FAABulous Football Week 8: Look Guys No Byes!
Welcome to Week 8
Honestly, this week feels tough to collect all of my thoughts and parse through… so many things occurred drawing a range of emotions from anger and frustration to joy and karmic satisfaction..
We saw Mike Evans reel in his 100th career TD pass before grimacing in pain on another attempt soon after, seemingly aggravating the hamstring injury that kept him questionable all week.
This devastation was surpassed only by the heartbreaking end to Chris Godwin’s career season where a suspected hip drop tackle broke and dislocated his ankle in a gory enough fashion that the network opted not to show a replay with less than a minute remaining. This injury will end Chris Godwin’s season before he is set to hit free agency in 2025.
Then we saw yet another ACL tear end the season for Brandon Ayiuk, whose holdout this year has been a failed endeavor in itself for fantasy.
And of course nothing is complete without another achilles tear to end the season of a quarterback, but this time many felt karmic satisfaction. However, many live fans took this a step too far.. cheering when the injury occurred. I don’t pretend to like Deshaun Watson as a person, but celebrating an achilles tear still feels wrong, and I greatly respect Jameis Winston’s response to the situation.
Then there was the frustration with several instances of players who were sick and activated for the game to either leave early or not play, bringing into question how teams should report injuries with so much being fueled by the betting and fantasy markets.
But don’t worry, of course the running backs smashed, seemingly constructing all the top scores of the week from a who's who of my top fantasy fades. Maybe this was appropriate for the week highlighted by the return of the prodigal running back son and famed best pure runner in the league with Nick Chubb.
We also saw the fantasy debut for two blockbuster trades come to fruition in Amari Cooper and Davante Adams. The Cooper addition immediately led to increased pass rate for Josh Allen. While Adams, despite being showered with best friend targets, failed to turn them into efficient fantasy production. I’m sure Aaron Rodgers will have another buddy to bring into the picture from Green Bay to fix the problem… here you guys can have Mike McCarthy, my present to you as a Cowboy’s fan.
Yes, Week 7 was one full of highs and lows, but now in Week 8 there are no teams on bye and most of our top waiver priorities are at the wide receiver position in lieu of these injuries.
All stats and data for this article are pulled from Fantasy Life, PFF, ETR, and Stealing Signals.
A Look Back at Week 7
Week 7 Waiver Wire Wins
When I say “wins” it is in reference to the player(s) won on the waiver wire, not a performance evaluation. Because I am releasing this article after the conclusion of Week 7, many things, in hindsight, may not be a win after all. I include this section not for bragging rights or victory laps but rather to keep myself accountable and demonstrate that I am, in fact bidding on many of the players I am writing about (for better and worse).
Several of the top waiver options were not available or right for teams’ roster needs. I included these players I did not win any shares of as well ones along with the winning bid range I saw these players go for in other leagues.
Troy Franklin (5 shares)
Winning bid(s): $1, $1, $1, $1, $2
Price range won in other leagues: $21
Sean Tucker (4 shares)
Winning bid(s): $201, $251, $258, $279
Price range won in other leagues: $133- $352
MIA Def (2 shares)
Winning bid(s): $1, $1
Price range won in other leagues: $14
Drake Maye (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Price range won in other leagues: $75- $150
D’Ernst Jonhson (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $59
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $107
Pierre Strong (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $67
Noah Brown (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $3
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $122
Jalen Coker (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Gabe Davis (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Price range won in other leagues: $9
Ray Davis (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $717
BAL Def (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $11
Price range won in other leagues: $2- $26
LAR Def (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $16
WAS Def (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $7
Bo Nix (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $16
Andy Dalton (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $37
Tua Tagovailoa (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $6- $58
Matthew Stafford (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1
Trevor Lawrence (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $9- $21
Aaron Rodgers (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $12- $112
Justin Herbert (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1
Daniel Jones (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $2
Dameon Pierce (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $52
Kendre Miller (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $61
D’Onte Foreman (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $3
Audric Estime (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $85- $213
Tyler Goodson (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $9- $179
Kenneth Gainwell (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $5
Marshawn Lloyd (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $86
Rasheen Ali (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1
Miles Sanders (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $3
Cam Akers (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $15
Christian Watson (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $786
Demario Douglas (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $175
