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Jordan Wilkins was explosive and shifty in Week 8, while Jonathan Taylor was anything but. He simply can’t get in gear against NFL talent yet. It’s more trouble that Nyheim Hines is such an effective receiver for Philip Rivers’ game. It’s getting harder and harder to project Taylor to take over the backfield when he’s getting cannibalized so violently.

J.K. Dobbins turned 15 carries into 113 scoreless yards in Week 8. The rookie was patient and exhibited great vision against a sturdy Pittsburgh front, once again showing great efficiency on the work he was given. That’s been a theme of Dobbins’ play all year, no matter how limited his role. He’s top 5 among qualified running backs in True Yards per Carry, Breakaway Runs, and Yards per Touch.

Should Mark Ingram, listed as doubtful with an ankle injury, sit out this week, Gus Edwards and rookie J.K. Dobbins will likely share the workload. Though Edwards has been good when given the opportunity, it is Dobbins’ time to shine. The future lead back of the Ravens will get his first chance to be the man in the Baltimore backfield, and will do wonders with it.

Dalvin Cook has had an up and down week, injury-wise, but he will be good to suit up for the Vikings come Sunday. The running back situation in Seattle isn’t quite as clear. Both Chris Carson and Travis Homer are game time decisions, leaving the possibility that rookie DeeJay Dallas will lead the team at the position. At 5-10 and 217-pounds, Dallas doesn’t quite have the speed that one would hope; but he is a productive runner and fits nicely in the Seattle scheme.

The Chiefs are solid against the pass, ranking No. 5 in Defensive Passing DVOA. The Jets are also massive 19.5-point underdogs, which is actually good for their receivers. They should get down big in the first half and get to operate in garbage time for much of the contest. Denzel Mims will command the lion’s share of those looks without Jamison Crowder sponging up targets in the slot. He also has massive upside given his athletic profile, and you can’t beat that at near-minimum pricing.

The Seahawks should be able to stymie the 49ers rushing attack, meaning Jimmy Garoppolo will be airing it out against this non-existent pass rush and banged-up secondary. That means Brandon Aiyuk will operate as the WR1 in the best game environment and matchup on the slate. His price may seem a little high on DraftKings, but he’s severely underpriced on FanDuel. If he picks up some of the PPR-friendly “tap” passes that Deebo Samuel was dominating, he’ll be a smash on both sites.

The most dominant running back in the NFL today, Derrick Henry is No. 1 since 2018 with 3,262 total rushing yards. So far in 2020, Henry averages 28 carries and 117 rushing yards per game on the road. Coupled with Cincinnati’s inability to stop the run, ranking No. 28 and allowing 113 yards per game, Henry is a smash on Sunday.

In 2020, Russell Wilson has surpassed 310 passing yards in four games. Though in 16 career games against San Francisco, Wilson has never thrown for over 260 yards. Wilson will again be asked to “cook” against a battered 49ers defense. While PlayerProfiler’s No. 2-ranked cornerback Jason Verrett takes on D.K. Metcalf, Jamar Taylor is manning the slot and is ranked No. 110 among cornerbacks. Expect the Tyler Lockett connection to stay hot on Sunday. 

Marquise Brown last appeared in this article series entering Week 5. He proceeded to post his best game of the season, catching six passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Hollywood’s success is highly contingent on Lamar Jackson connecting with him on the deep ball. He’s a boom and bust wide receiver that will look to catch a couple of deep balls against a Steelers defense that just got shredded by A.J. Brown.

Someone get Darnell Mooney a quarterback! The precocious rookie wide receiver is No. 7 among all qualified wide receiver in Unrealized Air Yards. He has just missed several big plays in the receiving game, including a would-be 96 yard touchdown last week. With Allen Robinson looking unlikely to play, Mooney will be the de facto WR1 for Chicago in Week 8 against the Saints. With even more opportunity likely headed his way, Mooney should finally realize some Air Yards.

Since Dak Prescott’s devastating injury, Amari Cooper has not topped 62 Air Yards in a game, and now third-string rookie Ben DiNucci is the starting quarterback. With DiNucci under center, the Cowboys have the second-fewest Implied Vegas Points (18.00) this week. Darius Slay ranks in the top-10 with 9.4 (No. 5 among qualified cornerbacks) Yards Per Reception Allowed and 5.8 (No. 8) Yards Per Target Allowed.

