Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett is currently questionable heading into their Week 8 matchup vs. the Cleveland Browns.
The veteran receiver on the Seahawks roster has been struggling with a hamstring injury and has been on the injury report all week.
Fantasy football managers are sweating over the status of Lockett heading into today. Will Lockett play today? And, if he does, what is his fantasy outlook? Let’s take a closer look at the latest news on Lockett.
Is Tyler Lockett Going To Play Week 8?
Lockett has been struggling all week with a hamstring injury. Lockett did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday due to the injury.
However, he was a full participant on Friday. And, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times, it seems that Lockett is likely to play on Sunday. He posted on X, “Pete Carroll says Tyler Lockett and Jamal Adams made it through practice today and indicates they are on track to play Sunday.”
MORE: Week 8 Fantasy Cheat Sheet
It is typical of Seattle wide receivers over the years under Carroll that if they practice in the final practice of the week, they tend to play in the game on Sunday.
Therefore, I would expect Lockett to play today. However, what does that mean for his fantasy outlook? Let’s take a look.
What Is Lockett’s Potential Fantasy Outlook Today?
While Lockett appears to be good to go, the question is now, do fantasy managers risk starting Lockett today? Lockett is currently WR38 on PFN’s Consensus Rankings. He is currently WR46 on the season. Although, he has already had his bye week.
However, while he might be in Flex territory for this week for fantasy manager, there is cause for caution.
This week’s opponents are the Browns. The Browns are giving up just 19.2 fantasy points per game to fantasy wide receivers so far this season. That is the second-lowest in the NFL, behind the New York Jets.
Lockett also has a terrible cornerback matchup this week. Lockett is up against Denzel Ward. According to the FantasyPoints Data Suite, Ward is only allowing 0.27 fantasy points per route run against him this season.
MORE: Fantasy News Tracker
The Browns have also only allowed six receiving touchdowns all season, at an average of one per game. This doesn’t show a huge upside to Lockett getting significant scoring opportunities to boost his fantasy points total in Week 8.
There seems to be little upside to Lockett this week from a fantasy sense. Lockett, therefore, is likely to be a volume-based, low-end WR3/WR4 play for this week.
Fantasy managers should seek to find alternative Flex options on their benches if they have them, as opposed to playing Lockett against the Browns. Options like Josh Downs or Michael Thomas appear much safer and better options for fantasy managers than Lockett.
However, if fantasy managers don’t have any other viable options, then they should be OK to start Lockett. However, if you have to start him this week, then just be cautious with the return of points he might yield. There is very little upside that Lockett can offer this week.
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