Fantasy football analyst Hayden Winks has released his Week 8 high and low rankings, offering a strategic edge over the Yahoo consensus. Winks emphasizes that these projections remain fluid until kickoff, urging managers to monitor the latest updates on weekly ranking pages and the Sunday AM sit/start show for real-time adjustments. His analysis, detailed in “The Blueprint,” breaks down position-specific insights, with RB rankings dropping Wednesday and WR, QB, TE, K, and DEF updates arriving Thursday before Thursday Night Football.
Why Strange is a low-end TE1 and why Indy’s LB woes create value
A key divergence in Winks’ assessment involves tight end Dalton Kincaid’s counterpart or similar high-volume TEs, specifically highlighting a player named Strange (likely referring to a specific TE in context, though the source text uses “Strange” as a placeholder or specific name; assuming this refers to a specific TE performing well). Winks argues that this player is a low-end TE1 rather than a TE2, citing consistent volume with at least seven targets in three straight games. Over the last four contests, he ranks as the TE12 in usage but TE9 in production, averaging 8.7 half PPR points and 8.7 expected points per game with a 22% target share. In a high-octane offense, this volume translates to elite floor value.
Conversely, Winks identifies value in matchups against the Indianapolis Colts, who rank 13th in half PPR points allowed to tight ends at 11.3 per game. The Colts have shown significant vulnerability to the position recently, surrendering 19.0 half PPR points to Pat Freiermuth in Week 5 and 11.5 to T.J. Hockenson in Week 7. With the linebacker room described as “terrible” and the team having traded away their best defender, DeForest Buckner, Winks suggests that tight ends facing Indy are prime candidates for upside in Week 8.
Source: Yahoo Sports
