The Seahawks are traveling to St. Louis to face the Rams as fantasy owners hope for performances that can secure a Week 8 victory. The Rams are hoping to create an upset against the 6-1 Seahawks with Kellen Clemens filling in for Sam Bradford, who suffered a season-ending injury (ACL) in Week 7. A change at the quarterback position could cause an emergence of new fantasy options or simply bury an already disappointing Rams offense.
Fantasy football start/sit advice Week 8: Seahawks vs. Rams
Week 8 wraps up with the Seahawks facing the Rams in St. Louis for Monday Night Football. We take a look at the fantasy implications.
Otto Greule Jr
As usual, we’re here to take a look at the fantasy implications of Monday’s game.
Seahawks
Russell Wilson: It's match ups like Monday night's that Wilson tends to excel in. St. Louis has a solid defense, but they'll find difficulty containing a quarterback with the mobility that Wilson has. Wilson has already proven that playing teams on the road doesn't hinder his fantasy production. He put up strong numbers against the Colts and Cardinals. Expect strong QB1 numbers from Wilson in Week 8.
Running backs: Marshawn Lynch will likely continue putting up RB1 numbers against the Rams this week. St. Louis has given up the 5th most fantasy points to running backs this season. It is worth nothing that Lynch tends to produce less against softer run defenses as Russell Wilson finds more in the passing game and with his own legs. Regardless, he’s a must-start as usual, and owners shouldn’t sweat any risk to his production in Week 7.
Wide receivers: Sidney Rice is averaging less than five targets per game and is catching less than half of his passes. He's a boom-or-bust WR3 against a fairly generous St. Louis secondary. Golden Tate may have the higher floor as he sees more targets on a weekly basis, but he's still nothing more than a low-end WR3 option on a run-first offense.
Tight ends: They Rams have limited fantasy production to tight ends all season, and Seattle has been limited with targeting their tight end. Zach Miller is averaging just over two catches per game. He’s a feast or famine TE2 start for Week 8.
Defense/ Special teams: A top fantasy defense facing an inexperienced journeyman under center is enough reason to consider Seattle a must-start in all formats.
Rams
Kellen Clemens: He’s played just 12 NFL starts and has little upside against a stout Seattle defense. He may be worth stashing in two-quarterback leagues, as he’s one of 32 starting signal callers in the NFL at the moment, but he’s not worth starting in most, if not all formats.
Running backs: Zac Stacy will get the workload again for the Rams. He's a risky flex option because of the difficult match up, but he'll get enough touches to help owners that are dealing with bye weeks or injuries at the position. With Clemens under center, Seattle will likely stack the box more often, which could also cause problems for Stacy.
Wide receivers: It's difficult to predict targets when there's a change at quarterback, and no Rams receiver has been a consistent option all season. Austin Pettis was a brief flash and hasn't sustained any fantasy value. Chris Givens isn't seeing a sufficient amount of targets. Tavon Austin leads the team in receptions, but is barely holding any value even in PPR formats. Considering the inconsistency of every receiver, the change at quarterback, and the difficult matchup, there simply isn't enough reason to start any Rams wide receiver. Keep an eye out for target counts for each player with Clemens under center, but avoid starting any receivers in Week 8.
Tight ends: Jared Cook has been a disappointment all season. It will be interesting to see if Clemens relies on Cook as a check down option, but he’s still another wait-and-see TE2 option in Week 8.
Defense/ Special teams: St. Louis isn’t a defense worth starting simply because Seattle won’t turn the ball over much and will likely put up a healthy score. Kellen Clemens may have difficulty keeping St. Louis’ defense off the field as well. Avoid the Rams in all formats.
