NY Jets fantasy football start, sit, and DFS plays for Week 8

The NY Jets will take on the 5-2 Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8 looking to bounce back from their embarrassing loss a week ago. Let's take a look at a few players in this game to start or sit in your fantasy lineups.

Start of the Week: Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Generally, this spot is reserved for a NY Jets player. However, the injury to starting quarterback Zach Wilson devastates an offense already void of notable playmakers.

Fantasy managers looking to bolster their lineup toward victory should deploy Bengals running back Joe Mixon with unbridled confidence. The veteran back is primed for a huge day against a suspect Jets' run defense.

Mixon has performed well over the first half of the regular season. His 539 rushing yards are third-most in the league, while his 123 carries rank only behind NFL leader Derrick Henry.

Cincinnati's RB1 should expect a healthy workload in his Week 8 matchup against New York. His Bengals, who are off to an impressive 5-2 start, should have no trouble mounting an early lead against the Mike White-led Jets.

Mixon has an excellent chance to pad his stats early in the game. It seems likely that Cincinnati will inevitably amount a lead, which would result in plenty of additional late-game rushing attempts.

As long as the Jets avoid a situation where the lead balloons to the point where the Bengals backups take over, Mixon should be a legitimate contender to finish as a top-five running back.

Sit of the Week: All NY Jets Pass Catchers

Corey Davis is the only Jets pass catcher on the radar of most fantasy managers. Unfortunately, New York's top wideout is expected to be sidelined a hip injury. It's difficult to imagine that any other pass catcher is able to build a rapport with White from out of thin air.

White performed admirably in his fill-in duties last week. I expect this week to be a different story. The Patriots prepared to face Wilson. Instead, they spent a large portion of the game defending a player with a very small scouting report.

We've seen countless examples of mediocre quarterbacks excelling when the defense was not prepared to face them. And even with this advantage, White still threw two interceptions.

The Jets' matchup against the Bengals features entirely different circumstances. Cincinnati has had all week to gameplan and scheme against White. Expect head coach Zac Taylor and his staff to be fully prepared.

Most of these players are fringe starters only in deeper leagues. But this is not the week to get creative with Jamison Crowder, Elijah Moore, or any other of your favorite Jets players.

Running back Michael Carter could be a serviceable (but touchdown-dependent) bye week or injury fill-in. Otherwise, I'm sitting as many Jets skill players as possible.

DFS Play of the Week: Joe Mixon and the Bengals DST

The most obvious play here is Joe Mixon for all the reasons detailed above. Need more convincing? Jets' defensive leader C.J. Mosley and fellow linebacker Jarrad Davis are both working their way back from injuries. If either is less than 100%, an already porous run defense will suffer even more.

Despite the prime matchup, Mixon is slotted just 14th in ESPN's Week 8 RB rankings. If he is available at anything other than a top-tier value, he should be an automatic building block.

In the spirit of avoiding redundancy with the Mixon pick, I'll also throw out the Bengals DST as a DFS play. Their overall season profile leaves them as a middle-of-the-pack option.

However, the matchup again this version of the Jets could lead to top production at a value price.