The fantasy football week is here on Sunday and with a number of big games coming up, some of the best sleepers for the weekend includes Marvin Jones, Andre Ellington, Jordan Reed, Andrew Quarless and Kris Durham as the best starter options for Week 8.
Jones is the top sleeper this week after being listed as probable for the game this weekend and he is coming off three solid games, including touchdowns in the last two and he had six targets last week with 11 over the past two weeks and he has become the solid second receiver for AJ Green and he could have a big game on Sunday against the Jets despite them having a solid secondary.
Jordan Reed is a very solid option after he had a breakout game last week with nine catches on nine targets for 134 yards and a touchdown and his athletic ability makes him a Jimmy Graham light and he could be a very good option this weekend. He has two touchdowns over the past four games and he will be targeted plenty when the team takes on the Broncos and their defense that is giving up yards. Kris Durham and Andre Ellington are very solid options this weekend and so is Andrew Quarless with Jermichael Finley out for an extended period. The Packers could continue to go to him and the Lions really like what they have in Durham and they should be continuing to play big offense against the Cowboys as they have a defense that gives up a ton of yards.
Here is a look at some rookies for the season in fantasy as the fantasy football season is finally getting into the middle of things and there are a number of rookies heading into their first NFL action that could factor big on offense and some of the top names to look out for on draft day include Le'Veon Bell on the Steelers, Montee Ball, Eddie Lacy, E.J. Manuel, DeAndre Hopkins as well as Packers running back Johnathan Franklin.
The NFL is fast becoming a young man's game and with players like Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson showing they can make an impact as rookies, many teams and coaches feel it is unwise to keep a player bottled up on the sidelines and that could mean some nice production from players like Bell, Lacy, Ball and Franklin, as they are all projected to be starters or backups heading into the season. Ball is a very interesting option to check out, as the Broncos got rid of Willis McGahee this summer and that leaves Ball and Ronnie Hillman to duke things out and either way the rookie from Wisconsin is expected to get plenty of touches.
Ball was a big producer while playing for the Badgers after rushing for nearly 4,000 yards over the last two seasons and he ended up with a record amount of touchdowns with 67 and after the Broncos lost confidence in McGahee and Knowshon Moreno, Ball will get his chances. Bell also comes in at a perfect time after another veteran was released in Rashard Mendenhall and he will get the chance to be a starter. During his time at Michigan State he rushed for over 2,500 yards and scored 25 touchdowns and this summer he also showed that he has skills coming out of the backfield as a receiver.
The Packers will be looking for some steady production from both Eddie Lacy and Jonathan Franklin and depending on how things go during the preseason, either one of these players could end up ahead of Alex Green or James Starks on the depth chart. Both players are expected to have significant roles after the running game has not been as consistent as the passing attack over the past few years and Lacy comes in as the more accomplished back after winning the national title with Alabama. Franklin put up excellent numbers with UCLA and finished as a senior with over 1,734 yards and he also had 13 touchdowns.
EJ Manuel is the main rookie quarterback to go after with Geno Smith a distant second since he will be the likely starter for the Bills and head coach Doug Marrone has loved what he has seen from him this offseason. The addition of CJ Spiller to the offense as the starter as well will only help Manuel and if Smith comes out of the preseason as the starter for the Jets he could be a late round option. Other receivers like Tavon Austin and DeAndre Hopkins as well as tight end Tyler Eifert and running back Giovani Bernard will have chances to play as well and could be solid rookie fantasy options.
