TE Rankings Downgrades For Week 8 Fantasy Football: Brock Bowers & More

Let's get into the Week 8 TE rankings edition of Freedman's Fades, where I highlight guys I'm downgrading because of …

Unfavorable betting factors and situational spots
Disadvantageous defensive matchups (perhaps amplified by offensive injury)
Decreased usage expectations (again, maybe exacerbated by offensive injury)

For process notes regarding this series, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my Week 8 favorites and fades.

TE Rankings For Week 8 (Top 15)

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Rank	Player
1	Trey McBride
2	Brock Bowers
3	Tucker Kraft
4	Colston Loveland
5	Dallas Goedert
6	Sam LaPorta
7	Dalton Kincaid
8	Travis Kelce
9	Kyle Pitts
10	T.J. Hockenson
11	Hunter Henry
12	Harold Fannin
13	Chig Okonkwo
14	Brenton Strange
15	Tyler Higbee

Week 8 Matchup Downgrades In My TE Rankings: Sam LaPorta vs. Vikings & Colston Loveland at Seahawks

There are a few "reverse flow chart" defenses so good that they serve as automatic downgrades to whatever TEs they face. If a guy is playing one of them, I aggressively move him down my ranks. If not, I carry on.

Based on the numbers I see in our Fantasy Life DvP (Defense vs. Position) Matrix as well as RBs Don't Matter and FTN, the Vikings and Seahawks are two of the biggest reverse flow chart defenses for TEs.

Vikings: No. 1 in fewest fantasy points allowed to TEs (5.4)
Seahawks: No. 2 in defensive pass DVOA vs. TEs (-30.5%)

Here be dragons.

Sam LaPorta (Lions) vs. Vikings: If No. 1 WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (ankle) misses time, then LaPorta could see a boost, but we witnessed the depth of his downside this past week (2.3 fantasy points, 1-18-0 receiving, 2 targets, 91% route rate, 5% air yard share, 37 Utilization Score, per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report). The Lions are -3.5 favorites at home, where over the past five years they've had the league's No. 2 HFA (+7.69, per NFElo), and Week 5 was their last time on the road, so their setup is good, but it's not perfect: The Vikings have cut their home edge to the core because they play in division on a similar turf surface in a similar indoor stadium.

Colston Loveland (Bears) at Seahawks: After a horrendously poor start to the season in Weeks 1-5 (3.5 fantasy points per game, 13-110-0 receiving, 23 targets, 56 Utilization Score), Loveland has looked like an All-Pro since Week 6 (15.9 fantasy points per game, 13-134-2 receiving, 19 targets, 100 Utilization Score). The Bears have a three-day edge coming off Thursday Night Football, and QB Caleb Williams is usually at his best outside division (18-7-1 ATS, 37.3% ROI, per Action Network), so the setup isn't terrible, but this is a poor travel spot for the Bears, who are on their third road game in four weeks. On top of that, the Seahawks are on their fourth game in five weeks at home, where they have a boosted HFA because they're outside division and on turf (vs. grass).

Scoring Downgrades In My Week 8 TE Rankings: Brock Bowers at Jets & Kyle Pitts at Buccaneers

Sometimes downgrades are as simple as: "This team isn't going to score as many points as it usually does, so I need to push down the TEs."

This week the Raiders are No. 16 in implied team total (22.25 points), and the Falcons are No. 17 (21.75).

Downgrades warranted.

Brock Bowers (Raiders) at Jets: Bowers opened the season on fire in Weeks 3-5 (19.7 fantasy points per game, 24-312-3 receiving, 34 targets, 100 Utilization Score), but he has markedly cooled off over the past two weeks (9.7 fantasy points per game, 10-143-0 receiving, 17 targets, 84 Utilization Score). The setup for the Raiders isn't good. They're traveling across the country for an early 1 pm ET kickoff, and the Jets have a boosted HFA against them because they're outside division and on turf (vs. grass) and outdoors (vs. indoors). Plus, the Jets are No. 6 in fewest fantasy points allowed to TEs (7.8).

Kyle Pitts (Falcons) at Buccaneers: Pitts has seen his numbers improve over the past three weeks (14.6 fantasy points per game, 15-124-4 receiving, 18 targets, 70% route rate, 80 Utilization Score) relative to what they were to open the year in Weeks 1-4 (2.3 fantasy points per game, 5-67-0 receiving, 9 targets, 59% route rate, 36 Utilization Score). Much of his production has been driven by TDs, which can be fluky. The Bucs might be without FS Antoine Winfield (ribs), but they're on their fifth home game in seven weeks, and although divisional road dogs tend to be sharp (752-641-37 ATS, 4.8% ROI), HC Kevin Stefanski has been terrible on the road throughout his career (21-33 ATS, -25.0% ROI). I'm probably benching Pitts in Guillotine LeaguesTM this week.

Notes

Week 8 Favorites & Fades: Here's the full series.

Byes: This week, the 49ers, Saints, Giants, and Texans are off.

Market Odds: As of Tuesday afternoon.

Injuries: Since I write Freedman's Favorites on Monday and Tuesday, I have incomplete injury information. After I submit this article, any updated thoughts I have regarding injuries will manifest in my rankings. For our quick fantasy thoughts every day, subscribe to the Fantasy Life newsletter.

Schedule: This season, I have the following rankings schedule.