Fantasy Football Week 8 Start Sit Decisions: Jalen McMillan and Troy Franklin start

quarterback

Starting: Justin Herbert, Chargers

The Chargers were tight on offense in the first month of the season, posting a pass rate of -10% above expectations. Herbert averaged 22.8 pass attempts and 145 yards per game during that stretch. The Chargers increased their PROE to +2% in Weeks 6 and 7.

Herbert has 73 attempts for 586 yards but just one touchdown in his last two games. Vegas projects to get back on track in the scoring and has assigned LA a team total of 24 points.

Starting: Jared Goff, Lions

The Lions have by far the highest team total on the list with 28.25 points. They face a Titans defense that ranks 20th in EPA per dropback allowed. Goff has found his way in recent weeks, throwing for 272 yards and 2.3 touchdowns per game in his last four contests. As of Week 3, he is QB1 in EPA per game and QB6 in fantasy points per game.

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Sitting: Dak Prescott, Cowboys

Prescott has taken a step back this year, ranking 24th in EPA per dropback per season after finishing second in the metric. He is the QB16 in fantasy points per game. The bookmakers are now throwing in the towel on the Cowboys for at least a week. They have an implied team total of 21.25 and are facing a top-10 EPA unit per pass allowed.

Seated: Geno Smith, Seahawks

Smith was a volume merchant under Ryan Grubb, averaging 7.1 yards per attempt on a league-leading number of throws (279). He faces a Buffalo defense that is allowing the eighth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this year. More important than the duel is the loss of DK Metcalf, who has not practiced since Friday morning and is unlikely to play on Sunday. Metcalf ranks 27th in yards per route run. He is the only Seattle receiver ranked in the top 50.

Run back

Starting: Kareem Hunt, Chiefs

Hunt entered Kansas City's lineup three games ago and has seen 65 percent of the team's appearances. He averages 23 touchdowns for 95 yards and one touchdown per game. The Chiefs have had a negative pass rate above expectations since Hunt's first start and are 9.5-point favorites over the Raiders this week.

Start: Chase Brown, Bengals

Brown completed his takeover of Cincinnati's backcourt last week by defeating Zack Moss 15-6. He has seen 55 percent of the Bengals' ball games over the last four weeks and is averaging 15.3 touches per game during that time. Brown also performs well when it comes to efficiency metrics. He ranks third in yards after contact per carry and fifth in explosive run rate.

Sitting: Chuba Hubbard, Panthers

Bryce Young is back in the lineup this week as Andy Dalton is suffering from a sprained thumb. That takes every Panthers player off the menu for fantasy purposes. Carolina has averaged 13.8 points per game in 18 career starts. The Panthers are 10.5 point underdogs this week and face a Denver defense that ranks 10th in the EPA per rush attempt allowed.

Seated: Alvin Kamara, Saints

Spencer Rattler's offense is one that no fantasy value can escape. Rattler is last in the NFL in EPA per play (min. 100 dropbacks). The Saints have scored three offensive touchdowns in two Rattler starts – one of which came from a Jake Haener pass attempt in garbage time. They are seven point underdogs against the Chargers this week. The Bolts have given up the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs this year.

Wide receiver

Starting: Troy Franklin, Broncos

Franklin, a fourth-round rookie, has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last two weeks. He ran a route on 26 percent of the Broncos' routes from Week 2 to Week 5 after not playing in the opener at Denver. Franklin has since completed a route on 68 percent of Bo Nix's dropbacks. In Week 7, he had a target percentage of 25 percent and an air yards percentage of 30 percent. Despite being a run funnel, the Panthers have given up the 12th-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.

Starting: Jalen McMillan, Bucs

The runway for McMillan's breakout game is clear with Chris Godwin ruled out for the year and Mike Evans suffering a hamstring injury lasting several weeks. These two players accounted for 46 percent of the Bucs' targets and 60 percent of their air yards. McMillan could also move to the spot after spending most of his time on the outside in Tampa Bay. Godwin dominated the Bucs' targets as their primary slot receiver and McMillan was primarily a slot receiver in college. In his final two seasons as a Husky, he ran over 90 percent of his routes from the slot.

Seated: Diontae Johnson, Panthers

In addition to the obvious decline in quarterback efficiency, the Panthers' unplanned QB change could also result in Johnson having a smaller share of available targets. In Andy Dalton's four starts, he has a target percentage of 28 percent and an air yards percentage of 47 percent. Those numbers were 23 percent and 24 percent in Young's two starts. Johnson had six catches for 34 yards in those games.

Update: Diontae Johnson was unexpectedly sidelined on Friday, so you definitely shouldn't let him play.

Sitting: Josh Downs, Colts

Every Colts receiver is a “sit” with Anthony Richardson under center. Downs averaged 9.6 PPR points in the three Richardson starts he was active in.

That already low number is almost entirely due to an 8/82/1 performance that saw Richardson exit with an injury after just four pass attempts. Both Downs and Pittman are in the WR4 ranks until the Colts make a quarterback change or Richardson improves drastically.

Tight end

Starting: Cade Otton, Bucs

When Evans went down early in Week 7, the Bucs leaned on Otton with 10 targets. He caught eight of them for 100 yards, his first game since college to reach the century mark. Otton accounted for 22 percent of the Bucs' targets and air yards compared to Baltimore. Tampa Bay ranks ninth in the NFL in pass attempts and third in completions. Now playing a much larger role in this passing attack, Otton is pushing for a TE1 ranking this week.

Start: David Njoku, Browns

Njoku appeared to be close to the full strength we've seen all season in Week 7. He ran a route on 84 percent of the Browns' dropbacks and posted a 28 percent target share. Njoku converted his 14 targets into 10 catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Now he gets a massive quarterback upgrade in Jameis Winston for Week 8.

Sitting: Tucker Kraft, Packers

There are worse options than Kraft when it comes to tight ends, but given his modest role, he's unstoppably hot in both yards and touchdowns. Among tight ends, Kraft ranks 14th in targets and 30th in air yards, but 10th in receiving yards. He has one end zone finish and four receiving touchdowns, the second most at his position. Kraft has put up top-5 fantasy numbers, but looks more like a lower-end TE1 based on his usage metrics.

Seated: Zach Ertz, Commander

Jayden Daniels did not practice this week and is unlikely to play. That leaves Marcus Mariota in the starting role against a Chicago defense that leads the NFL in EPA dropbacks allowed. They rank 22nd in fantasy points allowed to tight ends and have conceded two TE1 games this year. Ertz's involvement in Washington's offense is good, but fantasy managers should wait until Daniels returns to treat him as a starting option.