Facebook Pixel

    Patriots Start-Sit: Week 8 Fantasy Advice for Rhamondre Stevenson, Ja’Lynn Polk, DeMario Douglas, and Others

    Here's all the fantasy football advice you need to determine whether you should start or sit these players on the New England Patriots.

    Published on

    The New England Patriots will face the New York Jets in Week 8. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Patriots skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.

    Pro Football Network Start_Sit Optimizer Banner CTA
    Check out the FREE Start/Sit Optimizer from Pro Football Network to ensure you are making the right decisions for your fantasy lineup every week!

    Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.

    Drake Maye, QB

    The Patriots have had seven different offensive line combinations in seven games, and that’s a tough way to make a living. That said, Maye has a 15+ yard rush and a 30-yard completion in both of his starts.

    It’s pretty clear that Maye has a fantasy-friendly skill set and that the Patriots are willing to explore his upside. It’s only two starts, but he’s averaging 39 opportunities per game (pass + rush attempts). For reference:

    The Jets allow the fourth-lowest red-zone completion percentage (38.1%), and that keeps Maye out of my streaming ranks, but he won’t face this tough of an opponent every week — this kid is going to be an asset at some point down the stretch.

    Antonio Gibson, RB

    The Patriots made a big deal of “benching” Rhamondre Stevenson in Week 6, and that resulted in Gibson getting 16 touches. That’s his only game since Week 2 in which he reached double figures in touches. In an offense with plenty of limitations, a lack of volume means a lack of value as the scoring equity is low.

    Gibson can be rostered given that he has a consistent role, but it’s not a role I plan on ranking as viable any time soon. If you wanted to move on from him for one of these receivers stepping into a bigger role (be it in Detroit or Tampa Bay), I wouldn’t blame you.

    Rhamondre Stevenson, RB

    Numbers are what you make of them.

    Stevenson accounted for 90% of New England’s running back rushing yards last week, averaging 31.9% more yards per carry before contact than he has this season. His target count tripled Antonio Gibson’s, and the Patriots finally scored on their first possession.

    Stevenson posted his lowest elusive rating of the season and picked up a total of seven yards after contact on Sunday. He didn’t get a single red-zone touch and finished behind Gibson in receiving yards in a game in which the Patriots were scripted out of the run due to being outscored by 19 points in the second quarter.

    See what I mean? Both of those paragraphs are 100% true, and they left you feeling very differently about Stevenson’s outlook. I lean more toward the latter recap as New England seems to be actively trying to avoid featuring him.

    Gibson got banged up early (he eventually returned), so it was JaMycal Hasty finishing that first drive with a 16-yard touchdown catch. The third-string running back had more catches in Week 7 than Stevenson had targets, further evidence that the versatile profile we fell in love with is a thing of the past.

    This matchup doesn’t scare me as much as it has in the past, but this is a team motivated to see what they have in Drake Maye, not Stevenson. If you’re pressed for a Flex option, these 8-12 touches hold some value, but expecting some sort of resurgence isn’t something I’d bank on.

    DeMario Douglas, WR

    An illness wiped out nearly the entire second half for Douglas on Sunday, robbing us of the ability to learn about the target hierarchy of this Drake Maye-led offense. The possession receiver was featured in Maye’s debut (6-92-1), but I’m going to need more than a few productive quarters before penciling in a receiver with the skill set of Douglas under a rookie signal-caller.

    For the moment, I’d rather roll the dice on high-upside receivers in offenses I trust (Dontayvion Wicks or Keon Coleman for example) over a player like Douglas. That could flip with time if Maye continues to show promise, just not yet.

    Ja’Lynn Polk, WR

    A head injury resulted in a departure from Week 7’s loss to the Jaguars, but with just one catch on seven targets across Drake Maye’s two starts, you shouldn’t feel obligated to hang onto Polk at this point.

    That’s not to say you completely write him off as an asset down the stretch of this season. After all, he’s still a second-round pick and part of this rebuilding team’s future. But we’ve entered the zone where you can pounce if you see glimpses, as opposed to burning a valuable roster spot.

    Even if you’re a Polk truther, these next three weeks (Jets, Titans, and Bears) aren’t user-friendly matchups. You can cut ties now and likely get back in for free as we approach the middle of November at no real cost.

    Hunter Henry, TE

    Henry now has 11 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown (14 targets) across Drake Maye’s two starts (three games prior: six catches for 53 yards and zero scores on 10 targets), proving to be the primary winner of the change under center.

    I love the fact that he’s spent 40.7% of his time in the slot this season, a role that helps elevate his floor at a rate that is well ahead of other options that aren’t universally rostered. He’s athletic enough to give this team some versatility through the air that they are lacking at the receiver position.

    Henry’s aDOT by week, 2024:

    The tight end position is a reactionary one for those of us who don’t have one of the top six at the position. Henry is as good a bet as any in the short term to score double-digit PPR points. I don’t love this matchup, but the Jets have the second-highest opponent average depth of throw this season — one big play is all it takes.

    New York Jets at New England Patriots Game Insights

    New York Jets

    Team: The Jets were 4-3 through seven games last season and scored on 29.4% of their drives. They are 2-5 this season, scoring on 30.3% of their drives.

    QB: The quick hitters that Rodgers has thrived on in the past are gone. He’s thrown 123 passes in 2.7 seconds or less over the past four games, and none of them have resulted in a touchdown (four interceptions).

    Offense: During their four-game losing streak, the Jets have scored 61 points, including the Hail Mary to end the first half of Week 6 against the Bills.

    Defense: Only the Falcons (3.9) allow fewer yards per reception after the catch than the Jets (4.3).

    Fantasy: Breece Hall has two top-10 finishes since the coaching change (he had one top-10 week prior to it).

    Betting: Aaron Rodgers is 7-4 ATS for his career against the AFC East with unders cashing in eight of those 11 games.

    New England Patriots

    Team: The Patriots have lost four of their past five games by at least 16 points, and they lost four of their previous 56 regular-season games by at least 16 points.

    QB: Drake Maye has multiple touchdown passes and at least 15 rushing yards in each of his first two career starts – he joins Drew Lock (2019) and Bruce Gradkowski (2006) as the only QBs to do that over the past 20 seasons.

    Offense: The Patriots’ rushing success rate has been 8.8% since Drake Maye became the starting quarterback two weeks ago. No other offense has had a lower rate than 20% in that span.

    Defense: New England allowed 30 points in regulation through the first two weeks this season – since: 28.4 PPG.

    Fantasy: If you extend Hunter Henry’s numbers in Drake Maye’s starts for a full season, you’re looking at 94 catches for 1,131 yards and 8.5 touchdowns.

    Betting: The Patriots are the worst home ATS team since the start of the 2021 season (9-18-2, 33.3%).

    Related Stories