Fantasy football start ’em, sit ’em: Can Bears’ Caleb Williams stay hot in Week 8?

We’ve reached the second half of the 2024 fantasy football regular season, and after several notable players suffered significant injuries in Week 7, starting lineups will be even more challenging to set.

With that in mind, here’s what to do about several flex options, streaming candidates and other players you could be on the fence about plugging into your starting lineup in Week 8.

Quarterbacks

Start: Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears 

Bears at Commanders / 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday

Williams appears to have found his footing in the NFL and has built a solid rapport with his talented group of pass-catchers after an uninspiring start to his career. The USC product has thrown for the seventh-most yards (530) and third-most touchdowns (six) among quarterbacks over his last two games. While Washington’s defense is more imposing this season than in years past, the unit still has allowed the sixth-most passing touchdowns (12), setting Williams up for another strong performance. 

Other starts: Bo Nix, Denver Broncos; Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

Sit: Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Packers at Jaguars / 1 p.m. ET Sunday

The former No. 1 overall draft pick has started to turn his season around, averaging the 10th-most fantasy points among quarterbacks since Week 5 (18.4). While his recent production has been encouraging and could entice some fantasy managers to stream him, Lawrence is best left on the bench in one-quarterback leagues.

After all, this season, the Packers’ defense has been stellar against opposing signal-callers. In addition to holding Texans QB C.J. Stroud to a career-low 86 passing yards last week, the unit has racked up an interception in five of its seven games, which doesn’t bode well for the turnover-prone Lawrence. 

Other sits: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys; Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets

Running backs

Start: J.K. Dobbins, Los Angeles Chargers 

Saints at Chargers / 4:05 p.m. ET Sunday

After ranking as the RB4 overall through his first two games, Dobbins hasn’t been all that impressive in recent weeks, posting fewer than 10 PPR points in three of his last four outings.

Fortunately for Dobbins and his fantasy managers, New Orleans hasn’t been able to contain opposing running backs this season, especially recently. Over the last month, the Saints have given up 31.98 fantasy points per game to the position, the third-most among teams, and an NFL-high 729 rushing yards. Start Dobbins with confidence this week, and if he produces another 20-point showing, consider selling high on him before he reaches a tough stretch on his schedule. 

Other starts: Alexander Mattison, Las Vegas Raiders; Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos 

Sit: Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans 

Titans at Lions / 1 p.m. ET Sunday

Although Pollard receives a sizeable workload in Tennessee, he’s coming off his second-worst performance of the season. Pollard scored 8.5 PPR points in last week’s 34-10 road loss to Buffalo, mainly because he carried the ball twice in the second half due to the game becoming a blowout. 

Given that Detroit’s defense has allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to tailbacks (81.7), coupled with the fact that this matchup could get out of hand quickly, Pollard seems likely to disappoint again in Week 8. 

Other sits: Tampa Bay Buccaneers backfield; Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots 

Wide Receivers

Start: Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins 

Cardinals at Dolphins / 1 p.m. ET Sunday

Like his fellow Dolphins skill position players, Waddle has been unstartable since QB Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in Week 2. Over his last five games, the 2021 first-round pick has averaged 6.2 PPR points, the 80th-most among wideouts. Nevertheless, with Tagovailoa set to return to action for this week’s home contest against Arizona, Waddle is worth the risk as a flex play.

It’s impossible to tell how Tagovailoa will perform in his first game in over a month and a half, though Miami should take advantage of a shaky Cardinals defense and air the ball out often. Not only does the unit allow the seventh-most passing yards per game (247.29), but opposing wide receivers also average the 10th-most fantasy points against Arizona (23.1).

Other starts: Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers; Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers  

Sit: Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals 

Cardinals at Dolphins / 1 p.m. ET Sunday

Looking at the other side of the Dolphins-Cardinals matchup, Harrison has been another frustrating player to roster in fantasy this season. The generational draft prospect hasn’t lived up to expectations, ranking as the WR31 overall in PPR scoring formats.

However, Harrison’s lackluster output isn’t indicative of his talent. Instead, it’s because the Cardinals average an underwhelming 190.1 passing yards per game, the sixth-fewest among teams. This isn’t a promising development for Arizona, which faces Miami’s top-ranked pass defense, and it’s even worse for Harrison, whose star CB Jalen Ramsey will cover most of the game. 

Other sits: Jerry Jeudy, Cleveland Browns; Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers

Tight Ends

Start: Hunter Henry, New England Patriots

Jets at Patriots / 1 p.m. ET Sunday

Henry posted just 2.9 PPR points during New England’s Week 3 road loss to the Jets, but we should expect him to be far more productive this time. The 29-year-old has been the biggest beneficiary of the Patriots’ quarterback change, catching 11 of his 14 targets from rookie Drake Maye for 133 yards and a touchdown over the last two games. Considering New England will likely be trailing early, Henry should be peppered with targets throughout the contest en route to another double-digit fantasy outing. 

Other starts: Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions; Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Sit: Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens 

Ravens at Browns / 1 p.m. ET Sunday 

Those who stuck with Andrews after he struggled to begin the season have been rewarded over his last two games, as he’s ranked as the TE2 overall during that span. Even so, Andrews’ recent fantasy production has largely depended on touchdowns rather than volume, having scored three times on eight targets. The limited number of targets makes Andrews difficult to trust heading into a matchup against a Browns defense that allows the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends (3.6). 

Other sits: Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons; Jonnu Smith, Miami Dolphins