The midway point of the season is officially here. Carlos Hyde being moved to Jacksonville, Sony Michel’s gruesome leg injury, and other details from Week 7 are leaving fantasy managers with plenty of issues. We are here to help this week so you can dominate your Week 8 matchup and have plenty of success.

News/Notes-

LeSean McCoy(Bills) has entered the concussion protocol after an awkward fall on his head in the loss against the Colts.

Sony Michel(Patriots) suffered a knee injury that took him out of the team’s win against the Bears. Luckily, an MRI revealed no major structural damage was done to his knee. Michel is considered week to week at the moment.

Carlos Hyde(Jaguars) was traded from the Browns for a fifth round pick, pointing to the fact that Fournette will be missing some more time. Hyde and T.J. Yeldon should split carries in Fournette’s absence.

Amari Cooper(Cowboys) was traded from the Raiders to the Cowboys in exchange for a first round pick. Cooper should be the number one weapon on the Cowboys when they come out of their bye week and Oakland’s number one receiver will be Jordy Nelson.

Deep Waiver Targets Week 8

Joe Flacco: Joe Flacco has had the Ravens’ offense on a roll through the midpoint of the season. The long-time Baltimore QB threw for nearly 300 yards on Sunday with two touchdowns and 0 interceptions in the heartbreaking loss against the Saints. Flacco may come out from time-to-time and goal line tries could go to rookie Lamar Jackson as a redzone score went the way of Jackson on Sunday. Regardless. Flacco is the main man in the offense, and we believe that if you are in need of a quarterback this week, Flacco could definitely fill the QB1 spot on your fantasy team.

Raheem Mostert: Matt Breida had a disappointing Week 7 with just 15 rushing yards and a fumble as he didn’t spend too much time on the field due to his ankle. Instead of giving the ball to veteran Alfred Morris due to Breida’s injury, The 49ers went to Raheem Mostert as he played a big role in the 49ers offense for the second week in a row. With 78 yards from scrimmage, Mostert was used in both the rushing and the passing game in their loss to the Rams and will definitely be getting more work with Breida’s health as an uncertainty. Look to pick up Mostert if you have room for him as he may take over the starting role in the Golden Gate City in the near future.

Tre’Quan Smith: Drew Brees and the Saints have looked really good all season long, as Brees has set the all time passing yards record and threw his 500th touchdown in the past three weeks. Playing a major role in this is star receiver Michael Thomas and, Ted Ginn’s absence, rookie Tre’Quan Smith. Smith had a breakout night on Monday Night football two weeks ago posting 111 yards and 2 touchdowns on just three receptions. With that being said, three receptions isn’t a lot as the Saints have been turning to their run game more with the return of Mark Ingram, but being the number 2 receiver with Drew Brees as the quarterback definitely has a lot of upside. We advise you look for Smith on waivers and pick him up if you need a wide receiver or a flex.

Chris Herndon: Sam Darnold and the Jets have been using the tight-ends a lot more in the offense than in the past few years (2016 just 7 receptions by tight-ends all year). The main man in redzone for Darnold in the past two weeks without Enunwa: Chris Herndon. In Herndon’s past two games he has scored at least once as well as putting up 56 yards against the Colts two weeks ago and 41 yards against the Vikings. Rookies Darnold and Herndon have looked in sync these last two games and if you are struggling at the tight-end position as many people are this year, we believe Herndon could be a waiver wire solution.

Start/Sit-

QB-

Start- Andy Dalton and Derek Carr

Dalton struggled against the poor Chiefs defense and it was a surprise to many people. Dalton has always struggled in prime time games and luckily his matchup against Tampa is not in prime time so we think he can have a bounce back week. Carr is not our first choice especially with Cooper being shipped of to Dallas but with many teams having bye weeks and Carr playing a Colts team that is not good defensively and has played well on offense, Carr should have plenty of opportunities to throw the ball.

Sit- Cam Newton and Blake Bortles

Newton saved his week with an excellent fourth quarter against Philadelphia. Now he goes up against the stout Ravens defense in a game we expect to be a defensive struggle. Newton’s ceiling this game is not very high. Bortles was benched last week. Do we have to say more in telling you to not start him as this game coach Doug Marrone said “he will have a short leash” this week in London.

RB-

Start- David Johnson and Kenjon Barner

We never thought at the beginning of the year that you would have to be playing matchups with David Johnson. He has struggled this year with a poor offensive line and terrible play calling. The Cardinals fire the offensive coordinator after the embarrassing loss to the Broncos on Thursday and QB coach Byron Leftwich is taking over. Hopefully he will provide Johnson some nice opportunities to run the ball in this plus matchup against San Francisco. Barner is the Patriots’ third string running back but if Michel misses the game he will get touches against the terrible Bills defense.

Sit- Aaron Jones and Kenyan Drake

Jones is showing promise for the rest of the season as his workload continues to increase since coming back from his suspension. But this week he comes up against the Rams who have been great on defense and offense this year. Rodgers is going to have to be throwing a lot meaning Ty Montgomery would be in and Jones would be out. Drake had a great week with 72 yards and a touchdown but he only got six carries. If his touches do not increase he will not be able to consistently put up points.

WR-

Start- Jordy Nelson and Tyler Boyd

Nelson is the only man left in Oakland. He may be old and not have what he used to but what other options does Derek Carr have. Boyd struggled last week but that was because of Dalton’s problems playing in prime time. Boyd should bounce back with Dalton this week.

Sit- DeSean Jackson and Devin Funchess

Jackson saved his week with a rushing touchdown but did not do great through the air. This is because Winston does not use him. Without Fitzmagic, Jackson is not a great player to play. We think Newton will not play this week meaning his wide reciver Funchess will also probably struggle.

TE-

Start- C.J. Uzomah and David Njoku

We think it’s safe to say that the Tampa Bay pass defense is flat out struggling to the point where if you have a receiver or tight-end going up against them…it’s a must start. Not to mention C. J. Uzomah’s increased role in the passing game in Tyler Eifert’s absence. As for David Njoku, he has made a great connection with rookie QB Baker Mayfield as he has recorded at least 50 yards and a touchdown in his last two games and will be going against a defense that gives up the 3rd most points to opposing tight-ends. These two should definitely be in your starting lineup for Week 8.

Sit- Kyle Rudolph and Jordan Reed

These are two names where at the beginning of the season you would be probably scratching your head trying to figure out why we would ever sit them. Well…midway through the season, and both of these players have just not been producing to their expected levels. Even Jordan Reed going against the Giants with one of the worst defenses in the NFL, we expect backup tight-end Vernon Davis to find the endzone more as he did last week against Carolina. With Reed losing time to Davis and Rudolph having just one reception against the Jets, we would leave these players on your bench if you can find a better option.