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Week 8 Fantasy Football Picks: Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Minnesota Vikings vs Green Bay Packers

By Larry Rupp

Justin Jefferson's recent uptick in targets makes him a great start against the Packers in Week 8.
Justin Jefferson's recent uptick in targets makes him a great start against the Packers in Week 8. / Abbie Parr/Getty Images
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MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (5-1) host Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings (1-5) in a Week 8 NFC North divisional battle. With an over/under set at 50.5 total points, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, this game could turn into a shootout.

If you need help with your lineups, here's some start 'em, sit 'em advice for the Week 8 Vikings-Packers showdown.

Who Should I Start Fantasy Football

Start Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings: One of the breakout players in fantasy football this season has been Viking's rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Jefferson has 100-plus receiving yards in three of the past four games and has now scored three touchdowns on the season. He draws a decent matchup this week as Packers' standout corner Jaire Alexander should be focused on shutting down fellow wide receiver Adam Thielen for most of the game. Plus, the Packers are allowing 7.2 yards per pass attempt so far this season (T-No. 20 in the NFL). If Jefferson can take advantage of his matchups and get open, he should have another big day.

Start Robert Tonyan, TE, Green Bay Packers: While Packers' tight end Robert Tonyan has come crashing back down to earth ever since his three-touchdown performance in Week 4, he still remains a vital part of this Green Bay offense. Tonyan may not be targeted as much as fantasy managers would like him to be, but his 90% catch rate shows that he makes the most out of every opportunity he gets. The Vikings are giving up 32.0 points per game this season (No. 30 in the NFL) and Tonyan has proven to be one of Rodger's favorite targets in the red zone. Look for him to score a touchdown this Sunday and produce a solid fantasy performance overall.

Sit Kirk Cousins, QB, Minnesota Vikings: It is best to leave Kirk Cousins on the bench this week as he goes up against a solid Packers defense. Through six games, Cousins has already thrown ten interceptions and if the Vikings are forced to play catch up in this game, he could easily throw a few more. Cousin has thrown for multiple touchdowns in four out the six games this season, but has only surpassed 300 passing yards once, which was just last week. Unless you're in a tough spot with quarterback bye weeks or injuries, stay away from Cousins this week as the Packers will look to get in his face just as they did in Week 1.

Sit Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, Green Bay Packers: Fantasy managers were looking forward to seeing Valdes-Scantling shine as the No. 2 wide receiver in this high-scoring Green Bay offense, but that just hasn't been the case. Valdes-Scantling has only racked up 8 receptions over the past four games and hasn't reached 50 receiving yards in any of those games. Just last week, Valdes-Scantling's only fantasy points came on a 9-yard rushing attempt. Rodgers continues to focus on feeding the ball to his favorite target Davante Adams and his running backs as much as he can, so Valdes-Scantling doesn't bring a lot of fantasy value this week or 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 their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.