Expect the unexpected.
Now for those of you who may be reality show junkies, that phrase may bring Big Brother to mind. However, the same could be said for the first five weeks of the NFL season as injuries continue to decimate fantasy rosters leaving 2017 to be one of the most volatile high draft pick years in recent memory.
David Johnson. Gone.
Odell Beckham Jr. Gone.
Jay Ajayi, Demarco Murray and Amari Cooper. Currently missing from relevancy.
Nevertheless, the NFL marches on towards another week (hopefully with much fewer injuries) and we march towards another week of rankings with some more big movers taking advantage of the opportunities.
Quarterback
Another week, another spectacular performance from Deshaun Watson. Since Week 2, the rookie is the highest scoring player in fantasy football. This trend should only continue against a porous Cleveland secondary. Meanwhile, the rest of this week’s top 10 is chock full of favorable matchups, with the only remaining question being will Mariota make his return on Monday night?
All in all, you know it’s a deep week when Josh McCown is finding himself as a viable deep play. Jacoby Brissett is also a solid start this week if you need to reach into the waiver wire. Tennessee is giving up the 4th most points to quarterbacks this season.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Tom Brady | NE | @NYJ |
| 2 | Drew Brees | NO | DET |
| 3 | Aaron Rodgers | GB | @MIN |
| 4 | Deshaun Watson | HST | CLV |
| 5 | Kirk Cousins | WAS | SF |
| 6 | Matt Ryan | ATL | MIA |
| 7 | Cam Newton | CAR | PHI |
| 8 | Matthew Stafford | DET | @NO |
| 9 | Marcus Mariota | TEN | IND |
| 10 | Jameis Winston | TB | @ARZ |
| 11 | Philip Rivers | LAC | @OAK |
| 12 | Alex Smith | KC | PIT |
| 13 | Carson Wentz | PHI | @CAR |
| 14 | Carson Palmer | ARZ | TB |
| 15 | Jacoby Brissett | IND | @TEN |
| 16 | Trevor Siemian | DEN | NYG |
| 17 | Josh McCown | NYJ | NE |
| 18 | Derek Carr | OAK | LAC |
| 19 | Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | @KC |
| 20 | Case Keenum | MIN | GB |
| 21 | Jared Goff | LAR | @JAX |
| 22 | Joe Flacco | BLT | CHI |
| 23 | Brian Hoyer | SF | @WAS |
| 24 | Blake Bortles | JAX | LAR |
| 25 | Mitchell Trubisky | CHI | @BLT |
Running Back
There will be little surprise this week if Kareem Hunt and Leonard Fournette finish 1-2 in points this weekend looking at their overwhelmingly positive matchups. Kansas City faces a Pittsburgh defense giving up the 5th most points to the position, Jacksonville meanwhile takes on the Rams who give up the 2nd most.
The week’s biggest news, Adrian Peterson being dealt to the Cardinals, opens the door wide open for Alvin Kamara to begin making more of an impact for the Saints. The talent is there for him to become a top 15 RB by season’s end.
