Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Reaching week 8 is a milestone in the fantasy football season, and indicates that we are halfway through the year. Although most leagues will run through week 17, there is precious little time for fantasy team managers to climb back up the standings at this point if they are below .500. Injuries have been a huge determining factor over the past few weeks, and propelled some players like Kenneth Walker III into top waiver pickups or quick promotions from the bench to the starting lineup. Looking forward, remember that historically more running backs are injured over the middle of the season than wide receivers, and consider picking up more depth at that position.

Take a look at our rankings for the week, meant to be used as a guide for your lineups, pickups, and trades moving into Week 8 of the fantasy season. Feel free to reach out on Twitter or in the comments below with any specific questions!

Good luck, and feel free to reach out to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any specific questions or comments that you might have. We are now broadcasting our weekly podcast, The Fantasy Finish Line, LIVE on YouTube every Wednesday at 9pm CT during the regular season. Tune in!

The Carolina Panthers have officially traded star running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers, according to a recent tweet by Adam Schefter and announced during a rare Thursday Night Football matchup that was actually high-scoring and entertaining! In return for CMC the Panthers will receive 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round picks in 2023, and a fifth-rounder in 2024.

Stunner: Panthers are trading Pro-Bowl RB Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for draft picks, sources tell ESPN.

McCaffrey returns to the Bay Area, where he attended Stanford. pic.twitter.com/R474r3eSkv

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 21, 2022

After losing starting running back Elijah Mitchell in the opening game against the Chicago Bears with a sprained MCL, the 49ers have struggled to fill the position and often employ a rotation of players. This move certainly signifies a strong push for the team to go deep into the playoffs and will be looked at positively by fantasy football team managers as the 49ers have far more talent on the roster with the likes of George Kittle and Deebo Samuel.

It remains to be seen how quickly Christian McCaffrey will be phased into the offense, but I'm guessing immediately. Sometimes a star player moving to a new offensive scheme and playbook can develop slowly, but all signs point to the fires burning hot here with CMC the uncontested lead back for the 49ers - one of the best rushing teams in the NFL. Look out, NFC West. Look out NFC. 

We have another spicy one for you this time around, with your hosts David & Jason going back in time to Week 4's podcast where we went over 6 player trends and the trajectories that we saw for those guys. Let's catch up now in the present, approaching week 7 of the fantasy football season, to check in on how we did with those prognostications and where trends are looking now for those players including Justin Jefferson, Trevor Lawrence, Brandin Cooks, and Russell Wilson. Also a special delivery (Raging Reaper Chocolate Bar) from a subscriber will make its way on the show when we each share some hot takes. Don't miss it!

This video/podcast will go live at 9pm CT on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 - it will also be available on all major podcast channels and remain available on YouTube for later review and comments. Join us live and add your comments/questions to the show!

This video features the songs and artists listed below, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license: - Various original music by David Biggs

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes to get notifications whenever we release a new episode. We also broadcast the shows live on our YouTube channel Wednesday nights at 9pm CT. Feel free to browse over and join in the discussion in the chat room and subscribe to the drinkfive channel for updates!

Justin Fields rushes for 88 yards and puts up fantasy numbers that you wouldn't be embarrassed to see in the box score? Miracle of miracles, but the question as always is will they do it again? What trajectory will player trends move in this week? I'm here with rankings to help solve that problem for you - use these as a guideline while making waiver moves and setting lineups this week.

In other news, Tua Tagovailoa (QB9) is heading back to active rosters this week, which will bring up the fantasy value of Dolphins' pass catchers, and rookies like Alec Pierce (WR38) will continue to climb the rankings over the next few weeks. Now is the time to search the waivers for those depth pieces like Pierce because he will be gone in a flash. Best of luck!

Take a look at our rankings for the week, meant to be used as a guide for your lineups, pickups, and trades moving into Week 7 of the fantasy season. Feel free to reach out on Twitter or in the comments below with any specific questions!

Good luck, and feel free to reach out to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any specific questions or comments that you might have. We are now broadcasting our weekly podcast, The Fantasy Finish Line, LIVE on YouTube every Wednesday at 9pm CT during the regular season. Tune in!