Sneaky Starts: Week 8

Oct 27, 2016

All but the luckiest fantasy owners need to find the proverbial diamond in the rough at some point – a waiver wire or bench player capable of putting up some points in a pinch. This weekly feature is dedicated to that part of fantasy football. It's not pretty, but it's part of the game.

Jameis Winston, Colin Kaepernick, Jay Ajayi, Jacquizz Rodgers, Tevin Coleman, James White, Ty Montgomery, Tyrell Williams, Jamison Crowder, Anquan Boldin, Jack Doyle and Vernon Davis were a few of the standout Sneaky Starts from Week 7.

Let’s take a look at Week 8…

Quarterbacks

Jameis Winston (vs. OAK) and Marcus Mariota (vs. JAX) look like quality starts again this week.

Alex Smith, Chiefs (@ IND)
The Colts have yielded exactly two passing touchdowns in each of their last four games. The opposing quarterbacks were Marcus Mariota, Brock Osweiler, Brian Hoyer and Blake Bortles -- not exactly a rogues gallery of elite passers. Smith is always a threat for a low-scoring fantasy game, but he should produce in this one.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jets (@ CLE)
Geno Smith is out for the year, so Fitzpatrick presumably gets the start against the Browns. It’s a matchup play since the Browns have yielded an average of 2.8 passing touchdowns and 295 passing yards in the last four games.

Brock Osweiler, Texans (vs. DET)
Osweiler looked terrible against the Broncos (#1 QB aFPA) last week, but his matchup can’t get any better, relatively speaking, now that he’s facing the Lions (#32 QB aFPA) at home. The Lions have yielded an average of 291 yards and 2.0 passing touchdowns to Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum, Carson Wentz and Brian Hoyer.

Sam Bradford, Vikings (@ CHI)
The Bears are pretty banged up in the secondary, so Bradford and the Vikings’ passing offense should be able to get on track. Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdowns against Chicago last Thursday night, while Blake Bortles and Andrew Luck both surpassed 8.2 YPA against the Bears in Week 5 and Week 6, respectively.