🔥Monday Morning Fantasy Football Recap

National Tight End Day might be a contrived holiday invented by the fantasy football industry to make us still care about tight ends, but the position certainly went off on Sunday. All of Kyle Pitts, Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Cade Otton, Tucker Kraft, David Njoku, Sam LaPorta, Tyler Conklin, Mark Andrews, Evan Engram, Dalton Kincaid, Adam Trautman, and others scored at least one touchdown. Trey McBride had 124 yards. Even old friend Zach Ertz had 77. For one day, at least, tight ends were relevant again. Will it continue? Only time will tell. Maybe it’s time to declare this Tight End Season?

The Deep Dive Fantasy Newsletter will hit your inboxes four days a week this season and each Monday I will bring you the highlights, lowlights, injury reports, and Monday Night Football look-ahead all here in one place.

First up are the top fantasy football headlines from a wild Week 8.

🏈 Jameis Winston, the Savior of Cleveland

The Cleveland Browns could not score 20 points in any of the seven games with Deshaun Watson. Enter Jameis Winston, and the Browns defeat hated rival Baltimore 29-24 with Winston throwing for 334 yards and three touchdowns with no Amari Cooper and Nick Chubb looking incredibly rusty.

Cedric Tillman, Elijah Moore, and Jerry Jeudy all had at least 75 receiving yards and tight David Njoku caught 61 yards and a touchdown. Winston is likely to make these guys fantasy relevant all season considering his YOLO style of play.

🐬 Tua Tagovailoa Returns, Run Game Explodes

Despite Tyreek Hill’s statement that fantasy managers should start him and his numbers were about to go through the roof, it was the Miami Dolphins running backs that saw the biggest boost from the return of Tua Tagovailoa. De’Von Achane had 147 total yards and a touchdown on just 16 touches. Raheem Mostert scored two rushing touchdowns. With Tagovailoa back under center, the Arizona defense had to respect the passing game, allowing the running backs to thrive in their opportunities.

🧀 The Josh Jacobs Touchdown Regression Emerges

Despite having a massive share of the running back load in Green Bay, Josh Jacobs had just one touchdown through six weeks. After two on Sunday, he has three scores in Weeks 7 and 8 and might be leaned on more if Jordan Love’s groin injury keeps him out of games. In the Week 2 game that Love missed, Jacobs rushed the ball 32 times for 151 yards. Even with Malik Willis’ improvement as a passer, Jacobs would be the focal point in a key Week 9 divisional game against Detroit.

🎇 Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield Shoot Out Again

For the second time in four weeks, the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers got into a shootout where the quarterbacks and receivers all thrived. After throwing for more than 500 yards and four touchdowns in Week 5, Kirk Cousins threw another four on Sunday to three different receivers. Baker Mayfield matched his three touchdowns from Week 5 with another three on Sunday despite Chris Godwin and Mike Evans’ absence. It seems like Cade Otton and the running backs will be the big fantasy winners from those injuries, as they consumed 24 of Mayfield’s 50 pass attempts in this game. Cade Otton is a number one waiver priority if he is available in your league after catching nine passes for 81 yards and two scores.

😮‍💨 Marvin Harrison Jr. Managers Can Exhale

After three games in a row where Marvin Harrison Jr. TOTALED five catches for 57 yards and no touchdowns, the panic alarm was starting to sound on the talented rookie. All those concerns can be put to rest now with Harrison catching six passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. He was second on the team in targets to Trey McBride, and the passing tree is starting to get pruned to just those two with just a sprinkling of targets for everyone else. He is a safe borderline WR1/WR2 the rest of the way with several potential shootouts still on their schedule.

⚡Ladd McConkey is Now WR1 for the Los Angeles Chargers

Justin Herbert now has back-to-back games with at least 275 passing yards, and it appears as he throws more, he is starting to lock in on rookie Ladd McConkey. McConkey finished Sunday’s blowout of the Saints by matching Harrison Jr.’s six catches for 111 yards, but the Chargers receiver scored twice on two red zone targets. McConkey (45 targets) now has more than twice as many looks as any other Los Angeles wide receiver this season and has 21 targets just in the last three games.

Jordan Mason left Sunday Night Football with a shoulder injury and did not return, continuing a long string of injuries for the San Francisco 49ers. This is multiple weeks he has been in and out of the lineup and his time as a full-time player may be coming to an end soon with Christian McCaffrey due back around Week 10.

Deebo Samuel also has been battling various injuries and illnesses lately, and he left Sunday Night Football with a rib injury. After four rush attempts and four catches, it seemed Samuel was primed for a big game, but he could not finish and now we wait to see the extent of the injury early this week.

Jordan Love exited the game against Jacksonville on Sunday with what was labeled a groin injury. He did not return and now the team is saying he will have more tests to determine the severity and if he must miss any time.

Drake Maye left early in Sunday’s AFC East battle with the Jets after suffering a concussion and did not return. Considering the state of concussion protocol, fantasy managers should expect Maye to miss at least one week, with Jacoby Brissett starting in Week 9.

Stefon Diggs went down with a non-contact knee injury against the Colts on Sunday, and now the Houston Texans are waiting for tests to see if this is a meniscus, ACL, or sprain issue. If Diggs is forced to miss time for an extended period, it would be a major blow to a passing attack already without Nico Collins for at least one more week.

Brian Thomas Jr. left Sunday’s game after scoring a touchdown with what was thought to be a chest or rib injury. Initial prognostication has stated that he landed awkwardly on the ball, causing some bruising or cartilage issues, but the team will know more after the talented rookie is tested early in the week.

Christian Kirk will not play again this season after breaking his collarbone on Sunday. The Jaguars have already determined it is serious enough to rule him out for the remainder of their games this year. Depending on the status of Brian Thomas Jr., this could mean big things for Evan Engram.

Rico Dowdle did not play on Sunday Night Football due to an illness. Dalvin Cook was elevated from the practice squad to take his place, but the hope is that it is just a one-week absence for Dowdle.

Monday Night Football Play on Bleacher Nation Fantasy.

Receiving Yards: Malik Nabers OVER George Pickens (+5 Rushing Yards)

Both the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers are perfectly middle of the pack in terms of yards allowed to wide receivers, opponent yards per pass attempt, and fantasy points allowed to the position. Give me Malik Nabers in this spot even with the slight handicap because the Giants are the team who are six-point underdogs and Nabers demands a massive target share.

Trusting Daniel Jones with our hard-earned American dollars is always a risky proposition, but Pickens also tends to have roller-coaster games with his catches and yards. When healthy, Nabers has already proven he will be peppered with looks all game long.

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Here are the latest articles on 4for4.com discussing all things Week 6 in the NFL. Check back throughout the week for much more.

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Week 8 Sneaky Starts and Sleepers