Is this a safe space? Can I vent for a bit? Nothing went right for me in week eight. Every take I had was wrong, every start-sit decision I made was wrong, and even worse, every start-sit decision I helped people with was just flat-out wrong. This was one of the tiltiest weeks I have ever experienced. But it’s time to dust ourselves off and get going on week nine. After all, week nine is (mostly) done, and it’s time to look forward. But, before we do that, let’s take a look back at three questions that (might actually) have answers coming out of the week eight slate.
Is Woody Marks an RB2 Now?
Woody Marks finished week eight with 111 total yards on eleven carries and four catches. This gave him double-digit PPR points for the third time in the last four games. It also marked the third time in the previous four games that he out-produced his backfield mate, Nick Chubb. Marks jolted onto the scene four weeks ago with 119 yards and two touchdowns, and followed that up with a woeful 7/24 effort the following week. We sat on that for a whole week through his bye, where DeMeco Ryans said that Marks was his passing downs back, and that he played a lot because there were a lot of passing situations.
Well, that didn’t flesh out with the last couple of games. Marks has 21 carries in his previous two games and has pitched in nine targets, as well. That’s coming out to a cool 15 opportunities per game, with half of those coming today… in a game that the Texans dominated. That tells me the Texans do not see Marks just as a “passing downs” back or a back who gets his opportunities while they are trailing. He has at least 15 opportunities in three of his last four games, which makes him a weekly set-and-forget RB2 or flex in most fantasy football leagues.
Is Chimere Dike Gaining Flex Viability?
Chimere Dike finished week eight with a team-leading eight targets (tied with fellow rookie Elic Ayomanor). Still, unlike Ayomanor, Dike came through for those bold/desperate enough to start him this week, finishing with seven catches for 93 yards. It’s his second-straight game as the team’s WR1, after he posted four catches for 70 yards and a score last week. This is back-to-back weeks with over 15 PPR points for the rookie, and that’s something that you can’t ignore. Most of you probably don’t know Dike, so I dove back into my rookie notes to give you a quick rundown of the kid:
“Dike is interesting because if you don’t look closely, you could see shades of Puka Nacua in his game. He makes strong and contested catches in traffic, bodying defenders to haul in his targets. But as soon as you start to pick things apart, things become a problem. He primarily benefited from schemed clear-out routes or from finding space by looping between levels against zone defenses, unless he used his 4.34 speed to run past the defense. Florida used his strong hands to work him downfield, getting chunk gains. Unfortunately, he had a massive drop problem (17 drops per PFF) and is an unreliable target. There’s nothing super intriguing about his game if you do anything more than watch a highlight reel. He drops the ball, he has no change of direction, doesn’t vary his play speed, doesn’t do anything much after the catch.”
But, there’s a huge plus here for Dike: the shades of Puka Nacua. He is quickly becoming Cam Ward’s favorite target, after the Titans left Ward floating through a highly unreliable wide receiver room all season long. Dike and Ward found a connection, and because of this, he is a must-add in all PPR leagues and should remain PPR viable throughout the rest of the season.
Is Dallas Goedert a Must-Start Tight End?
Dallas Goedert scored two touchdowns this week, on just three targets. This marks Goedert’s sixth and seventh touchdowns in the last six games, since he missed week two with an injury. Barring an extremely crazy outcome to both Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football, this will mark the fourth time in the last six games that Goedert finished inside the top ten at the position. He’s also finished below TE17 just once this season (last week), which might have left people with a bad taste in their mouths.
This isn’t a fluke, either. I wrote about Goedert in my Philadelphia Eagles preseason rundown, and it’s a straightforward equation: if he plays, he scores fantasy points. Unfortunately, he has missed or left just under 30% of his games since the league expanded to 17 games. In his full games last season, he played on a TE5 pace. He also led the Eagles in receiving yards in the playoffs last season, making him a core part of the team.
The answer to this question is simple: yes —if Dallas Goedert plays, then you play him.
