Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 8: Advice for Fringe Flex Fantasy Football Starters
It's hard to believe, but the fantasy football regular season is already at the midpoint in most leagues. With 14 weeks to decide the fantasy playoff field, seven have been completed.
Some fantasy managers are in great spots with the postseason firmly in sight. Others need to make up ground and are quickly running out of time to do so.
No matter which of those groups you may fall into, everybody is still trying to win. And that means making the right lineup decisions each week in order to have success in the second half of the fantasy regular season (even if the first half didn't go as well as hoped).
Here's some start/sit advice for several fringe flex players for Week 8.
Start 'Em: Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
During the Eagles' 6-0 start, Miles Sanders' production has been a bit up and down. However, he's had a ton of involvement in the offense in each of those games, as his season low for touches is 15, and that was in Philadelphia's Week 1 win over the Detroit Lions.
Sanders has scored three touchdowns over the Eagles' past three games, and he'll be fresh coming off the team's Week 7 bye. Plus, he has a great matchup for Week 8, as Philadelphia will be hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers have struggled during their 2-5 start, and they've had some trouble against opposing rushing attacks. They're allowing the 12th-most fantasy points to running backs, per NFL.com. Sanders won't be easy to try to stop, either.
Considering the Eagles are likely to win this Week 8 matchup with ease, Sanders may get even more carries than usual as the team will put the ball in his hands to close out a probable victory. He should be a safe fantasy play with high upside this week.
Sit 'Em: Darrell Henderson, RB, Los Angeles Rams
The Rams' backfield situation has been difficult to figure out all season. And even though Cam Akers is no longer playing (with a trade likely on the horizon), that still doesn't mean Darrell Henderson is a start-worthy fantasy running back.
Henderson hasn't rushed for more than 47 yards in any of Los Angeles' six games this year. His fantasy value has been highly dependent on touchdowns, and he's only gotten into the end zone twice this season (including in the Rams' most recent game, a Week 6 win over the Carolina Panthers).
It's not a given that Henderson is going to be a workhorse back, either. In fact, it seems unlikely to be the case. Malcolm Brown remains in the mix, and rookie Kyren Williams is getting closer to a return from an ankle injury.
In Week 8, the Rams don't have a great matchup, as they're hosting the San Francisco 49ers, who rank second in the NFL in run defense (91 rushing yards allowed per game). So it's best to leave the untrustworthy Henderson on the bench this week.
Start 'Em: DJ Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers
Although the Panthers traded two of their top offensive playmakers (running back Christian McCaffrey and Robbie Anderson), they haven't dealt everybody. They still have DJ Moore, who stepped up and had his best showing of the season in Carolina's Week 7 upset win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Moore scored his second touchdown of the year in that victory, and he also set season highs in catches (seven) and yards (69). He was targeted 10 times by PJ Walker, who continues to start with both Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold sidelined by ankle injuries.
The Panthers' aerial attack should have success in Week 8, as they'll be taking on the Atlanta Falcons on the road. No team has struggled as much against the pass as the Falcons, who are allowing a league-high 306.6 passing yards per game.
So even though Moore got off to a slow start this year, he may be gaining some positive momentum. And with fewer top playmakers now on Carolina's offense, it will need to rely more on Moore moving forward, putting him back in strong fantasy consideration.
Sit 'Em: Diontae Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have been trying to get Diontae Johnson the ball quite a bit this season. However, his catch rate hasn't been great. Despite being targeted 67 times in seven games, Johnson has only 38 receptions for 337 yards.
Johnson has been held to 42 or fewer receiving yards in three of Pittsburgh's past four games. He also hasn't scored any touchdowns this season. And it doesn't seem likely that he'll break through and get into the end zone in Week 8.
A difficult matchup awaits the Steelers' offense on Sunday, when they'll be on the road against the undefeated Eagles. Johnson will likely be covered by either Darius Slay or James Bradberry, and both of those cornerbacks are strong players who will make things tough on Johnson.
At this point, Johnson can't be trusted in fantasy lineups, especially in difficult matchups. It's possible he'll eventually break out this season, but it's unlikely to happen this week.