A lot of teams are on bye week and you may need to fill a few holes in your lineup.

Arizona, Green Bay, Jacksonville, L.A. Rams, N.Y. Giants and Tennessee are all sitting this week out. I can already tell a lot of people will be looking for streaming options for running backs in Week 8.

Here is our Fantasy Football Sit/Start for Week 8 of the 2017 NFL season…and enjoy our weird fabulous MS Paint masterpiece of Eagles QB Carson Wentz.

I want to explain what I mean by “sit” and “start.” Of course you are going to start some of the guys i say to bench this week, because you probably used high draft picks or a lot of money in an auction for them. My ‘sit’ players are guys I am just not completely sold that they will have good weeks. If you have a guy that you are on the fence about, maybe this will help you pick between the players.

START’EM

• QB Carson Wentz (Philadelphia Eagles) – Wentz faces the lowly 49ers this weekend. I know it appeared that San Francisco completely gave up against Dallas last week, but I don’t think that was the case. Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan must have gotten the green light that his job is safe for next year, cause the dude is throwing stuff at the wall to see if it sticks. I’m assuming he will try some new stuff against the Eagles and Wentz should have a very good fantasy day.
• WR Kenny Golladay (Detroit Lions) – Golladay has been out with a hamstring injury for the last few weeks. With WR Golden Tate expected to miss this week’s game against the Steelers with a shoulder injury, Golladay is expected to return. Steelers CB Joe Haden will probably blanket WR Marvin Jones all game, so Golladay should get some targets if he plays. If for some reason he can’t go, I’d go for WR TJ Jones instead.
• RB Rex Burkhead (New England Patriots) – I know I’ve been against starting any Patriots running backs cause you never known which one will be featured. It’s starting to look like the job is being split between running backs Rex Burkhead and Dion Lewis. RB Mike Gillislee is still a factor, but his role is decreasing with each passing day. Burkhead usually gets the ball when he’s in the lineup and is being used in the red zone.
• QB Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals) – It’s a rare week when I suggest starting QB Andy Dalton. The Colts pass defense has been poor all season and will be even worse going forward with rookie safety Malik Hooker tearing his ACL and MCL last week. 
• RB Latavius Murray (Minnesota Vikings) – Murray was the Vikings running back that had the most success last week. He rushed for 113 yards on only 18 carries. This is night and day from his previous two games. RB Jerick McKinnon is still splitting carries, but Minnesota has been going with the hot hand in the second half. The Browns do have an underrated run defense, but I like Murray’s chances of having another solid fantasy day.
• New Orleans Saints Defense & Special Teams – The Saints face the Bears this weekend. If Chicago’s gameplan is anything like last week, they make it simple for rookie QB Mitchell Trubisky. The Saints hope to force the rookie to make a few mistakes. I have my money on the Saints to do just that.
• WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (Pittsburgh Steelers) – JuJu has clearly supplanted cranky WR Martavis Bryant Pittsburgh’s #2 receiver. He won’t get a ton of targets, but he has made the most of his targets the last two weeks.
• RB Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints) – Kamara is owned in most leagues, but he is coming into his own as a pass-catching running back. He is also averaging over six yards a carry the last two weeks. He’s a must-start against the Bears.
• TE Hunter Henry (Los Angeles Chargers) – The New England Patriots are quite bad against opposing tight ends. They did only allow one catch for six yards against Falcons tight ends, but they have allowed five touchdowns to TEs this season. 16+ fantasy points to tight ends in four of their six games for the Patriots defense. Henry could be in for a nice game.
• RB Jay Ajayi (Miami Dolphins) – Ajayi couldn’t get going on Sunday. He only had 51 yards on 23 carries and 26 receiving yards on three catches. He’s been dealing with a knee issue all season, but he apparently tweaked his elbow and toe last game. Ajayi has struggled against the Jets in his career. The Ravens are 25th in the league against opposing team’s running backs. They’ve allowed over 150 yards to running backs in four of their seven games. Keep an eye on injury report, but I expect him to play. 
• RB Jalen Richard (Oakland Raiders) DEEP LEAGUE ALERT – Yes, I’m listing another running back. It’s fathomable that a team could have three running backs from the list on bye: Leonard Fournette, Todd Gurley, Adrian Peterson, Aaron Jones and/or Derrick Henry/DeMarco Murray. RB Marshawn Lynch is suspended for the upcoming game, so RB Jalen Richard could be a nice start in deep leagues. He will be splitting carries with RB DeAndre Washington, but could be worth a start.

SIT’EM

• RB Theo Riddick (Detroit Lions) – I’ve been waiting for Riddick to be used more in the passing game, but it hasn’t happened. RB Ameer Abdullah is the clear starter and Riddick has been used as just a regular backup. It’s time to drop him.
• TE Cameron Brate (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – I listed Brate here last week and what happened? His backup, rookie TE O.J. Howard scored two touchdowns and lead the team with 98 receiving yards. Howard is the better blocker and overall tight end. The Bucs should use Howard more as the season goes and he’s a legit red zone target. Brate will still see plenty of action, but there are better tight end options out there.
• RB Jonathan Stewart (Carolina Panthers) – Stewart is having trouble gaining any yards on the ground. He’s only averaging 3.0 ypc and rookie RB Christian McCaffrey is a better option for QB Cam Newton to have as a check-down, pass-catching back. McCaffrey isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire on the ground either, but his value is from receiving yards & PPR.
• Denver Broncos Defense & Special Teams – Denver is owned in nearly every league, but they’ve only been an average fantasy defense this season. They’ve only scored in double-digits twice this year. They face the #1 offense in the NFL this weekend against the Chiefs. This is the week to drop Denver’s defense/special teams.
• RB Mike Gillislee (New England Patriots) – I went from talking about how running backs are hard to come by this week, to advising three drops early in this section. Gillislee is the third-best option at running back for New England. There is no need to own the third-best running back on a team…unless you’re in a monster of a deep league.
• WR Jarvis Landry (Miami Dolphins) – I’m not advising you drop Landry this week, but you should either sit him on your bench or lower your expectations if you play him. The Ravens are #2 defense in fantasy against wide receivers. Also, I’m not a fan of the unknown since QB Matt Moore is expected to start in place of injured QB Jay Cutler. There’s just better options out there this week.
• QB Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – Winston had a very good game last week against the Bills. He threw for 384 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. The Panthers have been very good against the pass the last few weeks. They weren’t really tested against Bears with rookie Mitchell Trubisky only throwing seven passes. Winston will only have an average game against the Panthers. There are just better options out there like quarterbacks Carson Wentz & Kirk Cousins.
• WR Pierre Garcon (San Francisco 49ers) – I worry the Niners change at quarterback will hurt Garcon’s fantasy stock. QB C.J. Beathard did throw to him seven times last week, but only completed five for 39 yards. San Francisco won’t be throwing as much with Beathard in the game, thus knocking Garcon down to only a flex option.
• RB Rob Kelley (Washington Redskins) – The Redskins offense isn’t potent enough to carry Kelley on your roster. RB Chris Thompson is the guy and you should cut bait and quit waiting for Kelley to become fantasy relevant this season. 

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About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.