Fantasy Football Week 8 Sleepers: One of the most underrated TEs in fantasy football could be available in your leagues

The Week 7 fantasy football sleeper site delivered a mediocre result. JuJu Smith-Schuster’s case quickly disappeared with an early injury, and even though Drake Maye clicked, we paired him with the wrong pass catcher. Cade Otton (TE5) was the best pick of the week and Noah Fant (TE15) was somewhat useful.

Now we’re at Week 8, with one obvious caveat; There are no byes on this list. Hopefully your roster is filled with multiple slam dunk options, as you’ll want to hit the hits whenever possible. But we want to continue to add more depth on a weekly basis and know that some of the players listed below will be useful in deeper formats.

Here’s a look at some Week 8 fantasy football sleepers to consider:

WR Rashod Bateman at the Browns (41% on roster)

Bateman is finally entering his fourth season after going on a 12-250-2 binge over the last three weeks. Unfortunately, he will likely have to do it with modest volume, having only managed 16 goals in that period. Perhaps Zay Flowers won’t be at 100% after last week’s ankle injury, which could push Bateman into a more prominent role. And the Browns’ pass defense has been leaky most of the year, the fifth-best matchup for opposing wide receivers.

WR Jalen McMillan vs. Falcons (42%)

It’s not clear how the Buccaneers will respond to the gigantic losses of Chris Godwin (season) and Mike Evans (multi-week), but McMillan is a plausible starting point. He’s well-suited to the position Godwin thrived at, and the Bucs missed nine opportunities for McMillan last week, even though they only yielded 26 yards. Managers from deeper leagues might look to Sterling Shepard (Baker Mayfield’s college teammate) or Trey Palmer, but considering how most teams try to attack Atlanta through the slot, McMillan’s skill set and pedigree are what draw my attention first .

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TE Hunter Henry vs. Jets (38%)

I’m surprised Henry hasn’t completed this column yet, but he’s still below the 50 percent threshold we use for qualification. The Jets defense has good stats defending tight ends this year, but has been vulnerable in recent weeks – the Bills and Steelers combined for a 13-149-1 tight end line in their last two games against New York. Perhaps this is cheating since we’re allowing four different players to factor into this statistic, but Henry’s play over the last two weeks speaks for itself: 14-133-1, finishing TE8 and TE6. He has quickly become the target Drake Maye trusts the most.

WR Cedric Tillman vs. Ravens (11%)

Although Tillman went a stunning 8-81-0 on 12 targets last week, much of the action came early in the game – only two of Jameis Winston’s 11 targets were on Tillman. Still, the pair managed to connect on a 25-yard reception, and I don’t have much confidence in the other receivers in Cleveland’s lineup. The Ravens have given up the second-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, so don’t worry about the matchup.

RB Braelon Allen at the Patriots (37%)

This is a deep league game and a vote on the possible flow of the game; The Jets are seven-point favorites at New England and easily handled the Patriots in Week 3. New England is also a funnel defense – stingy against the pass but leaky against the run. Allen’s role has been limited over the last two weeks, so don’t sign up for that angle unless you see a comfortable win for New York. Allen has performed well in wins this year, scoring two goals and averaging 12.5 touches in those two games.

QB Bo Nix vs. Panthers (19%)

Nix begins with a solid result from its rapid production; In five of his starts this year, he has rushed for more than 60 yards or scored a touchdown. And while it’s hard to say how much Nix will do as a passer, Carolina’s terrible defense has been equally inept against the run and the pass. The only big concern in Nix’s fantasy projection here is the idea that the Panthers might not move the ball — no one wants to see Bryce Young again — and could allow the Broncos to win this game with a vanilla offense. Still, Nix’s athleticism and ingenuity as a runner must be respected.

RB D’Ernest Johnson vs. Packers (6%)

This move is strictly tied to the status of Travis Etienne Jr. (hamstring injury); If Etienne fits, fantasy managers can’t take a chance on Johnson. But if Etienne is out, consider two things: the Packers will likely control the game against Jacksonville, and the Jaguars don’t trust Tank Bigsby as a pass catcher and pass protector (two career catches). A negative game script could result in Johnson catching multiple passes and racking up a ton of fantasy points.