Less than two hours before the opening Sunday kickoffs, it was reported that Calvin Ridley will miss today’s game for “personal reasons.” This is the second game he will have missed for non-injury reasons in Atlanta’s last three contests. No one can accurately speculate what he is dealing with. But for fantasy football purposes, we need to understand the impact of his absence on other key Atlanta Falcons receivers — such as Russell Gage — in Week 8.
Russell Gage’s Week 8 Fantasy Outlook
The biggest fantasy beneficiary could be Gage. The team’s No. 2 wideout returned from a month-long absence last week to post 4 receptions, 67 yards, and 1 touchdown on 6 targets. Last year, he earned 1.6 fantasy points per target. This year he’s also at 1.6. This is not a great mark for receivers, as most of the top fantasy WRs are above 2.0.
This matters because Gage needs volume to step into the must-start fantasy realm. Although Ridley is out, I’m not convinced Gage will inherit significantly more volume. He should be a solid streaming option, but the chances of a top-20 performance seem slim.
Kyle Pitts’ Week 8 Fantasy Outlook
Arguably, no TE has been more dominant in his past two games than Kyle Pitts, who’s caught a combined 16 balls for 282 yards and a score. He might be the biggest winner today, in that Ridley still hasn’t come close to matching last year’s breakout production.
An ascending Ridley might have capped Pitts’ ceiling today. Instead, Pitts is positioned to be Matt Ryan’s no. 1 target, and therefore is as good of a TE1 lock at any tight end not named Travis Kelce.
Week 8 outlooks for other Falcons receivers
When Ridley and Gage were out in Week 5, there was a steady drumbeat of “Olamide Zaccheaus is the next man up.” But at Pro Football Network, we warned readers that he was way overvalued based on talent and likely usage.
Instead, we pushed Hayden Hurst as a higher-upside fantasy option. Hurst produced. Zaccheaus, meanwhile, fell flat. We can’t expect Zaccheaus to rebound today. He’s a WR6 with some WR4 upside if Hurst and Tajae Sharpe are somehow neutralized.
Sharpe is a toss-up WR4/5. He has the experience and could wind up being one of Atlanta’s top-four receivers today. But if you’re starting him, you’re rolling the dice. Fringe starters like Darius Slayton and Mecole Hardman are likely much safer.
Hurst might not score like he did in Week 5. But he’s a very capable pass catcher. Start him as a top-18 TE with TD-dependent TE1 upside.
