Fantasy football 2023: Three players to buy low, three to sell high in Week 8
As we enter Week 8 of the 2023 NFL season, your fantasy team may be lacking consistent scorers and/or depth. Now is the time to continue making moves (through waivers and trades) and build a strong championship squad.
With that in mind, here are three fantasy players to buy low and three to sell high.
BUY LOW
All of us who play fantasy can agree that counting on players coached by Arthur Smith to generate points in our game is the absolute worst. However, it seems Robinson’s unexpectedly limited participation last Sunday against the Buccaneers (11 snaps and one carry) does not indicate long-term unreliability. Robinson was merely not feeling well. In Week 6, Robinson played a career-high 64 snaps and was taking full control of Atlanta’s backfield. Provided last week’s issue does not linger, his workload will bounce back versus the Titans in Week 8. If you can trade for Robinson on the cheap now, you should take full advantage.
A lingering hamstring injury suffered in Week 1 has kept Jones off the field for most of the season. He played against the Broncos in Week 7 but saw only eight carries in 23 snaps. Whatever Jones’ availability and production look like in the immediate future, the Packers’ offense is struggling and desperately needs to lean on Jones’ playmaking ability moving forward. Jones played fewer than three full quarters before exiting the opener but still had a rushing and receiving touchdown in that game to put up 26.7 fantasy points. Once Jones is back to his typical workload, fantasy managers who traded for him at a discount are going to be thankful they did.
Joe Burrow’s calf injury, plus some bad drops on Higgins’ part and a cracked rib of his own, helped lead to an ugly start to the season for Higgins. However, prior to the rib injury on Oct. 1, he had at least eight targets in each of his first three games, including a huge Week 2 performance in which he came down with 89 yards and two touchdowns. Burrow is likely closer to full health after the bye week, and we are now almost four weeks removed from Higgins’ injury. The 24-year-old receiver is way too talented — and his quarterback is too good — for him to not put up better fantasy numbers moving forward.
SELL HIGH
It only took six games, but Harris finally found the end zone in Week 7, giving him a solid fantasy day. Now is your chance to trade him away for another player with actual upside. Harris has had exactly 14 carries in each of the last three games. That just isn’t enough of a workload for a running back who is not being utilized in the passing game and doesn’t receive consistent opportunities around the goal line. On top of that, his upcoming schedule is not favorable for fantasy RBs — he faces the stingy Jaguars, Titans and Browns in three of the next four weeks.
Waddle has been a very mediocre fantasy producer this season, but you should still be able to trade him away for much more than he is worth, due to name value. Waddle has had fewer than 65 receiving yards in each of his last four games and has yet to hit 100 receiving yards in a game in 2023. Not only is the production lacking this season, he also is dealing with a back injury, the latest malady in a career that has included multiple injuries. I foresee Waddle scoring in a similar range to a WR like Tee Higgins throughout the remainder of the season, and there is a strong chance you can trade Waddle for Higgins plus another starter-worthy asset.
Yes, Kittle has had two good fantasy games over the last three weeks. However, he also has had 30 or fewer receiving yards in four games this year, including three games with fewer than 20 yards, while scoring in just one contest. His two good performances aside, Kittle has scored 1.9 points and 1.1 points in two games over the last month. That is unacceptable for his fantasy draft cost. Kyle Shanahan seemingly refuses to use Kittle on a consistent basis, sinking your fantasy team’s chances. There are likely fantasy managers in your league who are desperate for a viable TE and will pay up for a guy like Kittle, whose name value likely outpaces his actual fantasy production.