Have you or a loved one lost a player due to “Byemagddeon” this week? Are you suffering from the most common symptom of having an empty lineup spot due to a bye or injury? Well, “Shore Thing Sleepers” (STS) is the right cure for you! STS helps you relieve the pain and the stress of “Byemageddon” by giving you a list of sleepers to overcome this sick and wickedly mean week.
A side effect of “Shore Thing Sleepers” can include slight disappointment, as two players scored under projection last week: Jordan Whittington (-4.5) and Sam Darnold (-6.3). However, it’s still highly recommended, as four of six players hit over projection last week, notably Travis Hunter (+14.2) and Dalton Schultz (+9.8), leading us to a total score of 20.4 points over projection and making it back-to-back weeks of sleepers scoring more than 20 points over their projection.
There is no need for a random impromptu musical or dancing number when taking a player from this week’s “Shore Thing Sleepers,” but if a player hits and you’re starting him, you may be doing it yourself.
Fantasy Football Start/Sit Consideration: Week 8 Sleepers (2025)
Quarterback
Joe Flacco (Cincinnati Bengals)
What’s more shocking, Joe Flacco‘s face from Ja’Marr Chase dropping a pass, or that Flacco has been a reliable quarterback in fantasy football ever since he was traded to the Bengals? I’m going with the latter, as most of us thought that Joe Flacco had lost his touch in Cleveland when he was averaging 203.7 passing yards, 0.5 touchdowns, 1.5 interceptions and eight fantasy points in his four starts as a Brown.
That couldn’t be farther from the truth, because in his two starts as a Bengal, he is averaging 280.5 passing yards, 2.5 touchdowns, no interceptions and 21.4 fantasy points! That’s made him QB6 in the past two weeks. How about we keep it going against the Jets this week? Because in three games this season against the Jets, which includes two of the last four games, a quarterback has thrown for multiple touchdowns and no interceptions. If you thought you couldn’t get any juicier than Flacco’s Bengals stats… well, those three quarterbacks averaged 219.3 passing yards, 3.3 passing touchdowns and 23.2 fantasy points.
This is a man who heard the flack over the years and it’s nothing new to him. As long as he’s got the weapons like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, to name a few, Joe Flacco should be alright… and hopefully more than alright.
Running Back
Tyjae Spears (Tennessee Titans)
Tyjae Spears may only have five carries and four targets in back-to-back games, but that hasn’t stopped him from having 22+ rushing yards, 18+ receiving yards and at least seven fantasy points since getting a bigger workload after returning from Injured Reserve (IR). Now, it’s been hard for a running back against the Colts, as they have allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points this season to the running back position.
So, why am I recommending Tyjae Spears? Divisional matchups tend to get a little weird and historically, the Titans’ back has benefited from facing the Colts. In his four career games against Indianapolis, Spears averaged 13.4 opportunities and he made the most out of it! He has averaged 62.4 scrimmage yards (40.7 rushing and 21.7 receiving) for 0.7 rushing touchdowns and 13.5 fantasy points per game against the Colts. But wait, there’s more! He apparently has a home in the end zone when he’s in Indianapolis, where this game is being played, because in both games at Indianapolis, he scored a rushing touchdown and at least 16.9 fantasy points.
I know the Titans’ offense has been a mess as a whole, especially with a now-interim head coach and a struggling rookie quarterback in Cam Ward. But they just want to get back to old times, and maybe it can start with Tyjae Spears continuing his dominance against the Colts in Indy.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. (New York Giants)
It worked last week, why not do it again?! To be fair, I did think that Tyrone Tracy Jr. would benefit from being a wide receiver-turned-running back and see some targets while the Giants’ receiving core is hurt and or not the greatest. That clearly won’t happen, as he’s gone back-to-back games with no targets, but he’s still a solid start, getting most of his points from scoring a 31-yard touchdown last week.
This brings me to why I like Tracy this week. Since Jaxson Dart has gotten the start in Week 4, the Giants have been able to run the ball. In the last four weeks, the Giants have had the most total rushing yards (588) and the most rushing yards per game (147.0). That’s not all! They have seven rushing touchdowns in that span, which is the second-most, coming mostly from Dart and Cam Skattebo. Tyrone Tracy did have his worst game of the season against the Eagles two weeks ago, but I consider that more of an outlier, as it was a short week and his first game after returning from injury. In two of the last three complete games, the sophomore back has seen 9.1+ fantasy points.
