Michael Thomas Injury Update Brightens Week 8 Fantasy Outlooks for Tre'Quan Smith and Deonte Harris

Michael Thomas is set to miss another game for the New Orleans Saints as he continues to battle ankle and hamstring injuries. It is the sixth consectuvie game he will miss as he hasn't played since the team's season opener.

With fellow wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders also declared out, the Week 8 fantasy outlooks for Tre'Quan Smith and Deonte Harris are greatly imrpoved as they become the main targets for quarterback Drew Brees.

Players out Sunday include Michael Thomas, Marquez Callaway, Aaron Jones, Joe Mixon, Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, Stephon Gilmore, Jamison Crowder, Breshad Perriman, Sammy Watkins, Mitchell Schwartz, Deebo Samuel, Jeff Wilson, Andy Dalton, Miles Sanders and Alshon Jeffery.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 1, 2020

Tre'Quan Smith Fantasy Outlook

Tre'Quan Smith finds himself at the top of the wide receiver depth chart heading into a matchup against the Chicago Bears and is a worthy consideration at the FLEX position this week. Smith has seen at least 3 targets in each of the past five games and played in 81 percent of the offensive snaps last week.

However, Smith draws a tough matchup in Week 8 as he faces a Bears' defense that is giving up just 222.3 passing yards per game this season (No. 8 in the NFL). Also, the game is projected to be impacted by high winds as well, which makes Smith a risky start in fantasy football this week.

Deonte Harris Fantasy Outlook

Another player set to benefit from the multitude of injuries is second-year wideout Deonte Harris. Originally known for his abilities playing on special teams, Harris showed some potential last week when he caught 4 of 5 targets for 46 yards and scored a touchdown.

Harris is not someone that should be started in most fantasy football leagues this week, but he is a great player to stash on your bench as his production may continue to rise. Harris works mostly out of the slot receiver position and could be peppered with targets moving forward.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.