Fantasy Football Breakdown: Week 8

Audio posted October 28, 2020 in CommRadio, Sports by Austin Boley

Host Sam Kirk and analysts Logan Bourandas, Juan Mendez and Matt Rudisill dive into this week's best starts, sits and potential waiver wire additions.

Players to Start This Week

Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts had a bye week in Week 7 and appear to be well rested for their Week 8 slate against the Detroit Lions. Taylor was the second rookie running back off the board in many fantasy drafts, but lack of touches has put a damper on his overall numbers. In Week 5, he averaged 5 yards per carry but only handled 12 rushes after the Colts trailed 21-0 at halftime. Look for Taylor to explode onto the fantasy scene this week, as the offensive attack looks to be more balanced against the Lions’ subpar run defense.

Travis Fulgham, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Fulgham has been a bit of an unsung hero for the Eagles due to the crippling amount of injuries on the offensive side of the football. Over the course of the last three games, he has been targeted at least 10 times, accumulating 300 yards and two touchdowns. As the emerging WR1 in Philadelphia, Fulgham is in for a field day against the nonexistent Dallas Cowboys defense.

Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee Titans

Tannehill has to be placed in starting lineups this week, as he’s been sensational for fantasy owners over the course of the season. In the last five games, he has thrown for 1,341 yards, 13 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He fell off ever so slightly against an above-average defense in Pittsburgh, but look for him to return to form against a Cincinnati Bengals defense giving up an alarming amount of points.

Players to Sit This Week

Myles Gaskin, RB, Miami Dolphins

Gaskin has emerged as the starting running back for the Dolphins, but expect it to be tough sledding for him this week. The Los Angeles Rams come to town and bring Aaron Donald and

company to wreak havoc down in the trenches. The Rams have held opposing running backs under 75 yards rushing in each of their last five games, and expect that trend to continue on Sunday.

Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys

It’s odd placing an elite player on this list, but it’s easy to see why. The Dallas Cowboys are down to two starting offensive linemen, and they will be facing an elite pass rush from the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. On top of that, Elliott has four lost fumbles in just seven weeks of play. The Cowboys have the tendency to go down big early, forcing them to go away from the run and eating into Elliott’s numbers.

Waiver Wire

Rashard Higgins, WR, Cleveland Browns

With the disheartening news that Odell Beckham Jr. is lost for the season with a torn ACL, a player from the receiving corps will have to step up. Look for Rashard Higgins to fill the void. Last week, Higgins played on all 28 of Baker Mayfield’s dropbacks, hauling in six catches and 110 yards. He will be a hot waiver wire add this week and rightfully so.

 

Austin Boley is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email aob5378@psu.edu.

About the Contributors

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Austin Boley

Senior / Broadcast Journalism

Austin Boley is a senior from Lancaster, PA majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State. He is a play-by-play announcer, producer and writer for the CommRadio sports department. His writings include NFL division previews, NFL weekly recap, NFL Game of the Week, Heisman Watch and Penn State position previews. He has also been featured on Hail Mary, CommRadio’s Sunday NFL pregame show. He is also a contributor for “After The Whistle”,If you’d like to contact him, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Logan Bourandas

Third-Year / Broadcast Journalism

Logan Bourandas is a third-year broadcast journalism major from Long Island, NY. He is a the news director for CommRadio and the host of Ducks on the Pond, which is an all-baseball talk show on CommRadio. He is also a sports writer, broadcaster and podcaster for CommRadio. He got his start as the station manager for his high school radio station WPOB in his hometown of Plainview, NY, where he hosted numerous radio shows and was involved in sports broadcasts. You can contact him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Matt Rudisill

Junior / Broadcast Journalism

Matt Rudisill is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism hailing from Parkesburg, Pennsylvania. He is a writer and content creator for the CommRadio sports department and has contributed multiple NFL articles and podcasts as well as some MLB-related content. Along with CommRadio, Matt also writes for Onward State’s sports department. You can contact him by email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or through Twitter @mrudy26.

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Juan Mendez

Second-year / Journalism

Juan S. Mendez is a second-year student from Sogamoso, Colombia majoring in journalism at Penn State University. He is a frequent CommRadio contributor through play-by-play and production for Penn State sports, primarily soccer. As a writer and podcast member, he also contributes in covering the NFL, NBA, international soccer, college sports, and occasional music reviews. Bilingual, and with a substantially dispersed knowledge, Juan intends to work covering multiple sports internationally in English and Spanish at a professional level.
To contact Juan, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Sam Kirk

Junior / Broadcast Journalism

Sam Kirk is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State. He is a writer and podcaster for the CommRadio sports department. He is also featured weekly in the CommRadio news department on Thursday newcasts. Sam has written articles all across the board that deal with baseball, football and basketball. He is also working for a football media company called Inside the Hashes, writing articles, interviewing players and contributing to their YouTube channel.