Packers’ wide receivers rank in our top eight overall. Rest of Season Fantasy Rank: #1 Overall/#1 QB
2. Peyton Manning 27.1 FPs (DEN vs. NO) – Manning is coming off of a bye week and gets a chance to take on the worst ranked pass defense in the league in the Saints on Sunday night. ROS Fantasy Rank: #7 Overall/#7 QB
3. Michael Vick 25.5 FPs (PHI vs. ATL) – Vick is also coming off of a bye week in this case to host a Falcons’ team that has struggled at linebacker and with big plays on the ground. Vick should set his season high in rushing yards. ROS Fantasy Ranking: #3 Overall/#3 QB
Breakout Candidate: Matt Hasselbeck 20.7 FPs (TEN vs. IND) – This may be the last week that Hasselbeck in usable in fantasy football, but he should reward owners with a strong outing. ROS Fantasy Rank: #201 Overall/#35 QB
Must Avoid: Matt Ryan 18.3 FPS (ATL @ PHI) – Philadelphia leads the league in pass defense efficiency and should have its best pass rush of the season so far as DL coach Jim Washburn better integrates his aggressive philosophies into the gameplan coming out of the bye. ROS Fantasy Rank: #6 Overall/#6 QB
Running Backs
1. Willis McGahee 17.9 FPs (DEN vs. NO) – McGahee has 98+ total yards in four of his six games this season and is averaging 15 fantasy points/game. ROS Fantasy Rank: #25 Overall/#2 RB
2. LeSean McCoy 16.6 FPs (PHI vs. ATL) – See Michael Vick above. ROS Fantasy Rank: #26 Overall/#3 RB
3. Chris Johnson 15.2 FPs (TEN vs. IND) – Losing goal-line carries to Jamie Harper is concerning and he is only the twentieth ranked running back the rest of the way so he will not always be a startable back, but Johnson is a must start against a porous Indianapolis run defense. ROS Fantasy Rank: #66 Overall/#20 RB
Breakout Candidate: Jonathan Dwyer 10.6 FPs (PIT vs. WAS) – Technically, Dwyer broke out last week with 122 yards rushing against Cincinnati, yet he is still owned in less than 35% of fantasy leagues (I picked him up in all of my leagues this week) and ranks as a top 20 play at the position this week (it does not look like Isaac Redman or Rashard Mendenhall will play). ROS Fantasy Rank: #201 Overall/#47 RB
Must Avoid: Alex Green 7.9 FPs (GB vs. JAC) – Not only is he coming off of an embarrassing 20 carry, 35 yard rushing performance, it looks like Randall Cobb (our #8 WR) will be featured more out of the backfield going forward. ROS Fantasy Rank: #123 Overall/#30 RB
Wide Receiver
1. Brandon Marshall 14.9 FPs (CHI vs. CAR) – Marshall has been targeted on a league-leading 35.1% of his team’s passing targets. ROS Fantasy Rank: #32 Overall/#9 WR
2. Jordy Nelson 14.5 FPs (GB vs. JAC) – Despite missing a couple of practices during the week, Nelson, who has back-to-back 100+ yard receiving days with at least a touchdown, should get healthy with big performance against the Jaguars. ROS Fantasy Rank: #46 Overall/#12 WR
3. James Jones 13.4 FPs (GB vs. JAC) – While Nelson has had the break out games the last two weeks, Jones has been more consistent with at least six targets in each game and six TDs in the last four games. ROS Fantasy Rank: #77 Overall/#20 WR
Breakout Candidate: Josh Gordon 9.1 FPs (CLE vs. SD) – After a ten target week last week, Gordon is not just the Browns’ big play receiver (though he has four TDs in the last three games). ROS: #140 Overall/#41 WR.
Must Avoid: Julio Jones 8.0 FPs (ATL @ PHI) – See Matt Ryan above. ROS Fantasy Rank: #79 Overall/#19 WR
Tight End
1. Rob Gronkowski 10.0 FPs (NE vs. STL) ROS Fantasy Rank: #91 Overall/#3 TE
2. Heath Miller 9.9 FPs (PIT vs. WAS) ROS Fantasy Rank: #107 Overall/#5 TE
3. Jimmy Graham* 8.8 FPs (NO @ DEN) ROS Fantasy Rank: #78 Overall/#2 TE
Breakout Candidate: Jared Cook 7.1 FPs (TEN vs. IND) ROS Fantasy Rank: #193 Overall/#19 TE
Must Avoid: Martellus Bennett 6.1 FPs (NYG @ DAL) ROS Fantasy Rank: #179 Overall/#15 TE
Kickers
1. Dan Bailey 10.0 FPs (DAL vs. NYG) ROS Fantasy Rank: #2 K
2. Sebastian Janikowski 9.9 FPs (OAK @ KC) ROS Fantasy Rank: #1 K
3. Greg Zuerlein 9.6 FPs (STL vs. NE) ROS Fantasy Rank: #12 K
Breakout Candidate: Ryan Succop 8.9 FPs (KC vs. OAK) ROS Fantasy Rank: #13 K
Must Avoid: Justin Medlock 4.2 FPs (CAR @ CHI) ROS Fantasy Rank: #29 K
Defense
1. San Francisco 49ers 15.1 FPs (SF@ ARI) ROS Fantasy Rank: #3 DEF
2. Chicago Bears 14.5 FPs (CHI vs. CAR) ROS Fantasy Rank: #1 DEF
3. Green Bay Packers 12.7 FPs (GB vs. JAC) ROS Fantasy Rank: #15 DEF
Breakout Candidate: San Diego Chargers 11.0 FPS (SD @ CLE) ROS Fantasy Rank: #11 DEF
Must Avoid: Pittsburgh Steelers 3.3 FPs (PIT vs. WAS) ROS Fantasy Rank: #10 DEF
Injuries to Watch
1. Jimmy Graham As a transcendent athlete at the tight end position, Jimmy Graham was a first round draft choice in many leagues. He is a top two player at his position for the rest of the season. Graham is also dealing with an ankle injury that some thought may rule him out for up to six weeks when he injured it. Pay close attention to his status for this early Sunday game.
2. Questionable Starting RBs Trent Richardson, Rashard Mendenhall/Isaac Redman, Ahmad Bradshaw and Donald Brown have all been limited in practice this season and are each iffy to play. Their backups are (in order) Montario Hardesty, Jontahan Dwyer, Andre Brown and Vick Ballard. Interestingly, any of those nine is worth playing/starting in fantasy this week IF he is expected to be the team’s feature back for the team’s upcoming game. Continue to monitor, as none of these players is startable in a committee approach (which may happen for Cleveland, Pittsburgh and/or New York).
3. Out Starting RBs DeMarco Murray and Maurice Jones-Drew are relatively new running backs that are “out” this week. Felix Jones, Murray’s backup for the Dallas Cowboys, is the #15 RB on our board for Week 8. Rashad Jennings, Maurice Jones-Drew’s replacement in Jacksonville, is our #21 RB. Also note that Arian Foster (Rest of Season #1 RB), Ray Rice (ROS #4 RB), C.J. Spiller (#7 RB), BenJarvus Green-Ellis (ROS #26 RB) and Fred Jackson (ROS #31 RB) are on bye this week.
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NFL Picks Pages:
October 25: Predictalator Picks
October 28: Predictalator Picks Paul's Analysis
October 29: Predictalator Picks Paul's Analysis
Play Analyzer - View Updated Picks on Current Consensus Lines
Customize the Predictalator - Play the Games with Any Lines
Buy Picks