Bills Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 8: Should You Josh Allen, James Cook, Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Dalton Kincaid and More?
The Buffalo Bills took a shocking loss to the New England Patriots in week 7. It also marks the team’s second loss in the past three weeks, so the team will be looking to get things right in week 8, when they play the Thursday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Let’s take a look at the Bills’ top fantasy players and determine which ones you should consider starting in week 8 of the fantasy football season.
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Josh Allen Fantasy Outlook
Allen has been one of the top fantasy quarterbacks pretty much all season. Turnovers remain an issue, but he makes up for it with big yardage and touchdown totals.
Allen has two touchdown passes in the past three games. He’s thrown at least one touchdown in each game. Allen threw three picks in the season opener, then only one pick the next three weeks, but has tossed one in three straight games now. He’s barely being sacked, with just five since being sacked five times in the opener.
Allen has run for four touchdowns, but has topped 20 rushing yards just twice. He’s fumbled three times.
The Bills’ quarterback is dealing with a right shoulder injury, but will play. There’s a few offensive players on the injury report, but none are huge contributors.
This will be a tougher test for Allen, as the Buccaneers’ defense only allows 15 fantasy points a game. The Bucs allow 263 passing yards and 15 rushing yards, but have as many interceptions (6) as touchdowns allowed. They’ve also registered 16 sacks.
The tougher matchup has Allen as the fifth-ranked quarterback in the weekly projections.
Running Back Fantasy Outlook
Buffalo has a nice 1-2 punch in the backfield with James Cook and Latavius Murray. There was speculation that the two would start sharing the workload after a few games showed similar snaps and touches. Cook only played five more snaps than Murray last week, but got 10 more touches.
For the season, Cook has played 256 snaps and gotten 105 touches. He’s rushed 88 times for 419 yards and a touchdown, while hauling in 17 of his 21 receiving targets for 186 yards and a touchdown.
Murray has 44 touches over 143 snaps played this season. Murray has attempted 35 runs, gaining 136 yards and scoring twice. He’s added nine receptions on 10 targets for 69 yards.
It’ll be a tough matchup for the backs, as Tampa Bay allows only 18 fantasy points a contest. The Bucs allow 80 rushing yards and 37 receiving yards.
Cook is 20th in our weekly projections, while Murray sits in 42nd.
Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook
Much like the case is for Tampa Bay, two receivers are carrying the load in Buffalo. Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis do most of the heavy lifting.
Diggs leads the team in just about every stat, with 55 receptions on 78 targets, going for 678 yards and six touchdowns. He’s played 386 snaps.
Davis has only 22 grabs on 35 targets, but has amassed 347 yards and four scores. He’s played 393 snaps.
Diggs leads the team with 10 red zone targets, catching seven. Davis has three catches on five red zone looks.
Receivers’ Trent Sherfield, Khalil Shakir and Deonte Harty all have played over 100 offensive snaps.
Harty has the most fantasy points despite playing the least amount of snaps. He’s got 13 grabs on 16 targets, going for 113 yards and a touchdown. He’s hauled in all three of his red zone looks.
Shakir has 75 yards and a touchdown on eight catches and nine targets. Shakir only has one red zone target, which he caught.
Sherfield has played the most snaps, but only has six grabs on eight targets for 44 yards and no scores. He’s caught his lone red zone target.
This is a slightly above-average matchup for the Bills’ wideouts, as Tampa Bay allows 36 fantasy points per week. Receivers average 178 yards, but under a touchdown.
Tight End Fantasy Outlook
Two of the Bills out are tight ends, Dawson Knox and Quintin Morris. Usually that would be an issue, but it’s less of one after what rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid did last week.
Kincaid broke out to the tune of 75 yards on eight catches and targets. He accomplished those numbers in only 43 snaps.
For the season, Kincaid has 193 yards on 25 grabs and 27 targets. He’s caught two of his three red zone looks. He’s played 74 less snaps than Knox this season, but will have to carry the load this week.
The team doesn’t have another tight end on the active roster, so Joel Wilson might be activated from the practice squad, or another roster move might be needed. Whoever gets called up to fill in won’t be a big fantasy factor.
It’ll be a tough test for Kincaid, as the Bucs’ defense allows just 10 fantasy points a contest. They allow 45 receiving yards a game, and have not allowed a touchdown yet.
Kincaid is the 13th-ranked tight end in this week’s projections.
Kicker and Defense Outlook
Tyler Bass is the Bills’ kicker. He’s perfect on his 22 extra point attempts, but has missed three field goals.
Bass’ misses are all over 40 yards. He also had four makes from 40+ yards.
The Bills’ defense will be going up against an average Buccaneers’ offense. Tampa Bay is in the bottom half of the league in passing yards and is the second-worst rushing team. The Bucs have only scored 10 touchdowns.
Tampa Bay does protect quarterback Baker Mayfield well, with only eight sacks against them. He’s thrown for eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
Bass is the 14th-ranked kicker this week, while Buffalo’s defense is ranked 12th.
Who to Start in Week 8
Most of the start/sit decisions involving Buffalo players are pretty obvious, but let’s discuss them all anyways.
Allen and Diggs are must starts every week. Allen has a tougher matchup, but you didn’t draft Allen as high as you did to sit him ever. Diggs has an average matchup and should again lead Buffalo in just about every receiving statistic.
I think Cook is the better fantasy option over Murray, although if you believe the Bills run away with the game, both guys could be decent options. I think it’ll be a close game throughout, with Buffalo prevailing, so I think Cook will dominate the touches. I’d definitely have Cook in the start conversation, and lean against Murray starting. I wouldn’t be surprised if one or both of them are part of start/sit trending decisions, so check back for those stories.
Davis is a classic boom-or-bust player. He’ll put up monster numbers with a couple catches, but also could put up a goose egg. I think he’s a solid option this week, and would need to see your other available options before making a final call. Sounds like he should be part of start/sit decisions too.
The team’s other three receivers should only be rostered and considered for starting lineups in deeper leagues. Even in limited sample sizes, they are inconsistent, so I’d shy away from them all. For the order I’d prefer them in, I’d go Harty, Shakir and then Sherfield.
I wrote about Kincaid a bunch earlier this week, and now seeing two tight ends out for Buffalo, I like the idea of starting your newly-acquired tight end. He likely finishes as the team’s second- or third-leading pass catcher. Don’t start him over the stars of the position, but if you don’t have any good options, I’m good with starting Kincaid.
The projections have Bass and the Bills’ defense as borderline starters in standard leagues. I think Bass could get a good amount of work, so I wouldn’t mind starting him, even after some of his misses. I also like the idea of starting Buffalo’s defense, as I think they get a takeaway or two to finish as a top 10-12 defense by the end of the week.
