Week 8 QB, RB & WR Rankings

Week 8 is brutal.  There is a ton of fantasy goodness missing in action this week, either via injury or the 6 teams on bye.  If you have a team filled with empty spots, you're definitely digging deep for some fill ins.  Here are my Week 8 QB, RB & WR rankings.  In the case of a Sit/Start question, start the player ranked closest to #1.

RB

1) LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia
2) Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
3) Marshawn Lynch, Seattle
4) Jamaal Charles, Kansas City
5) Frank Gore, San Francisco
6) Knowshon Moreno, Denver
7) Eddie Lacy, Green Bay
8) Reggie Bush, Detroit
9) Alfred Morris, Washington
10) Fred Jackson, Buffalo
11) DeMarco Murray, Dallas (Questionable)
12) Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh
13) Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville
14) Darren Sproles, New Orleans
15) Steven Jackson, Atlanta
16) Darren McFadden, Oakland
17) Stevan Ridley, New England
18) Lamar Miller, Miami
19) Pierre Thomas, New Orleans
20) Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati
21) Roy Helu, Washington
22) Andre Ellington, Arizona
23) Chris Ivory, NY Jets
24) Joique Bell, Detroit
25) Willis McGahee, Cleveland
26) Zac Stacy, St. Louis
27) Peyton Hills, NY Giants
28) BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Cincinnati
29) Jacquizz Rodgers, Atlanta
30) Daniel Thomas, Miami
31) Kendall Hunter, San Francisco
32) Chris Ogbonnaya, Cleveland
33) Tashard Choice, Buffalo
34) Joseph Randle, Dallas
35) Khiry Robinson, New Orleans
36) Bilal Powell, NY Jets
37) Brandon Bolden, New England
38) Montee Ball, Denver
39) Robert Turbin, Seattle
40) Anthony Dixon, San Francisco

DeMarco Murray returns this week to start for Dallas in a pretty tasty matchup with the Detroit Lions.  If for some reason Murray can't go (all signs point to him starting), bump Joseph Randle up to about #17 for workload alone.  With or without Murray, I think the Dallas RB situation is a tough one to gauge this week, but the price you paid for Murray means you're using him if you don't have 2-3 options better than him.

Call me crazy, but I think this is a week where MJD gives us an MJD-ish performance of old.  The game won't be out of hand until late in all likelihood, so I like MJD to get owners 100 yards and a score, possibly more.  He is one of those guys who produces in matchups against stout defenses.  You would normally think to sit him, but I say play him.  I think I'm the only one out there.

I wasn't super high on Steven Jackson coming into this year (He was #16 on my Final Preseason RB Rankings), but the price Jackson's owners paid to draft him makes them at least luke-warm to the idea of putting him back in.  If he's truly healthy, I like him to handle a Top 15 workload.  We'll see how much he can produce with that many touches.

If Jimmy Graham is out for New Orleans, I consider Pierre Thomas a Top 15 play and I would slide him right behind Sproles and ahead of Steven Jackson.

I really like Peyton Hillis's chances this week against the Eagles.  I think the Giants might head into their bye week with a little momentum, and maybe he's the guy who sparks it.  Either way, with the bye next week and Andre Brown's return right around the corner, Hillis has one last chance to earn an NFL job.  I think he takes advantage of it.

It's tough to predict garbage time, but I think Anthony Dixon has a chance to score a goal line TD late in a lop-sided SF win.  If you need 6 points from your RB spot, he's as good a place to find it.

