Fantasy Football: 5 Bold Predictions for Week 8
The Buccaneers Will Have a Top-12 Player at Each Skill Position
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense has been rolling this year. They've scored the eighth-most points per game this year (27.8) even after their meltdown performance against the Chicago Bears. If it weren't for how insane offensive production has been league-wide this year that number would look even better -- it would have been top five last year and top three in 2016. We're dealing with an elite offense, and that's something to target in fantasy football.
Teams usually only have one or two players you actively want on your fantasy rosters, but elite offenses can produce more. For example, this week the Bucs are going to produce a top-12 player at each skill position in fantasy: quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end.
From the top, Jameis Winston has been a top performer each week since he took over as the starter. Following their bye he was the QB1 in Week 6 and last week finished as the QB6. It's really not a stretch to declare Winston as a top-12 quarterback this week. He's thrown over 90 pass attempts in the last two weeks and his yards per attempt of 8.17 during that time is one of the highest marks in the league. That means that there's tons of volume in the passing game for Winston's pass-catchers -- enough to support multiple top finishes in fantasy football.
I can't predict which Buccaneers wide receiver will finish in the top 12, but one of Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, or Chris Godwin will this week against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals defense is allowing 6.2 yards per play, tied for the fifth-highest rate in the league. They aren't anything special, and won't be able to stop the Bucs' passing offense.
That includes the Bucs' tight ends, and specifically O.J. Howard. Howard has finished as a top-12 tight end in five weeks this season. The only weeks he didn't finish inside the top 12 were the week he injured his knee (when Cameron Brate finished as a top tight end) and during his bye week. He had a slow rookie year, but Howard has officially landed. He'll finish in the top 12 again against a defense leading the league in targets and receptions allowed to opposing tight ends.
Really, the boldest part of this bold prediction is that the Buccaneers will produce a top-12 running back. They've only done it once this season and have been pumping out the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game in the league behind a struggling offensive line. But this week the touches could be consolidated to just one back, as Peyton Barber injured his ankle late in Week 7. He practiced -- in what will likely be deemed a limited fashion -- on Thursday, but as we saw with Matt Breida last week, ankle injuries can be debilitating and difficult to play through. Second-round rookie Ronald Jones was the one getting the first-team reps in practice this week. RoJo has been pretty awful this year, but so has the Bengals' run defense, who rank fifth-worst in our power rankings. Jones will have the volume against a bad defense to put up top numbers this week.
This should be a high-scoring game, as both teams have strong offenses and terrible defenses. The Buccaneers are going to cover the tops of the fantasy leaderboards in Week 8.
