Crimes to upgrade and downgrade

In today's Fantasy Life newsletter, presented by Bleacher Nation Fantasy:

Removing a link can cause a chain to break. Adding it back can make it shine Justin Jefferson's Bling. That's the theme for Week 8 in the NFL.

It started on Thursday evening. The return of cooper Kupp And Puka Nacua made the Rams offense strong and empowered Matthew Staffordwho passed for four touchdowns after just three in the first six games.

The biggest link in the Dolphins' chain is back. Tua Tagovailoa passed the concussion protocol and is back after missing four games. It's a huge improvement, especially for the offense Tyreek hill And Jaylen Waddle. The Dolphins scored 40 points in games without Tagovailoa.

Deshaun Watson was the weak link in the Browns' offense and is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. Jameis Winston will start for Cleveland and is an upgrade on offense.

The Panthers' chain is broken. Bryce Young is back at quarterback with Andy Dalton is out due to a thumb injury. Young passed for 161 yards and 84 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions in his two starts this season and will face a strong Denver defense with no touchdowns on the road Diontae Johnson And Adam Thielen. It does too Chuba Hubbard a risky start.

Baker Mayfield went from being one of the top fantasy quarterbacks to being a risky quarterback against the Falcons this week. Chris Godwin is canceled for the season and microphone Evans will be out for several weeks due to a thigh injury. The landscape changes daily and you can stay up to date with our latest rankings.

What else is in today's newsletter?

1. Round table week 8: What's going on in New Orleans?
2. Water cooler: A Halloween twist…

Week 8 Expert Roundtable: The State of the Saints…

from Cooterdoodle

For this week's roundtable I'm bringing Peter Howard (aka @pahowdy) from DLF; Fantasy life Jake Trowbridge; and my own home league commissioner, Robert Fairley.

Let's get into it:

• The New Orleans Saints officially suffered their fifth straight loss in Week 7 after being defeated by Sean Payton's Broncos. (ew)
• As a Fantasy Life Saints fan, I don't want to overreact here… But I'm starting to think the Saints will NEVER win another game as long as I live!

Oh, right. So my questions:

Is there hope for this offensive to move forward in 2024?

Jake: I stand before you now to proclaim loudly and in all caps: I STILL BELIEVE CHRIS OLAVE. I know we're all grieving the loss of Shaheed – admittedly some of us more than others – but the silver lining is that he should cement Olave's place at the top of the receiving hierarchy once and for all. Boys like boy Means (92% route participation in week 7) and mason Tipton are interesting side dishes for the Saints, but Olave should be the main course. (And Derek Carr I'll just have to deal with it when he gets back.)

Pahowdy: From a football perspective? No idea. I highly doubt it. But I'm just a fantasy player, not a coach. For the purpose of our fantasy life, Alvin Camara is still a weekly start.

About 10 players per year score in double figures above baseline (or, for simplicity, over 19 PPG in PPR as a non-QB). I think we currently have around 12 players Alvin Camaras The RB9 weighted opportunity rating (plus he's generally the best player the Saints have at any given time) should keep him very effective week in and week out.

From a dynastic perspective, I would caution against this Rashid Shaheed was the best player in a weak group. Shaheed's “stock” is probably exaggerated in the dynasty. The Saints roster needs work and that will tarnish its value and performance over time as the team adds new weapons and plays with the QB position, which will lead to further increases in value for the 26-year-old. This isn't a good year to dwell on the breakouts at the WR position, as it feels more like 2015-2017 than 2014.

Robbing: Is there hope? Yes, in the fantasy football sense. It's not every day that your team is decimated by 30+ injuries to your roster. Alvin Camara is still a focal point of this offense and continues to be used in all game scripts. If healthy, Derek Carr could lead the Saints to a more efficient unit under Klint Kubiak (see Weeks 1 and 2). And I still want to make room for it Taysom hill and his outstanding TE credentials in a season where finding a reliable TE each week is a nightmare. Keep an eye on it too mason Tipton continuing his important role as Shaheed's replacement (I miss you so much, rn). The should Open up the offense…as long as someone can get the ball close to him.

Click here for all of our sortable Week 8 expert rankings!

TRACK! Should we just start streaming the defense against New Orleans for the time being?

Robbing: I would stream some defenses (not the Panthers!) against the Saints. Just don't spend all your FAAB on a DEF like some people in our home league do! (Cooterdoodle says: This is a personal attack. To be clear: I would overpay and screw up my FAAB for Denver's D again if I had to. NO REGRETS!)

Jake: If you want to stream the defense against New Orleans at the same time Spencer rattlesnake stays below the middle, I have no problem with that.

More questions before week 8

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