Is T.Y. Hilton really this bad this season? Is Adam Humphries for real? Can Larry Fitzgerald keep his comeback tour rolling? A look at some of the best and worst fantasy football performances from Week 8 and whether they were a fluke or a sign of things to come.
You can follow Tyler Wilson on Twitter at @KingOfBuffalo.
Surprise of the Week: Larry Fitzgerald (ARI)
The future Hall of Famer finally came out of the shadows this past week under new offensive coordinator Bryon Leftwich, putting up his best game so far this season with eight catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. Fitzgerald got the look 12 times from the rookie quarterback Josh Rosen and capitalized on the opportunity rewarding the patient fantasy owners.
If Leftwich wants to be a successful offensive he will need to prove he can move the ball down the field, hence why Larry Fitzgerald is going to be poised for a lot of receptions going forward this season. Larry Fitzgerald could easily average eight receptions for 85 yards in the second half and I believe the rookie play caller knows that getting Larry involved is the best way to ensure that he keeps his job.
Verdict: Fact.
Studs
Joe Mixon (CIN)
Joe Mixon showed off his first-round pedigree in Week 8, rushing for a career high 123 yards against a lackluster Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that was missing two Pro Bowlers in Gerald McCoy and Kwon Alexander. Mixon had great success in the first half in particular, rushing for 114 of his 123 yards on the day. Mixon at times looked dominate, but other times showed why head coach Marvin Lewis was hesitant to lean on the rookie last year.
[More Week 9 Coverage: Fantasy Football Rankings | Pick’ Em | Sleepers | Busts]
On the year, Mixon has had four games of 17 carries or more and averages 98.4 yards on those games. Mixon is a stud running back with a great schedule going forward, but how much will Marvin Lewis lean on the running back to seal games? The Bengals offense is clicking on all cylinders which gives Mixon tremendous upside, and he has all of the potential to become a top 10 running back down to the stretch.
Verdict: Fact
Adam Humphries (TB)
We all know there are a handful of things that Jameis Winston loves. One being interceptions, second being turnovers, and third being throwing the ball to Adam Humphries. Jameis Winston loves the first two so much that he is no longer the Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting quarterback. When Winston threw the ball for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Humphries had 19 receptions for 214 yards and when Ryan Fitzpatrick was the quarterback he had eight receptions for 82 yards. Fitzpatrick has 144 attempts on the year compared to Winston’s 148, so the volume of passing attempts is there, but Fitzpatrick just does not look for Humphries in the passing game.
Verdict: Fiction
Duds
T.Y. Hilton (IND)
Over the first three games of the season, T.Y. Hilton had 38 targets and 21 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns. His season outside of those three games include just 9 targets and 5 catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns.
His biggest game of the season came in a shootout against Houston where T.Y. had four catches for 115 yards. His yards per target in that game was 19.17 and in the five other games played T.Y. averaged only 5.95 yards per target. Hilton is obviously still being plagued by the hamstring injury that kept him out of two games this season and being on a bye this week should allow for the 28-year-old to get healthy. If the speedster is not comfortable with his hamstring in Week 10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, it’ll be obvious by his lack of targets.
Verdict: Fact
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