The fantasy football Week 8 schedule is here and some fantasy sleepers and free agent pickups include Travaris Cadet, Isaiah Crowell, Jonas Gray, Stepfan Taylor, Ronnie Hillman, Denard Robinson, Tre Mason, Zac Stacy, Bryce Brown, Anthony Dixon and Darren McFadden as solid RB pickups, while Antone Smith, Davante Adams, Brandon LaFell, Eddie Royal and Kendall Wright are also solid picks for this weekend for owners.
Cadet is a great pickup with Pierre Thomas out and for any PPR league owners looking for an RB, he could take over as a Darren Sproles type for Drew Brees over the next couple weeks. Isaiah Crowell and Ben Tate are solid options for the Browns after they lost to the Jaguars, while Jonas Gray has stepped up with the loss of Stevan Ridley for the Patriots. Stepfan Taylor scored two TDs on Sunday and with Andre Ellington a bit banged up, he could get more touches this week.
Ronnie Hillman has been very good since Montee Ball went down with an injury and he is expected to be out a bit more and once he returns, Hillman could be a solid RB2 or RB3 option. Denard Robinson had a breakout game along with Tre Mason and those two players are very interesting pickups for fantasy owners. Robinson had a great game this week with over 100 yards and he could now be a top option in Jacksonville with Toby Gerhart and Storm Johnson not getting enough done. Robinson had a 127-yard day for the Jags in the win over the Browns and now he could be the RB1.
Mason is another player to watch and he comes in as a rookie with blazing speed and while the Rams RB situation is crowed, he could emerge. Mason had 85 yards and scored a touchdown in the win over the Seahawks and he was on the field more than any of the other Rams backs. Mason was on the field for over half the snaps and that was way more than Benny Cunningham and Zac Stacy and now he could be a strong pickup for fantasy owners.
Cadet is the top pickup of the week and he comes in after having a very solid game after Pierre Thomas went down with an injury. For PPR owners there is not a better back to pick up, as Cadet has been very solid catching the ball in limited use. Cadet had nine targets against the Lions from Drew Brees and he ended up with six catches for 51 yards and he could be solid for owners along with Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson now that Thomas will miss at least two weeks.
Stepfan Taylor scored two touchdowns on Sunday and while that may not end up being a consistent option for the Cardinals, Taylor could be worth a look. Crowell is an option in deeper leagues behind Ben Tate and while Tate is back healthy, if he goes down again it'll be Crowell getting the touches. Gray has limited stats this season, but he is a better option over Brandon Bolden for the Patriots after losing Stevan Ridley, as Bill Belichick has said Gray is going to get used at RB more over Bolden.
