Fantasy Football Week 8: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

Welcome to The Big Lead's weekly start 'em, sit 'em column. We are here to dig into the toughest decisions you may be facing for your fantasy matchup this week and give you answers. Some of those answers may even be right!

Presenting our Week 8 start 'em, sit 'em calls.

Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

Ekeler has been pretty bad fantasy-wise after returning from a four-week-long absence due to injury. The Chargers RB hasn't scored a TD in the last two weeks and didn't total more than 50 yards on the ground in either contest. Perhaps most concerningly he completely disappeared from LA's passing game against the Chiefs on Sunday, catching just one pass for one yard. Ekeler has been a fantasy beast for a few years due to the sheer number of touches he gets and his consistent red zone opportunities. Both have been absent since he came back. But Ekeler is going up against a cupcake defense in Chicago and his team has something to prove so there's plenty of reason for optimism. START 'EM

Darren Waller, TE, New York Giants

Waller has been a bit of a downer in fantasy land this year. Given the Giants' complete lack of receiving options and Brian Daboll's history of success with tight ends, there was hope in the fantasy community that Waller could return to his old form of a top-five option at his position. That hasn't happened because the Giants' offense as a whole has performed well below expectations. This past week gave everyone hope, though, as Waller caught seven passes on eight targets for 98 yards and a TD with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. Is their newfangled connection worth investing in? For this next week, the answer is definitely not, because the Giants will play one of the league's top defenses in the New York Jets on Sunday. Last week was an encouraging long-term sign for Waller's fantasy stock but the ship isn't going to right itself immediately. SIT 'EM

Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions

Gibbs has been a point of aggravation for fantasy football users as the No. 12 pick in the draft was brought along very, very slowly by the Detroit Lions in the opening weeks of the season-- and then he got hurt. Gibbs returned this past week, just in time for the Lions to get their doors blown off by the Ravens, but he was arguably the lone bright spot as he recorded his first TD on 11 carries for 68 yards to go along with nine catches for 58 yards. Without David Montgomery the Lions have to rely on Gibbs, whether they like it or not, and this week's contest with a downright terrible Raiders run defense could portend a huge day for the rook. START 'EM

Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

Kamara finally broke through on Sunday after he returned from a three-game suspension to start the year and put up a handful of average performances. He had 62 yards on the ground against the Jaguars on 17 carries and caught 12 passes for 91 yards, giving him an impressive fantasy total despite not scoring a touchdown. While the Saints' offense is not good by any means and Kamara's average yards per touch is still very concerning, New Orleans has a favorable matchup against a Colts defense that really struggles to stop the run and thus we continue to ride with Kamara. START 'EM

Jordan Addison, WR, Minnesota Vikings

There were some questions regarding Addison's fantasy value even after Justin Jefferson went down. The rookie wideout hadn't put up a big statline all year and managed only three catches in his first game without Jefferson. Monday night's game went completely in the other direction as Kirk Cousins found Addison seven times, totaling 123 yards and two touchdowns. Definitely a positive sign of things to come. However, one of Addison's touchdowns was real flukey and it also accounted for 60 of his 123 yards on the day. He will be a solid option going forward but we expect some regression to the mean against a good Packers pass defense at Lambeau Field on Sunday. SIT 'EM