Whether you’re playing redraft or dynasty, knowing what to do is crucial to success.
That’s why each of our fantasy football experts is giving you a step up to take advantage of this week.
Feel Free To Start Josh Jacobs
Shane Hallam
Josh Jacobs
GBRB23in
If you’ve been holding on to Josh Jacobs since you drafted him, or even picked him up off the waiver wire, plug him into your lineup this week. You didn’t wait all this time to hesitate and leave him on the bench.
The Packers run game might ask you to make that call. They rank 31st in rushing yards more than expected per attempt at minus-0.93. They lead the league in stuffed-run percentage at 55.9% (the Raiders are second by a decent margin at 49.7%).
Watch the team’s last two games thoroughly, I chalked most of them up to the RBs. The O-line certainly isn’t great at run blocking, but I don’t believe it’s among the worst in the league. Poor vision combined with a lack of short-area speed led to nearly all of the Packers RBs (MarShawn Lloyd, Kaleb Johnson, Pierre Strong Jr., etc.) playing poorly.
The team also leaned on the pass. It ranks fourth in pass rate than expected (7.8%) and is having success so far. But this remains a team that likes to run the ball more when it has the chance.
They have passed less than expected since Jacobs joined the team in 2024. Their PROE finished at minus-4.32% for 2024 and minus-1.61% in 2025.
Start Jacobs and take a chance they can get back to running the ball with him in the lineup.
AJ Brown’s Bad Week is Your Buying Window
Jody Smith
AJ Brown
Active
NO
WR18
The guy in your league who drafted AJ Brown in the second round is probably a tough start. Last week’s rusty performance likely deepened those concerns.
As bad as Brown looks, there’s reason to be optimistic. In his return to the lineup, he ran a route on 97% of dropbacks and commanded a whopping 33.3% target share. That’s the kind of use a WR1 needs, and it came when he got back on the field.
The opportunity must grow. Romeo Doubs will be gone for the next month, which will only help keep Brown extra involved in a New England offense that is humming.
The schedule is also friendly. According to our strength of schedule tool, the Patriots have the 12th easiest slate for wide receivers over the next four weeks.
Last week’s dismal outing creates a solid opportunity to buy low on a proven star who could start paying off his draft capital. If his manager is losing patience, now is the time to make an offer.
Buy Jeremiah Love Before It’s Comfortable
Jared Smola
Jeremiah Love
Not declared
ARI
RB68
I knew I had found a good buy when I pitched him to the rest of the staff and was immediately shot down.
That tells me he is, at worst, getting; at best, available at a strong value.
Such is the case of Jeremiah Love today.
The arguments against him are obvious:
- He was still hurt.
- He shared the job with Tyler Allgeier even before the latest ankle injury.
- And he’s playing in a subpar offense.
But that’s why he was bought.
Love is still the elite prospect going third overall in the NFL Draft. And we have seen the upside.
In Week 3, when Love was at his healthiest this season, he played 64% of Arizona’s offensive snaps, grabbed 21 carries, and drew 5 targets. He finished RB4 in both expected and actual fantasy points.
The schedule adds to the appeal. Arizona has the fifth-easiest RB schedule through Week 8, including the second-best slate for the fantasy playoffs: Jets, Saints, Raiders.
There is danger here, especially to Love’s health. You need enough RB depth to experience some short-term uncertainty.
But if you wait until he’s healthy and coming up in another big game, the discount will disappear. Shop for him now, as his current manager focuses on all the reasons to sell.
Tanking is an Underutilized Skill in Dynasty
Ian Miller
This week marks the halfway point of the fantasy regular season. If you haven’t yet accepted that your dynasty team isn’t winning a championship this season, you’re way behind.
Time to tank.
The benefit of tanking is simple: Put your team in a better position to win the championship next season and more than make the playoffs this year. That usually consists of trading useful aging players for future picks or young players who haven’t scored many points yet…
But the concept behind points of sale is becoming less understood and more of a formality among dynasty managers. Most leagues determine the draft order for non-playoff teams based on the inverse Max Points For. That means you’ll be judged on your best possible lineup — best ball style — and you won’t just throw your worst players out there every week.
There is a big difference between getting the first overall pick and the second. Especially in a draft class that will feature Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith, generally viewed as the greatest WR prospect of his generation.
Ja’Marr Chase, Marvin Harrison Jr, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and even Carnell Tate came in valued as a WR1 before taking an NFL snap. Smith’s stature suggests that the value of the first overall pick would be on par with the lowest top-3 WR.
But getting the fewest points possible over the course of the season, without lighting up the cost, is the most underutilized skill.
Since draft order is based on scoring your best possible lineup each week, if you have three QBs who all finish with the three most points in a week but your league only has one QB spot in the lineup, the second and third highest scoring QBs will not count against your ‘Max PF’ score.
Whereas if you hold the three highest scoring WRs in a week, and your league has two WR spots but multiple flex spots, they all count against you.
With the abundance of trading in dynasty leagues, holding a surplus of a position doesn’t lock you into that situation when you’re ready to compete next year. But doing so now is a simple way to store player value in your lineup without actively moving away from the top pick.
The difference between Jeremiah Smith and the 1.02 in the 2027 rookie draft will be huge and there is still time to exploit.
Tell My Colleagues They’re Wrong About Kirk Cousins
Matt Schauf
Kirk Cousins
LVRQB20in
Look, we all came into this season skeptical of Fernando Mendoza’s bench filler. But Kirk Cousins proved that to be a mistake.
He doesn’t pretend. The guy ranks 14th among QBs in fantasy points per game despite checking in at just 23rd in projected points per game.
Does that mean he played so well that he missed his chance? Not really. Cousins is just 27th in adjusted completion rate among 37 qualifiers, but he’s sitting just …
All those guys are in good shape, right?
More importantly, Cousins continues to come through for us in fantasy. He earned four top-10 finishes in his six outings. And here are the weeks he didn’t get there:
- Week 1: QB18 for 160 yards, 3 TD passes, and 2 INTs
- Week 5: QB20 on 19-of-28 passing, 243 yards, 1 TD
Three TDs in one of them; his second-best completion rate in another. Cousins has thrown 2+ TD passes in five of six contests. And he has thrown more than 40 passes in two of his past three games.
That last fact is key for me, as I expect more volume against the Rams this Sunday. LA heads into Vegas as a 4.5-point favorite with injuries all over the place, including lead CB Trent McDuffie (groin). Even with McDuffie in five of the first six games, the Rams ranked just 13th in pass-defense DVOA, 21st in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs, and 17th in actual points allowed.
The defense sits a little above average, but not terrible. And that’s why I’m not afraid to say Cousins belongs in the top 15 QBs this week. I’d start him this week over Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Tyler Shough, and Kyler Murray.
See Ian’s Week 7 introductory seating article for the anti-Cousins case.