Trending Wide Receivers and Running Backs- Week 8

As we head into the mid-way point of the NFL season, much still remains a mystery with how teams will fair, based on circumstance. Injuries continue to cloud the landscape leaving the next man up a true occurrence, especially the past couple weeks.

With that said, the impending NFL trade deadline also brings great speculation which has already lifted some, while others wait to see a better situation come to fruition. There is a mere five weeks remaining in the fantasy football regular season, and finding those wins will be paramount. Let’s review this week’s edition of trending players in hopes to secure some more victories.  

Trending Up

Kenyan Drake (MIA)

Highlighting the Dolphins Kenyan Drake as a high trending player could be seen as a little far-fetched, but given the rumors floating around the league, it is warranted. Its no secret that Miami is already planning for the 2020 NFL draft, and hording picks while trading away players is the plan.

Drake has been linked to a number of teams that would be interested in his services which would ultimately rise his stock no matter the receiving club. Drake still has ample amounts of talent that has been stifled in South Florida for far too long, meaning his legs would be extremely fresh. Hearing that the Lions, Titans, Chargers, and Buccaneers could all be in the mix, a greater role with more volume is in the distance.

Understanding that this trend is contingent on a trade, we have no choice but to preach Drake here and recommend trading for his services for your fantasy team before the price sky rockets.    

Mohamed Sanu (NE)

Jumping ship from a disaster of a situation, Mohamed Sanu received a gift from above when the New England Patriots picked up the phone and made a deal with the Falcons. The Patriots have seen something of a revolving door in their wide receiver room this season, but adding the talents and consistent ability of Sanu should be felt from day one.

Over the course of his career in Atlanta, Sanu has produced very well playing second fettle to super star Julio Jones. Year-over-year, Sanu’s numbers only increased and should see a massive uptick playing with Tom Brady. Being able to play both the outside and the slot, New England will get creative in how they use him. We absolutely love this deal and believe we could see fireworks.

Ty Johnson (DET)

Obviously, this appears to be a no brainer for week eight, but to be clear, we had to place Ty Johnson on the trending up players simply because we love the skillset. While Johnson doesn’t hold all intangibles to make him a super star coming out of college, the things he does well could translate effectively in Detroit.

Quick burst and sound patience to find the open lanes are the strengths Johnson possesses, where physicality could still be a glaring question mark. Having the ability to lift this run attack will be important in how the Lions finish the rest of the season. With Kerryon Johnson sent to injured reserve, it is Johnson’s job to lose. Volume will be plentiful hence the grand review here.  

Russell Gage (ATL)

With the departure of Mohamed Sanu, the door has swung wide open for another player to take his spot. Next in line the Falcons have a couple of options on the docket that could become fantasy relevant as soon as this week. While teammate Justin Hardy looks to have the leg up on the starting role, we have a feeling about Russell Gage to out play him when given the opportunity.

The Falcons coaching staff has already provided their endorsement to this young talent, which is music to our ears. Gage has been gifted with blazing speed and holds a great level of athleticism. While his size has always been the question mark, his drive is what will make him special. We fully recommend stashing him on your bench if you can spare the room, don’t sleep on Gage.    

Trending Down

David Johnson (ARZ)

Typically, with any injury, the trend is a natural dower. The Cardinals David Johnson is again dealing with multiple injures forcing us to take pause with concern. There is no question that Johnson is still an elite talent in this league, but at the moment he can’t be a trusted start.

Last week the Cardinals duped the fantasy world leaving Johnson on the bench while playing backup Chase Edmonds, the outcome destroyed fantasy teams. Being more transparent for week eight, there is a real possibility DJ wears street clothes on the sidelines.

With his injury troubles aside, the upcoming schedule also does him no favor to promote gleaming fantasy production. Facing the Saints, 49ers (twice), Buccaneers, Rams, and Steelers in the next seven weeks, the trend down is justified.

Tyler Boyd (CIN)

When the Bengals gave Tyler Boyd his contract extension after a fabulous campaign in 2018, the speculation was a repeat performance. Granted we believed Boyd was worth the dough given, we felt this season would be a challenge for this talented pass catcher.

Heading back to the offseason, we had Boyd ranked lower than most of our colleagues for two reasons. We felt that with AJ Green back in the fold, the target share would drastically decrease as Andy Dalton would struggle with a terrible offensive line. With Green lost early to injury, it didn’t change our opinion as Boyd would see far more double teams without Green.

While target share hasn’t been the problem, endzone trips have been. Boyd should have something of a rebound after week 10, but for this week and the statistics generated from the last two, his trend is falling.   

Josh Gordon (NE)

With news that the Patriots have placed Josh Gordon on injured reserve with plans to release him, his trend could be no lower than it ever has. Upon being waived after his medical clearance, the first club that could claim his services would be the Miami Dolphins, yuck!

While some feel that Gordon isn’t the player he once was, and we could somewhat agree, the chemistry in New England just didn’t seem 100% on point. Tom Brady simply can’t support the deep pass with high regularity anymore which is a forte of Gordon’s abilities. Perhaps if Gordon can manage to latch onto a team that can support his talents, we might see one last revival of a man who would’ve been a super star for many years. At this point, the future looks grim.    

Matt Breida (SF)

This may be an unpopular suggestion for most, and we too had to rethink placing the negative word on Matt Breida this week. However, with the emergence of Tevin Coleman in this 49er offense, Breida will play a secondary role moving forward. Its not to say that we haven’t been impressed with what he’s been able to accomplish, its just the dynamics are changing in this Shanahan offense.

Since Coleman returned from injury back in week five, Shanahan has provided the lion share of the carries to him leaving Bredia to play change of pace and mop up duties. With the addition of Emmanuel Sanders from the Denver Broncos, seeing more attempts in the pass game could also be on the horizon limiting Breida that much more.

This evaluation is more of a slim trend down rather than a drastic off the radar point. He will still hold relevance, but it could be sparse at times.