WR

1) Dez Bryant, Dallas
2) Calvin Johnson, Detroit
3) Demaryius Thomas, Denver
4) Victor Cruz, NY Giants
5) Jordy Nelson, Green Bay
6) Wes Welker, Denver
7) DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia
8) Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh
9) Marques Colston, New Orleans
10) AJ Green, Cincinnati
11) Pierre Garcon, Washington
12) Eric Decker, Denver
13) Anquan Boldin, San Francisco
14) Hakeem Nicks, NY Giants
15) Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
16) Justin Blackmon, Jacksonville
17) Josh Gordon, Cleveland
18) Michael Floyd, Arizona
19) Danny Amendola, New England (Questionable)
20) Terrance Williams, Dallas
21) Rueben Randle, NY Giants
22) Golden Tate, Seattle
23) Jarrett Boykin, Green Bay
24) Greg Jennings, Minnesota
25) Stevie Johnson, Buffalo
26) Harry Douglas, Atlanta
27) Denarius Moore, Oakland
28) Brian Hartline, Miami
29) Julian Edelman, New England (Questionable)
30) Kris Durham, Detroit
31) Cole Beasley, Dallas
32) Emmanuel Sanders, Pittsburgh
33) Cecil Shorts, Jacksonville
34) Mike Wallace, Miami
35) Donnie Avery, Kansas City
36) Sidney Rice, Seattle
37) Jeremy Kerley, NY Jets
38) Lance Moore, New Orleans
39) Robert Woods, Buffalo
40) Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City (Questionable)
41) Riley Cooper, Philadelphia
42) Jerricho Cotchery, Pittsburgh
43) Doug Baldwin, Seattle
44) Leonard Hankerson, Washington
45) Kenbrell Thompkins, New England
46) Greg Little, Cleveland
47) Brandon Gibson, Miami
48) Jerome Simpson, Minnesota
49) Stephen Hill, NY Jets
50) Kenny Stills, New Orleans

Victor Cruz didn't score last time the Eagles and Giants played.  I expect him to go off on Sunday.

I'm not one of those people high on Kenny Stills because of Jimmy Graham being limited/possibly out.  I like the returning Lance Moore better than Stills, but I feel that if Graham is out, Colston, Sproles and Pierre Thomas pick up Graham's slack while Moore and Stills fight for WR2 playing time.  If Graham suits up, he may produce, but I like him as the ultimate decoy.  Either way, Marcus Colston gets off the schneid this week.

I'm low on Cleveland as a whole with Jason Campbell at QB facing the top defense in the NFL on the road, but I think Josh Gordon still has a Top 20 level chance to produce based on talent alone.  Five WRs have scored double digit points against the Chiefs this year, with four of those performances at Arrowhead.  It is possible is all I'm saying.  Campbell won't get sacked on EVERY drop back.

Cole Beasley.  Remember who is the highest on Beasley when he has himself a game this week.  I have him at 31, which is 2 spots higher than any of the ranking pros at FantasyPros.com.  I really believe this game lines up as a big time shootout, and Detroit is a kind matchup for opposing WRs, having allowed 6 different players to reach double digits in their last 4 games.  I like his chances.

I have Brian Hartline and Donnie Avery ranked ahead of their respective WR1s this week for essentially the same reason.  Hartline is a better play than Mike Wallace because Wallace will draw the returning Aqib Talib.  Avery is a better play than Dwayne Bowe because Bowe has been on the injury report all week and probably draws Joe Haden.

QB

1) Peyton Manning, Denver
2) Drew Brees, New Orleans
3) Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay
4) Robert Griffin III, Washington
5) Matthew Stafford, Detroit
6) Tony Romo, Dallas
7) Russell Wilson, Seattle
8) Matt Ryan, Atlanta
9) Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh
10) Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco
11) Eli Manning, NY Giants
12) Carson Palmer, Arizona
13) Michael Vick, Philadelphia
14) Tom Brady, New England
15) Ryan Tannehill, Miami
16) Andy Dalton, Cincinnati
17) Terrelle Pryor, Oakland
18) Alex Smith, Kansas City
19) Christian Ponder, Minnesota
20) Chad Henne, Jacksonville
21) Geno Smith, NY Jets
22) Thaddeus Lewis, Buffalo
23) Jason Campbell, Cleveland
24) Kellen Clemens, St. Louis

You know it's a bye week when Big Ben is in my Top 10.  In his last 2 games against Oakland, he has thrown for 329.5 yards per game and 7 touchdowns.  These are games from 2010 and 2012, so this is recent stuff.  Last year's game in Oakland was the highest scoring game Pittsburgh was involved in, and I look for more of the same.

Carson Palmer, you have to get it going this week.  Atlanta creates zero pressure, has holes in coverage, and isn't a great road team.  This will probably be the last time you're a viable QB1 if you don't make it happen this week.

Get a good look at Jason Campbell and Kellen Clemens being ranked because it won't happen again this season.  Both of these QBs might not make it to next week.  These are only viable starting options if you are in a 2 QB league and both of your starters are on bye.

Follow me on Twitter @BernacK6.  I answer every Sit/Start Question sent to me on Sunday mornings.