Fantasy football she starts, she sits: Can Bears’ Caleb Williams stay hot in Week 8?

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

With that in mind, here’s what you can do with different flex options, streaming prospects and other players you may be unsure about joining your starting lineup in Week 8.

Quarterbacks

Starting point: Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

Bears at Commanders / 4:25 PM ET Sunday

Williams appears to have found his feet in the NFL and has built a solid bond 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 the 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 has still allowed the sixth-most passing touchdowns (12), allowing Williams to deliver another strong performance.

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

Incumbent: Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Packers at Jaguars / 1:00 PM ET Sunday

The former No. 1 overall draft pick is starting 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 tempt some fantasy managers to stream him, Lawrence may be best left on the bench in one-quarterback leagues.

After all, this season the Packers’ defense has been excellent against opposing signal calls. In addition to keeping Texans QB CJ Stroud at a career low 86 passing yards last week, the unit recorded an interception in five of seven games, which doesn’t bode well for the turnover-prone Lawrence.

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

Running backs

Start: JK Dobbins, Los Angeles Chargers

Saints at Chargers / 4:05 PM ET Sunday

After being ranked as the RB4 overall Through his first two games, Dobbins hasn’t been all that impressive in recent weeks; he has scored fewer than 10 PPR points in three of his last four games.

Fortunately for Dobbins and his fantasy managers, New Orleans has not been able to contain opposing running backs this season, especially lately. This past month the Saints have given up 31.98 fantasy points per game for the position, third most among teams and an NFL high 729 rushing yards. Enter Dobbins this week with confidence, and if he scores another 20 points, consider selling high on him before he hits a tough point in his schedule.

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

Incumbent: Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans

Titans at Lions / 1:00 PM ET Sunday

Although Pollard will have a significant workload in Tennessee, he is posting his second-worst performance of the season. Pollard scored 8.5 PPR points last week 34-10 road loss for Buffalo, especially since he carried the ball twice in the second half as the game became a blowout.

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

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

Wide receivers

Starts: Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins

Cardinals at Dolphins / 1:00 PM ET Sunday

Like his fellow Dolphins skill position players, Waddle has not started since QB Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in Week 2. Over his last five games, the 2021 first-round pick has been average 6.2 PPR points, 80th most among wideouts. Still, with Tagovailoa set to return to action for the home game against Arizona, Waddle is worth the risk as a flex play.

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

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

Incumbent: Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals at Dolphins / 1:00 PM ET Sunday

Looking at the other side of the Dolphins vs. Cardinals matchup, Harrison has been another frustrating player to add to the fantasy roster this season. The generational draft prospect has not met expectations and has been ranked as the WR31 general in PPR score formats.

However, Harrison’s mediocre performance is not an indication of his talent. Instead, it’s because the Cardinals are disappointing on average 190.1 passing yards per game, sixth fewest among teams. This isn’t a promising development for Arizona, which faces Miami top-ranked pass defenseand it’s even worse for Harrison, whose star CB Jalen Ramsey will cover most of the game.

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

Tight ends

Start: Hunter Henry, New England Patriots

Jets at Patriots / 1:00 PM ET Sunday

Henry only managed 2.9 PPR points in New England’s Week 3 road loss to the Jets, but we can expect him to be much more productive this time around. The 29-year-old was the biggest beneficiary of the Patriots’ quarterback change 11 of his 14 targets from rookie Drake Maye for 133 yards and a touchdown in the past two games. With New England likely to trail early, Henry should be peppered with targets throughout the game on his way to another double-digit fantasy outing.

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

Incumbent: Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

Ravens at Browns / 1:00 PM ET Sunday

Those who stuck with Andrews after he struggled to start the season have been rewarded over his last two games as he has ranked as the TE2 in general during that period. Still, Andrews’ recent fantasy production has largely relied on touchdowns rather than volume, having scored three times on eight targets. The limited number of targets makes Andrews difficult to trust going into a matchup against a Browns defense that allows the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends (3.6).

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