Week 8 Fantasy Football Matchups to Exploit: 5 players you should have in your lineup

· Yahoo Sports

It’s Week 8 of the fantasy football season and Yahoo analyst Ray Garvin is back to give you five players with matchups they can exploit on Sunday.

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I think we're getting to the point where we have to start taking Blake Corum seriously as a weekly fantasy option.

Listen, Kyren Williams isn't going anywhere. He's still a very good running back and an important part of what the Rams want to do offensively. But what Corum is doing right now cannot be ignored.

Last week against Las Vegas, Corum carried the ball 17 times for 93 yards and a touchdown. He played 44.4% of the offensive snaps and actually finished with one more rushing attempt than Williams. Over the past two games, Corum has accounted for approximately 45% of the Rams' rushing attempts.

That's not some backup coming in to spell the starter for a few snaps. That's a legitimate role in this offense.

And when you watch Corum, he's running with confidence. He's decisive, he's physical and he's making the most of the opportunities he's getting. With Davante Adams unavailable, I expect Sean McVay to continue leaning on his running backs to move the football.

There's also the ball-security conversation with Williams, who lost another fumble against the Raiders. I'm not suggesting Corum is about to take over this backfield, but when you're playing well and the guy ahead of you is putting the ball on the ground, that certainly doesn't hurt your case for additional opportunities.

Now he gets a Chargers defense allowing 4.24 yards per carry to opposing running backs, and the Rams have done an excellent job creating running lanes.

Corum doesn't need to take Williams' job to be valuable in fantasy. He's already getting enough work to matter. If the Rams continue splitting opportunities the way they have recently, Corum is firmly in the flex conversation with legitimate upside this week.

This is what we've been waiting to see from Bucky Irving.

Twenty-four carries, 106 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Carolina last week. That's the type of performance fantasy managers envisioned when they drafted Bucky, and what's encouraging to me is that the workload was already trending in the right direction.

He had 21 touches against Pittsburgh the week before, but the production wasn't there. We finally saw the opportunity translate into fantasy points against Carolina.

And I think there's a good chance that continues this week against Atlanta.

The Buccaneers rank fourth in adjusted run-blocking yards per carry, while the Falcons rank 23rd in that metric allowed. That's a favorable matchup for an offensive line that has been creating opportunities on the ground.

We just watched Christian McCaffrey put up 100 scrimmage yards and a touchdown against this Falcons defense. Now, Bucky isn't McCaffrey, especially in terms of the receiving role, but the point remains: You can run the football against Atlanta.

There are a few things worth monitoring. Bucs RT Luke Goedeke is dealing with a calf injury, Kenny Gainwell has a hip injury and Baker Mayfield's recovery from a dislocated right thumb remains something to watch. Those situations could affect the offensive environment, but I'm not building this recommendation around anybody missing the game.

I'm looking at Bucky's workload, how he's running the football and the matchup in front of him.

If Irving is going to continue getting 20-plus opportunities, he's the type of running back I want in my lineup. The volume is there, Tampa Bay is blocking well and Atlanta presents another favorable opportunity.

I'm rolling with Bucky again this week.

I continue to believe Parker Washington is one of the more interesting wide receivers in fantasy football right now, and coming out of Jacksonville's bye week, I love the matchup against Indianapolis.

He's emerged as Trevor Lawrence's primary receiving option, commanding approximately 26% of the targets when he's on the field. That's significant usage for a player who still doesn't get discussed nearly enough in fantasy circles.

And this matchup sets up really well for him.

The Colts play man coverage on nearly half of their defensive snaps. Against man coverage this season, Washington has averaged 0.66 PPR points per route run. That's outstanding efficiency, and it's exactly the type of matchup advantage we should be looking for when setting our lineups.

Indianapolis also just traded DeForest Buckner, removing one of its most established defensive linemen. That's a significant loss for the Colts and should make things easier for Lawrence and the Jacksonville offense.

