Week 8 Pass Catchers Report: Elderly Appreciation Week

D.J Chark totally crushed us last week, posting an absolute dud for the second week in a row. He is the only player in the NFL to have at least 18 targets over the last three weeks, yet fail to score at least 20 PPR points. Since week 5, Chark has been outscored by Irv Smith, Jalen Guyton, and Marcus Johnson. We’ll look to get back on track here in week eight. 

Here’s how we have fared this season: 

Last Week’s Performance

• Stock Up Players: -1.76 points over season PPR PPG.
• Stock Down Players: -6.68 points under season PPR PPG. 

Season Long Performance

• Stock Up Players: +3.51 points over season PPR PPG.
• Stock Down Players: -7.63 points under season PPR PPG. 

Just as a reminder, here’s what I mean by stock up, and stock down. 

• Stock Up: Simply, they should outscore their season average points per game in their next few matchups and make for a good play in DFS.
• Stock Down: The opposite of stock up but the same concept. They should produce below their seasonal points per game average and are not a good play in DFS. 

Stock Up

Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers| DK: $5,800, FD: $5,900

Brandon Aiyuk is ready to absolutely smash against a hapless Seattle Seahawks pass defense. In the last three weeks, he has devoured a 42% air yard share, and now the 49ers will be without Deebo Samuel due to injury. While Deebo’s absence won’t help Aiyuk much in the air yard category as Samuel has just 52 air yards on the season, Aiyuk will see a couple more targets due to Samuel’s absence. This is also the best possible matchup for Aiyuk as the 49ers take on the Seahawks. The Seahawks have allowed 60 PPR points per game to opposing wide receivers, which is the most in the league by quite a bit. On top of that, the Seahawks top cornerback Shaquill Griffin will be out for this game, which leaves Quinton Dunbar and Tre Flowers to man the cornerback position. Dunbar has allowed over 15 PPR points in his coverage in two of the three games he’s played this year. Flowers has actually been worse than Dunbar, allowing over 100 yards in the two games where he played over 30% of the snaps, per PlayerProfiler. 

Richard Rodgers, TE, Philadelphia Eagles | DK: $5,300 FD: $5,300

It's elderly appreciation week, and we are playing Richard Rodgers in all formats! Richard Rodgers is the last man standing in the Eagles tight end room, with both Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz nursing injuries. Rodgers actually performed better than Ertz in his absence, totaling more PPR points in week 7 than Ertz has in any single game this season. He commanded a 20% target share in a tough matchup against the Giants and now he faces a Big 12 defense in disguise, the Dallas Cowboys. His competition for targets is minimal as well. The only other tight end to play a snap last week was Hakeem Butler (remember him?), and Desean Jackson went down with another injury to clear up more opportunity for Rodgers. The only concern I have is Dallas’s ability to keep up with the Eagles, as this game could be over by halftime. 

Stock Down

Greg Ward, WR, Philadelphia Eagles | DK: $3,900, FD: $5,700

Greg Ward is nearly a free square on DraftKings, but I’m still not buying. He has a low ceiling, operating as a possession receiver in the Eagles offense with an aDOT of 6.1 in the last three weeks. Since week 5, he has commanded just 7% of the air yards and 12% of the targets, but his fantasy production has remained afloat due to two touchdowns. Also, the return of Jalen Reagor will further suppress his production and upside. I’m a huge Reagor truther and I’m expecting him to command at least 5 targets a game going forward. All of this leads me to say that I am out on Ward in any and every format. 

Los Angeles Rams Wide Receivers 

The Rams wide receivers are turning into a complete fade for me. The Rams had had the 7th highest pass rate in the league last year, but that has completely flipped this year. They currently rank 31st in pass rate, which has led to plenty of low ceiling games for Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods. Also, the Rams have brought Josh Reynolds into the mix as a solid WR3. In the last three weeks, Woods, Kupp, and Reynolds have 20, 23, and 17 targets respectively with Josh Reynolds leading the way in air yards and red zone usage. No Rams wide receiver has topped 75 receiving yards since week 3 and Cooper Kupp is the only receiver to have one game over 20 PPR points. That game was back in week 3 against the Buffalo Bills. The introduction of Josh Reynolds to the mix combined with a low-volume passing game has created a fantasy nightmare for the Los Angeles Rams wide receivers. In season long, I am looking to sell Woods and Kupp if you have any buyers.