Underdog Battle Royale Rankings- Week 8

October 23, 2024

Steve Shoup

View Profile

Quarterbacks:

Lamar Jackson
Josh Allen
Jordan Love
Caleb Williams
Joe Burrow
Baker Mayfield

Sleepers: Jalen Hurts, Kirk Cousins, Kyler Murray, C.J. Stroud, Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes, Tua Tagovailoa, Geno Smith, Aaron Rodgers (watch Jayden Daniels health, if he’s treading to playing he should probably be QB 7 or 8)

This week I’m more willing to go deeper at the QB position, despite how much Jackson and Allen are fantastic plays. Caleb Williams might not get the showdown with Jayden Daniels, but he still should be looking to carve up the Commanders secondary. Mayfield is without his top 2 receivers, but Tampa could be playing from behind and he might need to throw the ball 40-50 times. Among the sleepers, we saw Cousins have a career night last time these two teams played and the Buccaneers secondary is getting killed most weeks. Stroud has his best match-up in a while and I don’t mind taking a shot at Tua coming off the injury.

Running backs:

Saquon Barkley
Derrick Henry
Joe Mixon
Kenneth Walker III
Jahmyr Gibbs (especially if Montgomery is out)
Breece Hall
Kareem Hunt
D’Andre Swift
Alvin Kamara
Bijan Robinson
Josh Jacobs
J.K. Dobbins

Sleepers: De’von Achane, James Cook, Javonte Williams, David Montgomery (if healthy), James Conner, Rachaad White, Tank Bigsby, Brian Robinson Jr., Tony Pollard, Jonathan Taylor (if healthy), Bucky Irving, Chubba Hubbard, Chase Brown

Look running backs are crushing it this season, so grabbing two makes all the sense in the world. I don’t think there is a wrong answer for any of the top 6 RBs, and if you can land two of them you could be off to the races. That being said there are plenty lower options as well. Swift in a great match-up and Dobbins in a strong bounceback spot are intriguing. Among the sleepers, Cook, Conner, White and Bigsby standout. There is some more fragility here, but the upside is strong.

Wide Receivers:

Sleepers: Romeo Doubs, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaylen Waddle, Rashod Bateman, Jaxon Smith Njiba, Keenan Allen, Darnell Mooney, Keon Coleman, Xavier Worthy, Khalil Shakir, Jalen McMillian, Cedric Tillman, Chris Olave, DeAndre Hopkins

Pretty strong week at the wide receiver position. London, Chase and Brown are getting massive target shares and any could go off at any time. London just crushed this match-up a couple weeks ago, so I imagine the Falcons look to feature him again. Amon-Ra should see even more targets without Jameson Williams, and Goff is playing incredible football right now. I think the Houston WRs are really mispriced here. Nico Collins had a great week 1 vs this secondary, and one of Diggs or Dell could go off. The Colts passing defense has faced inept passing attacks the past 2 weeks, but that changes here.

I do think there are some interesting lower options that have some big upside. Tyreek Hill and Jayden Reed especially could go off in good match-ups and Hill is interesting with Tua finally back. I also really like taking a shot at a Seattle receiver with Metcalf potentially out. Lockett could be a very sneaky low option. Among the sleepers, Bateman is maybe my favorite as the upside is huge with Lamar. McMillian should walk into a strong role without Godwin or Evans.

Tight Ends:

Sleepers: Evan Engram, Tucker Kraft, Mark Andrews, Sam LaPorta, Hunter Henry, Cole Kmet, Dalton Schultz, Noah Fant, Taysom Hill

Tight end this week is pretty interesting, I think there is a strong case to be made that it is better to wait as there are some intriguing depth options. Cade Otton will likely go lower than I have him ranked and he could be the top target for Baker this week. Pitts did well in this match-up last time, and is worth a look. Even among the sleepers we’ve seen Andrews get more work the past 2 weeks, Engram is a target monster for Jacksonville and Kraft has been pretty effective for GB.

We also have a host of TEs that are in either great spots, or could be benefiting from an absence at the WR position. LaPorta hasn’t done much this year, but with no Jameson Williams, he could quickly become a factor. Kmet has a tremendous opportunity vs a bad Commanders defense. Schultz has a great match-up and has seen more work without Nico Collins. Fant could be in a good spot, especially if Metcalf misses the game.