Fantasy Football Week 8 Quarterback Preview: Aaron Rodgers is risky without Davante Adams and Allen Lazard

Aaron Rodgers played two games without Davante Adams in 2020. He topped 30 Fantasy points in both of them. I am not expecting a repeat in 2021, and I’m nervous about starting Rodgers in Week 8.

For one thing, Rodgers also won’t have Allen Lazard and we’re still awaiting word on whether Marquez Valdes-Scantling will be activated off injured reserve. As of Tuesday afternoon, his top three receivers project to be Randall Cobb, Equanimeous St. Brown, and Amari Rodgers. No offense to those guys, but the Lions might not have the worst receiving corps in the NFC North this week.

But it’s not just about his weapons. Rodgers has thrown a third of his passes to his running backs when Adams has been out, and he’ll still have Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. He’ll also have a surprisingly difficult matchup.

The Cardinals have only allowed two quarterbacks (Matthew Stafford and Kirk Cousins) to score more than 15 Fantasy points against them. Some of that is the fact that the Cardinals have played a lot of bad quarterbacks, but even Stafford posted his lowest passer rating of the season against Arizona.

I understand it’s going to be hard to look at some of the streaming options below and say you’re starting them over Aaron Rodgers. But on a short week, against a good defense, without his top two receivers, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Let’s get to the rest of the Week 8 preview:

Week 8 QB Preview

• 2 — Aaron Rodgers has been a top six Fantasy quarterback twice this season.
• 9 — Patrick Mahomes leads the NFL with nine interceptions. 

• 77.5 — Sam Darnold’s passer rating this season, which is lower than it was under Adam Gase.
• 229 — Daniel Jones has run for 229 yards this season, behind only Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts.
• 9.2 — Joe Burrow’s 9.2 yards per pass attempt ranks second behind Russell Wilson.
• 84.9% — Nearly 85% of Kyler Murray’s throws have been graded “on target” by Pro Football Reference, the best mark in the league.
• 39 — Jalen Hurts has been hurried 39 times, the most in the NFL.
• 34 — Teddy Bridgewater has scored at least 20 Fantasy points in all four games he’s thrown at least 34 passes. Quarterbacks are averaging 39.6 attempts per game against Washington.
• 11.3 — The Bills have allowed the fewest Fantasy points per game to quarterbacks.