Fantasy Football: 4 Bold Predictions for Week 8

There's nothing quite like the NFL.

Football is one of the most intense, exciting sports on the planet. The source of the now-ubiquitous saying "Any Given Sunday," the NFL is a place where even struggling teams have a chance to topple the best in the league. Anything can happen when you only play 17 regular season games a year.

That uncertainty is a huge driver behind the excitement the NFL generates each and every season. What's more fun than watching something totally unexpected unfold before your eyes?

That's why, this year, we'll be bringing you four bold predictions to watch for in each week the 2023 NFL season.

NFL Bold Predictions for Week 8

Kirk Cousins Will Not Be a Top-12 Quarterback

The Minnesota Vikings have had a wild ride this year, struggling to an 0-3 start before battling back to a 3-4 record. In terms of real football quarterback Kirk Cousins has been a little chaotic, but for fantasy football, he's been a top-eight guy through and through; the veteran has posted QB10 or better performances in 5 of his 7 games so far this season.

On paper, a Week 8 matchup against the Green Bay Packers looks like another solid spot for Cousins to put up solid fantasy numbers. numberFire's schedule-adjusted power rankings consider the Packers' passing defense to be a below-average unit, ranking 12th-worst against the pass after playing against some pillow-soft opposing offenses. In other words, Cousins should be able to pile up passing yards (and hopefully scores) without much resistance against his division rivals.

Unfortunately, the Vikings could be pretty short-handed for the next few games. Superstar wideout Justin Jefferson is currently on injured reserve, and Jordan Addison was dinged up in the second half on Monday before ultimately returning. Tight end T.J. Hockenson also took a beating in that game, leaving the field multiple times to visit with the Vikings' training staff. Even running back Alexander Mattison appeared to get shaken up a couple of times during the win. We should expect the Vikings to have a pretty lengthy injury report this week.

An offense depending on Brandon Powell and K.J. Osborn to make plays is not going to find a lot of success in the NFL. Cousins has been posting strong fantasy numbers by getting the ball into his playmakers' hands, but he could struggle against even a middling defense without his star-studded supporting cast.

With escalating injuries around him, Cousins will not finish inside the top 12 quarterbacks in Week 8.

Jonathan Taylor Will Be the RB1

Man, it's good to have Jonathan Taylor back on the field.

The Indianapolis Colts didn't make it easy (between dubious injury designations and their unwillingness to extend the star during the offseason), but Taylor is starting to look like the back that carried fantasy teams to championships during the 2021 season.

The Colts have been slowly working Taylor back up to speed in the three weeks since his return from the PUP list. He handled 7 touches for 34 yards in his season debut, followed by a 13-touch, 65-yard outing in Week 6. His usage ticked up even further in Week 7 when the star back produced 120 yards and a touchdown on 21 touches against the best defense in the league. Fingers are still crossed, but it's looking like Jonathan Taylor is back.

When Taylor is healthy, he's always a threat to finish as the fantasy RB1, and with a matchup against the New Orleans Saints queued up for Sunday, don't be surprised if he nabs that top spot for the first time this season. The Saints' run defense has ranked pretty highly in recent seasons but was victimized by negative game script against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. They gave up multiple big runs in the loss and allowed two touchdowns to Travis Etienne. As a cherry on top their offense has been falling apart lately, meaning the Colts should have friendly game script for establishing the run.

This is shaping up to be a prime spot for a JT RB1 statement game.

Garrett Wilson Will Be a Top-6 Wideout

It's been a bit painful to watch New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson this season when we know what it should have been -- a true WR1-caliber season.

After starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers was likely lost for the year due to his Achilles injury, it seemed like Wilson's massive NFL breakout was going to be deferred until 2024. We're definitely not getting true WR1 numbers from Wilson on a consistent basis this season, but the mild growth that quarterback Zach Wilson has shown has at least allowed his top wideout keep some semblance of fantasy value in 2023.

Wilson really is a WR1 breakout waiting to happen. He has garnered 45.95% of the Jets' air yards this season, a share only A.J. Brown and Tyreek Hill outperform. It's not wild to assume that Wilson could be putting up numbers not so far off of those NFL stars with even average quarterback play. The issue isn't Wilson's role or skill level but the passing volume in New York's offense; only the Tennessee Titans have attempted fewer passes (165) than the Jets (183). It's hard to put up elite counting stats without at least average volume, and the Jets are doing everything they can to avoid giving Zach Wilson average volume.

It's not great analysis to say someone is "due" for a big day, but in Wilson's case, it's kind of true. Wilson and Arizona Cardinals wideout Marquise Brown are the only receivers in the league to rank top 12 in air yards share without a top-10 fantasy outing to their name. Both wideouts have been putting up steady numbers and are knocking on the door of breakout games, but Wilson especially seems like he's on the precipice of greatness. The Jets had a whole bye week to rest up and scheme up plays for their star playmaker.

They'll draw a decent matchup against the New York Giants in Week 8, which could be just the push Wilson needs to join the elite WR1 ranks (at least for the week). Don't be shocked when he posts a top-six finish at the position.

Trey McBride Finishes as a TE1

The stars are starting to align for Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. The 2022 second-round pick had a slow start to his debut campaign and only earned a full-time role in the offense a couple of weeks before starting quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a season-ending knee injury.

The pass-catching tight end prospect had a few productive games down the stretch despite catching passes from an assortment of practice squad quarterbacks and podcasters. He slid down the pecking order a bit to open the 2023 campaign with Zach Ertz operating as the team's top pass-catching option at the position but is now poised to become an impact player in Arizona's offense.

Even with Ertz in the offense, McBride was quietly posting some solid efficiency numbers this season. His 1.87 yards per route run mark ranks third among tight ends while his per-catch numbers far outshine those of his veteran teammate; McBride has totaled 170 yards on 15 catches -- just 17 fewer yards on 12 fewer catches than Ertz. Now that Ertz (quad strain) is on the injured reserve, McBride could start seeing a significant bump in his workload over the next few weeks.

McBride has already been posting his efficient numbers with Joshua Dobbs at quarterback, so even if Kyler Murray takes another week to return, the second-year tight end should still be in line for a decent day against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8. The Ravens look like a lights-out matchup to opposing tight ends; they've allowed a league-low 4.9 fantasy points per game to the position -- but are relatively buoyed by a soft early-season slate of opponents. Both David Njoku and Sam LaPorta have had solid fantasy outings against Baltimore, proving that competent tight ends can still have fantasy-viable outings against the Ravens.

The Cardinals drafted McBride in the second round of last year's draft to make an impact as a pass-catcher, and the stage is now set for him to start making good on his solid prospect profile. He'll finish the week among the top-12 tight ends in fantasy football.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.