Deciding who to slide into your WR2 or Flex spot is challenging, especially on a week with no teams on a bye and choices galore. Should you start Gabe Davis or Chris Godwin in fantasy football for Week 8?
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Gabe Davis’ Fantasy Outlook This Week
The Bills are reeling after a tough loss to the New England Patriots in Week 7. They look to right the ship against the 3-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who look to give it a go in winning the NFC South. Gabe Davis might need to be a factor in a game that could be closer than anticipated.
Davis is currently the WR29 and has fantasy finishes all over the place, finishing as high as WR7 in Week 5 and as low as WR89 in Week 6. Stefon Diggs will always be the number one target in Buffalo, and although Davis is averaging five targets a week, it is hard to pick the week when those targets will turn into something valuable.
MORE: 2023 WR Fantasy Football Rankings
Unfortunately, there does not seem to be much correlation between the snapshare percentage played and his fantasy finishes. In one week, he played 72% of snaps and recorded 61 yards and a TD. Another week saw him play in 96% of the snaps and went for just six yards.
It is feast or famine for Davis against a defense that allows the fourth fewest passing yards a game. His ceiling is high, but his floor is non-existent. Davis is WR41 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings.
Chris Godwin’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Gone are the seasons where Chris Godwin was a no-questions-asked top-20 WR. With Baker Mayfield under center, he is currently WR42, with only one week in the top 25 this season. He is averaging just over eight targets, which is encouraging, but his 398 yards receiving has yet to give us one TD.
Buffalo is middle of the road in passing yards allowed, but they do allow significantly more passing plays than rushing. Mike Evans has been the WR catching TDs in Tampa — he has four so far this year — and this week could be the week Godwin gets one instead. Even though he might not wow you, you know that you are probably getting at least 50 receiving yards from Godwin; he has only clocked less than that in one week.
Godwin is currently WR27 in PFN’s Consensus Rankings.
Which of the WRs Should You Start?
Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer says Godwin should be started over Davis. He is projected to have 11.9 fantasy points and 5.5 receptions for 54.6 yards. Davis is projected to have 8.9 fantasy points on 2.5 receptions for 42.9 yards.
I agree with the Start/Sit Optimizer. Starting Davis is a crap shoot; you might get 20 fantasy points, or you might get none. Godwin is a much more stable floor, and with two guys playing on Thursday night, I would hate to go into the weekend with a goose egg on my lineup if Davis has another down game.
However, if you are a heavy underdog — we are talking about playing a backup QB and losing multiple players to injury — and you need to shoot for the moon, Davis could be started.