Bub Means (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $7- $194
Rashod Bateman (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $86
Devaughn Vele (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $15
Kayshon Boutee (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $2- $5
Ricky Pearsall (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $50
Elijah Moore (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $17- $54
Joshua Palmer (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $58
Keon Coleman (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $9
Alec Pierce (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1
Justin Watson (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $2
Grant Calcaterra (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $2- $87
Theo Johnson (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $12
Ja’Tavion Sanders (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $50
Noah Gray (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1
Will Dissly (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $2- $34
Noah Fant (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $11- $37
Colby Parkinson (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $78
Jonnu Smith (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $7
Will Reichard (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $5- $34
Jason Myers (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $8
Joshua Karty (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $5
Cameron Dicker (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $11
Austin Seibert (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $4- $23
Jake Bates (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $5
Tyler Bass (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $28
Harrison Butker (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $27
Blake Grupe (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $11- $12
Brandon McManus (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $5
Evan McPherson (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1
CIN Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $3- $31
KC Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $76
NO Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $3- $21
MIN Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $74
NYG Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1
GB Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $20
DET Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $27
BUF Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $58
Week 7 Ship Chasing Team Standings
FFPC Main Event Teams
Live A Little (2-5) 11th Place 907.30 pts
The mini episodes team emerged with a narrow victory this week thanks to the running back duo of Breece Hall and Kareem Hunt and best Jags WR Brian Thomas Jr. on the back of the Rams defense.
Top 2 Win It Win It (2-5) 11th Place 901.80 pts
This team fell victim to Deebo Samuel flu game combined with some of the only running backs to have disappointing weeks in Dobbins and Tracy. On the bright side this team had two tight ends that scored well in Brock Bowers and Mark Andrews.
We Just Don’t Know (3-4) 10th Place 917.30 pts
Brutal doesn't even begin to quantify the disappointment of this loss by less than 1 point. The guys were begging for one more Flowers or Andrews catch, but the Ravens were determined to close out the game on the back of Derrick Henry instead.
Tree Branches (5-2) 5th Place 978.20 pts
This team epitomizes the duality of the fantasy experience in that it emerged victorious on the back of the big dog Derrick Henry.
Hear Ye Hear Ye (1-6) 11th Place 865.85 pts
Another week and another disappointing loss for this team. The Texans put up a real stinker this week as CJ Stroud and Tank Dell combined for 6.2 fantasy points.
@CrakRok (5-2) 5th Place 980.65 pts
The CrakRok team came back strong this week thanks to a phenomenal fantasy and real life performance from Jahmyr Gibbs. Rookies Brian Thomas Jr. and Brock Bowers helped too and counteracted the dud by Devonta Smith.
Dairy Queen (4-3) 6th Place 896.70 pts
I took this loss pretty hard this week as I correctly chose to start Hunter Henry over Sam LaPorta just to fall victim to every other trap of the week. Tyrone Tracy was the worst start of my three running back options while we chose the wrong Ram's wide receiver in Jordan Whittington. Then there was Dionte Johnson stinker and of course we didn't know ball as Wicks went off for a usable score from the bench. Oh and I dropped Juan Jennings last week and Jayden Daniels got hurt... yes this was not a fun week to say the least.
Cavish (3-4) 2nd Place 1001.35 pts
The other Vegas live drafted team had a very different experience finishing with an easy victory after the Javonte Williams break out performance. This team continues to get stronger every week and is getting hot at the right time.
FFPC $5000 Big Payback Teams
Leone HS1 (2-5) 12th Place 791.95 pts
I cannot begin to describe how bad of a week this team had... five players who scored less than five points. Then another player who scored 5.9 pts, topped of with a quarterback who scored 6 points... I think you get the picture.
Leone HS2 (4-3) 5th Place 986.80 pts
I am very thankful that one of these two teams has shown improvement over the season. This team reigned victorious over another team who ironically sport a Levitan/Silva 2024 political image... the ultimate battle of man v machine, and we saw the spreadsheet socialist take home the title in this one.
Week 8 Waiver Priorities for FFPC
Below are all the players I like for Week 8 for FFPC leagues. I break down all players into tiers with FAAB suggestions, followed by analysis and a list of players to consider dropping.
This article is also intended to provide value for those of you who play in deeper league formats and dynasty leagues.
Please note with a drop list, you do not have to drop these players and all suggestions are general as it is impossible to cover all nuances of individual leagues.