Following a small breakout party, Marlon Mack at RB38 may be due for another big performance on the national stage Monday night.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Kareem Hunt | KC | PIT |
| 2 | Le’Veon Bell | PIT | @KC |
| 3 | Todd Gurley II | LAR | @JAX |
| 4 | Leonard Fournette | JAX | LAR |
| 5 | Melvin Gordon | LAC | @OAK |
| 6 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | MIA |
| 7 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | NYG |
| 8 | Lamar Miller | HST | CLV |
| 9 | DeMarco Murray | TEN | IND |
| 10 | Doug Martin | TB | @ARZ |
| 11 | Jordan Howard | CHI | @BLT |
| 12 | Jay Ajayi | MIA | @ATL |
| 13 | Carlos Hyde | SF | @WAS |
| 14 | Mark Ingram | NO | DET |
| 15 | Marshawn Lynch | OAK | LAC |
| 16 | Javorius Allen | BLT | CHI |
| 17 | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | GB |
| 18 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | PHI |
| 19 | Duke Johnson Jr. | CLV | @HST |
| 20 | Alvin Kamara | NO | DET |
| 21 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | @NO |
| 22 | Aaron Jones | GB | @MIN |
| 23 | Elijah McGuire | NYJ | NE |
| 24 | Mike Gillislee | NE | @NYJ |
| 25 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | MIA |
| 26 | LeGarrette Blount | PHI | @CAR |
| 27 | Chris Thompson | WAS | SF |
| 28 | Rob Kelley | WAS | SF |
| 29 | Frank Gore | IND | @TEN |
| 30 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | PHI |
| 31 | Theo Riddick | DET | @NO |
| 32 | Alex Collins | BLT | CHI |
| 33 | Andre Ellington | ARZ | TB |
| 34 | James White | NE | @NYJ |
| 35 | Isaiah Crowell | CLV | @HST |
| 36 | Latavius Murray | MIN | GB |
| 37 | Wayne Gallman | NYG | @DEN |
| 38 | Marlon Mack | IND | @TEN |
| 39 | Matt Breida | SF | @WAS |
| 40 | Derrick Henry | TEN | IND |
| 41 | Shane Vereen | NYG | @DEN |
| 42 | Tarik Cohen | CHI | @BLT |
| 43 | Jamaal Charles | DEN | NYG |
| 44 | Orleans Darkwa | NYG | @DEN |
| 45 | D’Onta Foreman | HST | CLV |
| 46 | Adrian Peterson | ARZ | TB |
| 47 | Corey Clement | PHI | @CAR |
| 48 | Jalen Richard | OAK | LAC |
| 49 | Chris Ivory | JAX | LAR |
| 50 | Samaje Perine | WAS | SF |
Wide Receiver
How grateful do you think DeAndre Hopkins is now that he has someone who can get him the ball? Devin McCourty had a great game last week against the Jets, but that was the Jets — now it’s time for Hopkins.
Mike Evans is off to a strange start this season and going up against the best shutdown corner in the game in Patrick Peterson will prove to be another difficult week for the Bucs’ WR1.
Into the top 20, the hype is brewing for Will Fuller and Devin Funchess. It should be fun watching to see if they can keep up the production over the past two weeks, finally meeting expectations after they were drafted.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Antonio Brown | PIT | @KC |
| 2 | DeAndre Hopkins | HST | CLV |
| 3 | Julio Jones | ATL | MIA |
| 4 | Michael Thomas | NO | DET |
| 5 | Jordy Nelson | GB | @MIN |
| 6 | Chris Hogan | NE | @NYJ |
| 7 | T.Y. Hilton | IND | @TEN |
| 8 | Keenan Allen | LAC | @OAK |
| 9 | Mike Evans | TB | @ARZ |
| 10 | Larry Fitzgerald | ARZ | TB |
| 11 | Stefon Diggs | MIN | GB |
| 12 | Tyreek Hill | KC | PIT |
| 13 | Brandin Cooks | NE | @NYJ |
| 14 | Alshon Jeffery | PHI | @CAR |
| 15 | Davante Adams | GB | @MIN |
| 16 | Michael Crabtree | OAK | LAC |
| 17 | Golden Tate | DET | @NO |
| 18 | Adam Thielen | MIN | GB |
| 19 | Pierre Garcon | SF | @WAS |
| 20 | Emmanuel Sanders | DEN | NYG |
| 21 | Demaryius Thomas | DEN | NYG |
| 22 | Jarvis Landry | MIA | @ATL |
| 23 | Will Fuller V | HST | CLV |
| 24 | Terrelle Pryor Sr. | WAS | SF |
| 25 | Kelvin Benjamin | CAR | PHI |
| 26 | DeSean Jackson | TB | @ARZ |
| 27 | Devin Funchess | CAR | PHI |
| 28 | Rishard Matthews | TEN | IND |
| 29 | Willie Snead IV | NO | DET |
| 30 | Amari Cooper | OAK | LAC |
| 31 | Randall Cobb | GB | @MIN |
| 32 | Danny Amendola | NE | @NYJ |
| 33 | DeVante Parker | MIA | @ATL |
| 34 | John Brown | ARZ | TB |
| 35 | Jeremy Maclin | BLT | CHI |
| 36 | Jermaine Kearse | NYJ | NE |
| 37 | Marvin Jones Jr. | DET | @NO |
| 38 | Tyrell Williams | LAC | @OAK |
| 39 | Martavis Bryant | PIT | @KC |
| 40 | Allen Hurns | JAX | LAR |
| 41 | Jaron Brown | ARZ | TB |
| 42 | Taylor Gabriel | ATL | MIA |
| 43 | Sammy Watkins | LAR | @JAX |
| 44 | Mike Wallace | BLT | CHI |
| 45 | Cooper Kupp | LAR | @JAX |
| 46 | Jamison Crowder | WAS | SF |
| 47 | Marqise Lee | JAX | LAR |
| 48 | Kendall Wright | CHI | @BLT |
| 49 | Nelson Agholor | PHI | @CAR |
| 50 | Ricardo Louis | CLV | @HST |
Tight End
The injury that sidelined Gronk last week was the definition of getting blindsided if you’re an owner of the big tight end. By all accounts, he should be back this week and has a solid matchup against the Jets in front of him.
