Week 8 Flex Options (Fantasy Football)

Welcome back to another weekly installment of my Flex Options article! As always, I'll talk about some names that fall outside the starting range (RB 1-24, WR 1-30) in the Fantasy Footballers Rankings that I think could bring starting value to your fantasy team this week. Of course, there are no sure things in fantasy, especially when it comes to players in this range, but you should feel comfortable putting these guys in your lineup knowing that they have a good chance to help your team this week . Let's get into it.

Managers may have been hesitant to start White last week after he suffered a foot injury that prevented him from moving into a backfield that had become a three-man committee in Week 6, but no one should be nervous about starting him this week to fire. He posted his best stats of the season and finished the week as the RB6, largely thanks to his work in the passing game. With Mike Evans leaving the game early due to injury, White enjoyed a good target rate, converting his six targets into six grabs for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Chris Godwin also appears to be out for the season with an injury he suffered late in the game, so White should continue to see targets in a Buccaneers offense suddenly lacking other weapons. Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker will still be in the game, but White outperformed both in the last game and is more of a pass catcher than the other two defenders. The Bucs could be in catch-up mode this week against Atlanta, so White seems like a good flex option with a high receiving floor.

In Week 6, Allen finally broke through with his new team, albeit against a very weak Jacksonville defense. Luckily for us, he faces another poor defense this week in Washington, who has allowed 3.1 points above expectations to wide receivers. Allen has become increasingly involved in the offensive game plan since the start of the year with some injury setbacks, and Bears quarterback Caleb Williams appears to be coming into his own as an NFL player, throwing for 532 yards and six touchdowns in his last two games. Allen will face target competition from DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet, but let's hope the veteran wide receiver continues his red zone relationship with his young QB and finds the end zone again in a plus matchup this week.

Tolbert seems to have fallen off the fantasy radar since the Cowboys' bye last week, but it wasn't long ago that he was among the hot waiver wire pickups after posting 18.2 fantasy points against in Week 5 the Pittsburgh Steelers had scored. Brandin Cooks is still out with an injury, so Tolbert should enjoy a solid outing as the Cowboys' WR2 in a game in which they are four-point underdogs to San Francisco and expect to see them drop a fair amount of passes. If the Cowboys can get anything going on offense at all, Tolbert will be a good flex player this week and have a lead in the top 20.

Hmm, Tyler Lockett is once again exceeding fantasy football draft expectations. Lockett hasn't seen fewer than six goals in a game since Week 2, and this game at home against the Buffalo Bills should be no exception. The Bills' defense has been better on the ground than through the air this season, but if their secondary has a weakness, it's over the middle of the field where Tyler Lockett thrives. They can let Lockett play again this week and hope Buffalo gets on Seattle early to force them into a more pass-heavy game plan.

If you really want a flex game in a deeper league this week, you can take a shot at one of these Browns receivers in the hopes that Jameis Winston does Jameis Winston things and for a boatload of yardage (and probably a few interceptions ) throws. It also helps that their opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, is a great opponent for fantasy WRs, scoring 7.0 points above expectations so far this season. You may have to borrow a pair of Mike's patented titanium briefs, but these two guys will be out on the field running routes and giving Winston plenty of goals.