I also like RB Bhayshul Tuten in this matchup. I think Jacksonville should be able to have success running the football, especially with Buckner no longer anchoring that defensive front.

But here's the thing: Both can be successful.

Washington doesn't need Jacksonville to completely abandon the running game to produce. He's established himself as a featured part of this passing attack, and with the Jaguars getting an opportunity to reset during their bye after the London trip, I expect this offense to come out ready to go.

The one concern is overall passing volume if Jacksonville gets out to a big lead. But I'm not going to overthink a player commanding this type of target share against a defense that plays as much man coverage as Indianapolis.

Washington has the usage, the efficiency and the matchup. That's the combination we're looking for.

Man, these past couple of weeks have been frustrating if you're a Garrett Wilson manager.

And honestly, it's felt like the Omar Cooper Jr. show.

Cooper has put together back-to-back 100-yard performances, going for 103 yards against New England and 115 against Miami. Meanwhile, Wilson has caught just six passes for 70 yards combined over those same two games.

That's not what fantasy managers signed up for.

But I'm not ready to throw in the towel on Wilson, and I actually think this matchup against Las Vegas presents a great opportunity for him to get back on track.

Two weeks ago, Wilson was dealing with Christian Gonzalez, one of the better cornerbacks in football. Last week against Miami, the production simply wasn't there, and Cooper continued to establish himself as a legitimate weapon in this offense.

I'm not taking anything away from Cooper. He's earned his opportunities. But that doesn't mean Wilson suddenly forgot how to play wide receiver.

This week, the projected matchup against Hezekiah Masses is one I believe the Jets can exploit. Masses is allowing approximately 0.34 PPR points per coverage route, and while receivers aren't locked into one matchup for an entire game, this is an area New York should be looking to attack.

The Raiders also play a significant amount of zone coverage, so Wilson will have opportunities to find space in different areas of the field.

Look, I understand the frustration. When you're setting your fantasy lineup and looking at what Wilson has done over the past two weeks, it's difficult to feel confident.

But we've got to separate recent production from the opportunity ahead.

Wilson is too talented for me to completely abandon him after two disappointing games, especially in a matchup like this.

Cooper can continue to play well without Wilson disappearing from this offense. I think there's room for both receivers to produce, and I'm willing to bet on a bounce-back performance from Garrett this week.

If there's one player on this list who has probably tested the patience of fantasy managers more than anybody else, it might be Michael Wilson.

When Marvin Harrison Jr. was traded, the expectation was that Wilson would step into a significantly larger role in Arizona's offense and deliver consistent fantasy production.

The opportunity has been there. The results? Not so much.

But this is where I think we have to be careful about allowing recent fantasy performances to dictate every lineup decision.

Because this matchup against Dallas is about as good as it gets.

First, look at the game environment. We're talking about a game with a 54.5-point total. The Cowboys have an offense capable of putting points on the board, and that could force Arizona into a game where it has to throw the football to keep up.

That's exactly the type of situation I want for a wide receiver who needs opportunities.

And we've seen what opposing receivers can do against this Dallas secondary. Makai Lemon just had success against the Cowboys on Monday night, and there's no reason to believe Arizona can't create opportunities for Wilson as well.

But here's the number that really stands out to me.

Wilson is averaging approximately 17.4 expected PPR points per game, yet he's producing only 11.5 actual PPR points.

That's nearly six fantasy points per game separating his opportunity from his actual production.

Now, expected fantasy points don't guarantee future production. We know that. But they do tell us something about the opportunities a player is getting, and Wilson's usage suggests he should be delivering more than what we've seen.

That's why I'm not ready to give up on him.

I want Arizona taking shots downfield. I want Wilson getting opportunities in scoring position, and against this Cowboys defense, I believe those chances will be there.

At some point, you've got to trust the process and the opportunity.

If you're not willing to start Wilson against the Cowboys in a game with a 54.5-point total, what matchup are you waiting for?

This is exactly the type of spot where I'm willing to go right back to him.

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