Baltimore Ravens

Fantasy Football: 5 Players Ready For A Big Week 8

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:48 p.m. ET

foxsports

Jan 13, 2013; Foxboro, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) catches a pass out of bounds while defended by Houston Texans inside linebacker Barrett Ruud (54) during the first half of the AFC divisional round playoff game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The football weekend Is upon us: Here is a look at the best fantasy football options this week:

The Baltimore Ravens have a bye week which means that their fans have more time to devote to fantasy football. Fantasy football is actually a great distraction right now. The Ravens four game losing streak has us in a bit of a mood. Football is supposed to be fun, so let’s dive in!

The great benefit of a bye week is that there is anxiety free football. That is, unless your fantasy team is in a nail bitter. Since we know Ravens fans have been through enough turmoil in the last several weeks, we’re here to help you out.

Here are the five players that will light the fantasy football world on fire this week. They will help you get a win in week eight.

Oct 23, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill (32) carries the ball against the Cleveland Browns in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

5. Jeremy Hill

Jeremy Hill had a solid game in week 7 and I don’t expect him to slow down in week 8 against the Redskins poor run defense. Hill had 168 rushing yards and 1 touchdown against the Browns on 9 rushing attempts.

A few more solid running games by Hill and he could be the starter, instead of Giovani Bernard’s backup. If at any point in the next few weeks Bernard struggles, Hill will be ready to take over the starting job for good.

Hill should be able to rack up over a 100 rushing yards against the Redskins. Before the Baltimore Ravens abandoned the run altogether, Terence West was running all over the Redskins defense. In this match up you have a team that can’t stop the run going against a hot hand.

Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

4. Michael Crabtree

Michael Crabtree has been a scoring machine in fantasy this season, well except for Week 6. He’s been fortunate to be on a team with Derek Carr throwing him the ball and Amari Cooper as the other receiver on the Raiders.

Crabtree has always been a great athlete going back to his time at Texas Tech. However, he dealt with injuries and a lack of supporting cast in San Francisco. Now that the Raiders have one of the most talented offenses in the league, Crabtree is finally living up his potential. That potential made him the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.

He’s projected to get around 10 points this upcoming week, which is about his season average, but I expect him to have a monster game against Tampa Bay. Look for him to get 10 receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

3. Devontae Booker

With C.J Anderson out for a few weeks, Devontae Booker has now been bumped up to the starting RB. We saw a lot of Booker on Monday night and I liked what I saw. Booker is a powerful runner. The Broncos must’ve known something because Booker was drafted in the 4th Round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Utah.

On Monday night he was running hard and seemed to gain around 10 yards per carry. With a full game, I expect Booker to exceed 100 yards with 1 touchdown. Booker was one of the most exciting players in the country during his time with the Utah Utes.

Against the Texans, Booker ran for 83 yards on 17 carries. Just think, those numbers will increase with him starting his first full game in the NFL. His future is bright now that he’s been bumped up to the starter for the Broncos and I’ll be looking forward to see what kind of numbers he puts up this Sunday.

Oct 23, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) celebrates a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half at Heinz Field. The Patriots won the game, 27-16. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

2. Rob Gronkowski

Gronkowski always seems to get 15 points per game in fantasy, and I don’t see that stopping him this week. The Patriots play the Bills on Sunday which should be a great game.

I can’t see the Patriots losing and Gronkowski getting less than 10 fantasy points. My guess is that he’ll end up between 15-22 points this week. Gronkowski is a great player to have in fantasy football. He always does well (providing he is healthy) and sometimes he can carry your whole team.

Since coming into the league when healthy, Gronkowski has been a dominant player. Sometimes it’s hard to cover him one on one. Even if you double team him, Tom Brady will either find a way to get it one of his many other weapons on offense.

Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

1. Matt Forte

Last week Forte had a solid game against the Ravens. He was instrumental in the Jets comeback victory.

If it weren’t for Forte, the Jets wouldn’t have been able to overcome the early 10 point deficit against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7. Now the Browns have played every team tough, but Forte is the secret weapon of the Jets offense.

He’s a duel threat out of the backfield. He can run the ball and catch the ball which not every running back can do these days. He’ll be the spark in the Jets offense as Fitzpatrick is going to continue to struggle.

Forte has always been a great player, especially when he was with the Bears. In 8 seasons with the Bears, he ran for 1000 yards in 8 of them and never rushed for less than 850 in the 3 seasons that he didn’t rush for 1000 yards. As for his duel threat capabilities, Forte got over 40 receptions in all 8 seasons as a Bear. His play making ability was always on display and is another factor as to why the Jets signed him as a free agent this past offseason.

I didn’t add any Quarterbacks to my list of Top 5 fantasy players this week because it wouldn’t be fair. A quarterback can easily get 15-20 points per game unless they get injured or they have a terrible day with a ton of interceptions. Fantasy sports can be fun, yet frustrating at the same time because most players don’t repeat the same performance most of the time. But that makes playing fantasy fun, you have to be crafty when it comes to your team, lineup, and waiver claims. If it were so easy, everyone would be making money on Draft Kings and FanDuel. We’re here to help.