Volume is key to fantasy production, but Keenan Allen’s -29.2-percent (No. 97) Target Premium, 7.27 (No. 48) Target Accuracy, and 81.6 (No. 81) QB Rating When Targeted reveal that he benefits more once he has the ball in his hands rather than catching longer passes that defenses fear. While he may see the same target volume he’s become accustomed to, Bryce Callahan’s 1.20 (No. 5) Fantasy Points Allowed Per Target will make it a disappointing performance.

Coming off a No. 4 finish at his position on a Bengals team averaging 46.0 (No. 2) Team Pass Plays Per Game, and with a league-leading 293 pass attempts, Joe Burrow is a suitable bye-week replacement for Deshaun Watson or Kyler Murray. Tennessee’s defense ranks No. 17 in DVOA and has allowed at least two passing touchdowns to signal-callers in every game since Week 2. You can do worse than Burrow.

A bet on Denzel Mims this week is a bet on talent. Mims finally made his pro debut last week, totaling a 97.8-percent Snap Share, seven targets on 26 routes run (26.9-percent Target Rate), and four receptions for 42 yards. The Jets average 37.7 (No. 12) Team Pass Plays Per Game, while the Jets-Chiefs implied point total sits at 49 AND the Jets are 19.5-point underdogs. This indicates the potential for a decent amount of scoring and that the Jets will have to pass to keep up.

Brandon Aiyuk has a 97.5-percent (No. 15 among qualified wide receivers) Route Participation rate and has drawn six (No. 18) Red Zone Targets. He has displayed impressive ability as a runner on jet sweeps and in Yards After Catch, where he ranks No. 24 at his position. He draws a dream matchup in Week 8 against a Seattle team that has been historically bad against the pass and has surrendered the most fantasy points to wide receivers. Fire him up at a reasonable $5,800 on DraftKings.

The top two receivers for the Jets, Breshad Perriman and Jamison Crowder, are likely to miss Week 8, so Denzel Mims will operate as the WR1 against the Chiefs. He will be peppered with garbage time targets with the Jets being massive underdogs in this one. With 4.38 speed, he is capable of beating a defense for a big play, a key trait in a good tournament play. This pick can easily go south, but at $3,200 it would be a mistake to not get Mims into some Week 8 lineups.

Coming off a bye and carrying the fourth-highest Weekly Volatility score (14.1), Justin Jefferson offers a massive ceiling at low projected rostership. In a divisional showdown against the Packers with the chance for fireworks given the 51.5 over/under, it’s a potential smash spot for the rookie. His $6,500 salary on DraftKings doesn’t reflect his potential for another blowup game, and his rostership projects to be lower than 10-percent.

Henry Ruggs faces a Browns secondary that hemorrhages fantasy points to wide receivers. Cleveland allows +13.63 fantasy points above the mean to the position, the second-highest mark in the league. Ruggs’ boom-bust volatility hasn’t peaked yet, evidenced by his modest 7.8 (No. 30 among qualified wide receivers) Weekly Volatility score. Still, gamers won’t want to miss out when he hits for 6-150-2 and melts faces on his way to winning tournaments.

While Davante Adams’ offense ranks in the bottom-half of the league with a 36 (No. 22) Team Pass Plays Per Game average, he outpaces every other receiver in the top-12 with a dominant 33.8-percent (No. 1 among qualified wide receivers) Target Share. Averaging 11.5 (No. 1) targets per game, even in a low-volume pass offense, it’s clear Adams will remain a top-3 receiver for the rest of the season.

In response to the #LetRussCook movement, Tyler Lockett has led the charge among Seattle pass-catchers. While he and D.K. Metcalf are one of two duos to enter the top-12, Lockett commands the higher Target Share. This receiving corps is a consolidated passing tree, with Lockett and Metcalf accounting for nearly 50-percent of Russell Wilson’s pass attempts. Combined, the duo also accounts for nearly 70-percent of the team’s Air Yards Share.