Welcome to Week 8 of the 2023 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Second-Half Slump Candidates
- Every Week, Bye Week, Fluke Week
- Vikings and Titans Passing Games
- Either/Or: The WR Edition (see below)
Let's roll.
Either/Or: The WR Edition
Matt Waldman: Which player would you rather have for the rest of the season?
- Christian Kirk or Michael Pittman?
- Garrett Wilson or Josh Downs?
- CeeDee Lamb or Adam Thielen?
Let's begin with Kirk or Pittman . . .
Will Grant: I think for the rest of the season, Michael Pittman outperforms Christian Kirk. Through the first eight games of the season, Pittman is averaging two more targets and one more reception per game than Kirk. While Kirk is posting more yards per catch than Pittman, the additional volume more than makes up for it. With Gardner Minshew under center in Indianapolis for the rest of the season, Pittman should have a higher floor than Kirk and post more consistent numbers per game, making him the better value for the rest of the season.
Andy Hicks: It's a closer matchup than I expected, but I don't think Indianapolis will be playing with leads. The Jaguars are more likely to be playing that way. Despite the form of Josh Downs, Pittman is still the number one guy. In Jacksonville, Calvin Ridley and Evan Engram make targets more competitive, so I'm decidedly in Pittman's corner.
Sam Wagman: I would rather have Kirk for the rest of the year. Even though Pittman clearly has a bigger role (28% target share vs. 22% for Kirk), Kirk only sits 1.4 fantasy points per game behind him and has arguably done more with less. He is a speedy threat at all levels of the field, while Pittman has struggled to get going at times with Gardner Minshew.