Fantasy Sleepers Week 8: Branden Oliver, Stepfan Taylor, Ronnie Hillman, Brandon Bolden, Jonathan Stewart Top Free Agent Picks

Oct 20, 2014 02:27 PM EDT
Running back Ronnie Hillman #23 of the Denver Broncos
Running back Ronnie Hillman #23 of the Denver Broncos celebrates a 37 yard 3rd quarter rushing touchdown with Wes Welker #83 against the San Francisco 49ers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 19, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. "

The Fantasy football schedule is into Week 8 and some sleepers and free agent pickups moving forward include Branden Oliver, Stepfan Taylor, Ronnie Hillman, Brandon Bolden, Kelvin Benjamin, Odell Beckham, Jordan Reed, Jonathan Stewart, Bishop Sankey, Michael Floyd, Malcom Floyd and Doug Baldwin along with Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown, as those players have the chance to step up moving forward due to injuries and upcoming matchups.

This week there are some great pickup options and free agents from Week 7 into the Week 8 schedule, as Branden Oliver has continued to play well for the Chargers, while Ronnie Hillman has stepped up with Montee Ball out for the Broncos. Other RB names to take a look at include Stepfan Taylor as well as Jerick McKinnon and Denard Robinson, as those players all put up solid numbers and could continue to do so. Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown are also smart options after CJ Spiller was injured and lost for the season by the Bills.

Brandon Bolden did not do much last week on Thursday night against the Jets, but with Stevan Ridley out for the season, he could get more touches as the schedule wears on. The team is going to use Shane Vereen the most out of Brandon Bolden and James White, but Bolden could get more touches moving forward after being a solid option the past two seasons. Vereen is better as a pass catcher and he showed that on Thursday with two touchdowns against the Jets.

Taylor made it into the endzone this weekend and he is a solid pickup in deeper leagues, while Odell Beckham scored two TDs for the Giants on four catches. Bryce Brown and Anthony Dixon will step up over the next month, as CJ Spiller will be out for the season with a shoulder injury. Brown and Dixon now will move into the starting role after Spiller was injured and Fred Jackson was hurt on Sunday. Spiller is now out for the year and Jackson has a groin injury and could miss up to a month.

Hillman is strong option after coming in for Montee Ball with his injury and he was able to get into the end zone in the Week 7 win for the Broncos. Hillman rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns in the game and he has been playing consistently with Ball out and he is a better option than CJ Anderson and Juwan Thompson in the offense. Jonathan Stewart returned from an injury for the Panthers and he looked very solid coming back despite the blowout for Carolina, rushing for 55 yards on 12 carries.

Oliver had another good performance this week and he had 67 yards on 15 carries and he also had 11 yards on two catches in the loss to the Chiefs. Oliver has been starting since Ryan Mathews and Donald Brown got banged up and he has been averaging 4.5 yards per carry this season. McKinnon is a great pickup option from the Vikings, as he has been the main starter since Adrian Peterson went down. McKinnon had another 100 yard game with 103 yards on 19 carries and he will likely continue being the main RB1 over Matt Asiata.

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