Enough about the player, let’s talk about the matchup. In three of the last four games with Jalen Carter active, the Eagles have actually allowed a running back duo to each score 5.3+ fantasy points, and they allowed at least six points in two of the last three. And while the Giants have excelled in the running game in the past four games, the Eagles have actually struggled in that same four-game span. The Eagles have allowed the ninth-most rushing yards with 495, for an average of 123.7. They are also tied for the second-most rushing touchdowns allowed in that span with six, and three of them came against the Giants.
Wide Receiver
Kendrick Bourne (San Francisco 49ers)
Kendrick Bourne is running out of time to become a starter in fantasy football leagues, as the 49ers are getting healthier. George Kittle returned last week, Ricky Pearsall is on the mend and Brock Purdy may return as the starter as early as this week. After having back-to-back games of 142 receiving yards, the numbers were rearranged for Bourne last week and he had two receptions for 14 yards.
The Texans have been a tough matchup for wide receivers, but they play in the AFC and have benefited from facing the Cooper Rush-led Ravens, the Titans and the Jaguars in three of their last four games. So, I looked at how they’ve fared against WR2s in the NFC and while it’s nowhere near the 19.2 fantasy points Bourne scored in two of the last three games, there’s still promise. In two of those three games, the Texans have allowed a WR duo to each score 9.1+ fantasy points. I have a feeling Kendrick Bourne will get one last “huzzah” before he goes back to irrelevancy. At least he gave us good games by which to remember him!
Olamide Zaccheaus (Chicago Bears)
There’s some post-bye confusion for the Bears’ wide receivers. Stay with me for a second to try to understand this confusion since the Week 5 bye. Olamide Zaccheaus, alongside D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze, are all averaging 4.5+ targets since the bye. Yet, Zaccheaus and Odunze are averaging the lowest receptions of the group, with two. It gets even worse for Zacchaeus, who also has the lowest receiving yard average with 16.5. Was that because of the post-bye rookie bump for rookie Luther Burden III? Couldn’t be, because Zaccheaus is still playing at least 50% of the snaps in four straight games and more than Burden. See how confusing this is?!
Alright… how do we clear the confusion? How about facing the Ravens! There’s no confusion here, because the Ravens have allowed a wide receiver trio to score double-digit fantasy points in half of their games this season. If that doesn’t float your boat, consider this: in two of their last three games, the Ravens have allowed not two, not three, but FOUR wide receivers to score 8.1+ fantasy points in the same game.
The Bears’ passing game needs to get it together and the Ravens can’t stop it. Why not make this the get-right game?
Tight End
Colston Loveland (Chicago Bears)
Back-to-back Bears? Bold. Believe it or not, Colston Loveland has quietly gone three straight games with at least three targets. Now, he’s only averaging a disappointing two receptions for 22 yards from it. More importantly, Cole Kmet suffered a back injury in last week’s game against the Saints and did not return, giving Loveland more time. Kmet also missed Wednesday’s practice due to this injury and I’m getting the feeling that he will be out or at least limited in this game.
While that’s a shame for Kmet, you couldn’t have chosen a better game for the rookie tight end to have a possible breakout game. This is what the team’s TE1 has averaged against the Ravens this season: 4.5 receptions for 46.1 yards, 0.3 touchdowns and 11.1 fantasy points. All those tight ends have at least 33 receiving yards and 7.3 fantasy points. Once again, that was in every game this season! You need more convincing? Okay! The Ravens have allowed a tight end to have 40+ receiving yards and 9.8+ fantasy points in the last three games, with back-to-back games of a tight end scoring 11+ fantasy points.
I don’t think it’s possible for me to do any more convincing. I’m leaving the convincing to you, Colston Loveland.
Thanks for reading this week’s “Shore Thing Sleepers.” If you’re looking for more fantasy content like this or need help with the last-minute fantasy football start/sit decisions for your roster, you can find me on Facebook at “Fantasy Sports Start or Sit’Em Questions,” Twitter/X @FSSOSEQ or on BlueSky!
*Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch – USA TODAY Sports*