Breaking into the top 10 this week is Houston’s Ryan Griffin who like we’ve mentioned with other Texans has one of the best matchups this week. Both Griffin and Austin Seferian-Jenkins provide good low TE1 value in Week 6.
| Rank | Name | Team | Opp |
| 1 | Rob Gronkowski | NE | @NYJ |
| 2 | Travis Kelce | KC | PIT |
| 3 | Zach Ertz | PHI | @CAR |
| 4 | Evan Engram | NYG | @DEN |
| 5 | Jordan Reed | WAS | SF |
| 6 | Delanie Walker | TEN | IND |
| 7 | Kyle Rudolph | MIN | GB |
| 8 | Cameron Brate | TB | @ARZ |
| 9 | Martellus Bennett | GB | @MIN |
| 10 | Ryan Griffin | HST | CLV |
| 11 | Hunter Henry | LAC | @OAK |
| 12 | Jared Cook | OAK | LAC |
| 13 | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | NYJ | NE |
| 14 | Jack Doyle | IND | @TEN |
| 15 | Coby Fleener | NO | DET |
| 16 | Zach Miller | CHI | @BLT |
| 17 | Benjamin Watson | BLT | CHI |
| 18 | Ed Dickson | CAR | PHI |
| 19 | Jesse James | PIT | @KC |
| 20 | George Kittle | SF | @WAS |
| 21 | Austin Hooper | ATL | MIA |
| 22 | A.J. Derby | DEN | NYG |
| 23 | Eric Ebron | DET | @NO |
| 24 | David Njoku | CLV | @HST |
| 25 | Antonio Gates | LAC | @OAK |
Defense/Special Teams
When Scott Tolzien was under center for the Colts, anyone playing Indy was an automatic start. The same could now be said for the Giants who might have to find a fan outside of MetLife Stadium for wide receiver help. Broncos should come up with a big game this weekend.
Keep an eye on the Chargers defense this weekend if David Carr can’t make his return for the Raiders, that could be a solid play after Oakland made Baltimore look like a defensive menace in Week 5.
| Rank | Name | Opp |
| 1 | Denver Broncos | NYG |
| 2 | Jacksonville Jaguars | LAR |
| 3 | Atlanta Falcons | MIA |
| 4 | Houston Texans | CLV |
| 5 | Washington Redskins | SF |
| 6 | Baltimore Ravens | CHI |
| 7 | Los Angeles Rams | @JAX |
| 8 | Kansas City Chiefs | PIT |
| 9 | New England Patriots | @NYJ |
| 10 | Green Bay Packers | @MIN |
| 11 | Tennessee Titans | IND |
| 12 | Arizona Cardinals | TB |
| 13 | Carolina Panthers | PHI |
| 14 | Philadelphia Eagles | @CAR |
| 15 | Chicago Bears | @BLT |
| 16 | Los Angeles Chargers | @OAK |
| 17 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | @ARZ |
| 18 | Pittsburgh Steelers | @KC |
| 19 | Minnesota Vikings | GB |
| 20 | Detroit Lions | @NO |
| 21 | Indianapolis Colts | @TEN |
| 22 | New York Giants | @DEN |
| 23 | Oakland Raiders | LAC |
| 24 | New Orleans Saints | DET |
| 25 | Cleveland Browns | @HST |
(Rankings based off .5 PPR scoring)
ChiCitySports Fantasy Review: Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings
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