usatsi-19330414-justin-fields-bears-qb-2q-2022-1400.jpg

Week 8 felt like a bit of a reset in the Fantasy Football world. A bunch of below-.500 teams put up massive numbers in my leagues and outside of a few exceptions, most teams are within a game or two of the final playoff spot. One thing is for sure, there are certain things that look true now that sure didn't look true a month ago, or in some cases a week ago. Let's dig in.

Justin Fields will be a top-12 QB for the next month

(Miami, Detriot, Atlanta, Jets)

The Case: In his next four games Fields faces the Dolphins, Lions, Falcons, and Jets. Three of those teams rank in the top nine in terms of Fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. The other one is the Jets, and they've allowed the only two good Fantasy QBs they've faced to score at least 24 Fantasy points.

You could make the argument that it doesn't matter who Fields faces. He ranks No. 6 over the last four weeks at the quarterback position despite facing the Patriots and Cowboys in his last two games. Fields should be the top priority on the waiver wire for anyone who needs a QB, and some who don't.

The Verdict: Believe it

This is not to say that he'll be flawless against these matchups, the bar simply isn't that high. But something has definitely clicked for Fields recently. He has at least eight rush attempts and at least 60 rushing yards in each of his last three outings. He's also making gains as a passer. His 120 passer rating against the Cowboys on Sunday was his high mark of the season and his top four games in terms of AY/A have all come in his last five games. The team is also starting to let him throw, with 25 attempts being closer to the expectation compared to 15 attempts earlier in the year.

With six teams on a bye this week, Fields should be comfortably ranked inside the top 15 and he may just stay there the rest of the season.

All the Steelers WRs are droppable in redraft on their Week 9 bye

The Case: On a per-game basis, Diontae Johnson is the highest-ranked Steelers' wide receiver at WR48 on the season, averaging 10.3 FPPG. Chase Claypool is right behind him at 10.1. George Pickens, after his three-target, zero-catch day, sits at WR62, with an average of 8.2. We're almost halfway through the season, so there's little reason to hope for improvement, and with six teams on a bye these are not must-roster players.

The Verdict: Don't believe it

The reason to hope for improvement is that Kenny Pickett has only thrown 165 passes in his NFL career. It would be strange if he didn't improve from here. Same for George Pickens, rookie wide receivers are notorious for their second half improvements. And Johnson has 76 targets and zero touchdowns, we should fully expect regression to hit in the second half.

Assuming he's not traded, Claypool is the easiest drop, but I wouldn't even call him an easy drop. Hold onto these guys if you can, only dropping them if you need to fill a lineup spot for this week.

Khalil Herbert will be the best Bears RB rest of season.

The Case: Herbert has already been the best back, averaging nearly two more Fantasy points per game than Montgomery and averaging more than two yards more per carry. The coaching staff has given Montgomery every chance to hold on to his job, but Herbert is clearly the better back.

The Verdict: Don't believe it

This feels very much like the Dallas situation, with everyone saying Pollard is clearly better and the Cowboys just refusing to believe it. In Week 8, Montgomery played more than double the snaps of Herbert. Montgomery is still the preferred option in the passing game as well. 

As for what has happened so far, that's mostly because of Week 3 when Montgomery played 11 snaps, got hurt, and Herbert galloped all over the Texans. If you remove that game, Montgomery is averaging 11.9 FPPG (RB26) and Herbert is averaging 9.7 (RB40). I expect both to be high-end flexes the rest of the season, with little confidence in who will be better in a given week. But I'll still take Montgomery over the long haul. 

D'Onta Foreman is a must-start RB even when Chuba Hubbard comes back.

The Verdict: In two games since Christian McCaffrey was traded, Foreman has rushed the ball 41 times for 236 yards and three touchdowns. He's also caught two passes for 27 yards. Only Alvin Kamara, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Aaron Jones, and Tony Pollard have scored more Fantasy points at running back the past two weeks.

The Case: Believe it

While there is certainly some risk when Hubbard comes back, it's hard to imagine the Panthers taking the ball out of Foreman's hands the way he's been running. And it's not like this is the first time we've seen this. Foreman produced 542 total yards and three scores in his final six games with the Titans last year. And he was an absolute star in college, running for more than 2,000 yards in his final season at Texas. To date, he's also the most impressive Achilles' recovery at running back and gives a little bit of hope to Dynasty managers who have Cam Akers and James Robinson.

He's a must-start this week whether Hubbard plays or not, but we'll be watching the snaps and touches closely.

Jerry Jeudy will be the best Broncos WR rest of season

The Case: For the second consecutive week, Jeudy was the Broncos best wide receiver and scored at least 15 PPR Fantasy points. For the third consecutive week, Courtland Sutton failed to record even 25 receiving yards. And this week we didn't even have Brett Rypien to blame for it.

The Verdict: Believe it

Jeudy has played more than 60% of the snaps in six games this season. He has 27 catches for 421 yards and three touchdowns in those six games. He's topped 16 PPR Fantasy points in four of those games. In those same six games, Sutton has 20 catches for 248 yards and one score. His best game was 16.2 PPR Fantasy points and he scored 12.4 or fewer in every other game. Unless Jeudy misses time, it looks like Sutton is just a bench WR with weekly upside. 

I'd still like to hold Sutton because if Wilson gets healthy over the bye week it's possible he could support both wideouts.