Buccaneers Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 8: Should You Start Baker Mayfield, Rachaad White, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Cade Otton and More?
The week 8 Thursday night game is an intriguing matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills. Both teams are coming off disappointing losses and are in need of a win.
We’ll take a look at both squads and their top fantasy players and determine whether or not you should consider starting them in week 8. We’ll start with the Buccaneers.
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Baker Mayfield Fantasy Outlook
Mayfield is one of a few Tampa Bay offensive players on the injury report, but should be fine for Thursday’s game.
Mayfield has been pretty solid this season, but he has thrown interceptions in four straight games. He’s finished with 200+ passing yards in four of the team’s six games. He’s thrown a touchdown in all but one game, but only has two games with multiple touchdown passes.
Mayfield doesn’t run all that much, but has gained 99 yards on 28 attempts. You wouldn’t expect him to run much while dealing with a knee injury.
A tough matchup awaits Mayfield, as the Bills’ defense allows just 11 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. QBs are averaging more interceptions than touchdown passes.
The tough matchup and injury has Mayfield as the 17th-ranked quarterback in our week 8 projections.
Running Back Fantasy Outlook
The Buccaneers’ backfield has belonged almost solely to Rachaad White. He’s played 297 offensive snaps, with KeShawn Vaughn the next closest at only 51 snaps. With that in mind, we’ll only focus on White here.
White hasn’t done a whole lot on the ground, averaging just 3.2 yards a carry. He’s got 266 yards and a touchdown on 83 carries so far. He’s added 22 receptions on 23 targets for 163 yards. His pass-catching ability helps him rank second among the skill players in fantasy points scored.
This could be a game the Buccaneers lean on White, as Buffalo’s defense is a touch below average against opposing backs. Buffalo allows 100 rushing yards and 40 receiving yards, which helps add up to 23 fantasy points a contest.
White is the 30th-ranked back for week 8.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook
Tampa Bay has pretty much been a two-player show at the wide receiver position, as Chris Godwin and Mike Evans dominate the snaps, looks and statistics.
Godwin leads the team with 49 targets and 33 receptions. He’s gone for 398 yards, but no touchdowns. He’s played 303 snaps.
Godwin is dealing with a neck injury, but appears lined up to play without many limitations.
Evans also has 49 targets this season. He’s caught 30 of those for 468 yards and four touchdowns. He’s played 266 snaps.
Godwin leads the team with three red zone catches on nine targets. Evans has one catch on five red zone looks.
Deven Thompkins has played the next-most snaps at 138. He’s caught 13 of the 18 passes thrown his way for 73 yards and a touchdown. He’s also attempted three runs for 27 yards.
Trey Palmer is the only other wideout with over 100 snaps played, at 229 total. He’s caught nine of the 18 passes thrown his way for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
As you might guess, Buffalo’s defense is above average against wide receivers, allowing 31 fantasy points a game. The Bills are surrendering 140 yards a game and less than a touchdown.
Tight End Fantasy Outlook
Cade Otton and Ko Kieft have played over 100 snaps for Tampa Bay. Otton is the clear No. 1 tight end though, playing 373 snaps to just 101 for Kieft.
Otton had 18 catches on 23 targets, going for 147 yards and a touchdown. He’s caught both of his red zone looks. Kieft does not have a catch on three targets. One of those targets was in the red zone.
No shocker here, but this is a tough matchup for the tight ends, as Buffalo’s defense allows only nine fantasy points a game. The Bills allow only 40 receiving yards, and have given up one touchdown to an opposing tight end.
Otton does not crack the top 24 spots in our weekly projections.
Kicker and Defense Outlook
Chase McLaughlin does the kicking for the Bucs. He’s been really good this year, with just one missed kick.
McLaughlin is perfect on his eight extra points and is 11-of-12 on his field goal attempts. He’s made two field goals over 50 yards, with the other nine coming inside 40 yards.
Anytime you are facing a top quarterback, like Tampa Bay’s defense will be, it’s a tough matchup, no matter what the season stats might say so far. Buffalo is in the top 10 in passing yards and are near the middle of the league in rushing yards. The Bills have scored the third-most touchdowns and protect Josh Allen well, with only 10 sacks allowed so far.
Tampa Bay’s defense is above average against every position but wide receivers. If they are without Vita Vea, things will get a lot tougher, so that’s something to keep an eye on as kickoff approaches.
McLaughlin is the 25th-ranked kicker in our projections, while the Bucs’ defense is ranked 25th.
Who to Start in Week 8
This is a pretty tough matchup across the board for Tampa Bay players. The offense hasn’t been that great, which maybe makes start/sit decisions a touch easier to make.
With a banged-up knee, underwhelming stats so far and going up against a great defense, I’d stay away from Mayfield if I could this week. There’s worse options out there, but it’s hard to imagine Mayfield being better than an average fantasy quarterback by the end of the week.
Even though White hasn’t done a whole lot this season, I like this matchup and would consider him a potential starter this week. I guarantee he’ll be part of trending start/sit decisions, so we’ll likely write about him tomorrow before the game kicks off, so check back for that.
It’s hard not to start Godwin and Evans every week. Evans’ low projection is kind of a surprise to me, as I think he’s a borderline must start every week. I’d start him confidently this week. Godwin is more of a debate, but given his high target numbers, I’d definitely at least consider him. He’ll probably be in a start/sit trending decision or two tomorrow too.
The other receivers should only be rostered in deeper leagues, and it’s a toss up as to who might produce every week. I like consistency, so I’d prefer Thompkins, followed by Palmer. Again, it has to be a really deep league to be starting those guys, especially against a top defense.
I’d stay away from Otton and the Bucs’ other tight ends. Otton plays enough to consider, but he hasn’t produced nearly enough to be even slightly confident in him.
I think many people expect the Bills to win, and so do I, but I like the Buccaneers to keep things close. I think it could be an ugly game to an extent, with the offenses stalling in plus-territory often.
That means McLaughlin is a decent option at kicker. If you have a dependable guy already on your roster, I wouldn’t drop them for McLaughlin. I think the Bucs’ defense has a tough matchup ahead, but will hold their own. Simply having the possibility out there that Allen shreds them through the air is enough for me to look elsewhere for my defense. I think they’ll make enough plays to score some points, but there’s definitely some better options out there I’d think.
