What to do with Matt Ryan in Week 8 fantasy football

Matt Ryan will get his second crack at the Carolina Panthers this Thursday night. That defense limited Ryan to 228 scoreless yards back in Week 5, resulting in Ryan’s worst fantasy output of 2020. It didn’t help that Julio Jones missed that game due to an injury, and Falcons ended up on the short end of the scoreboard, 23-16.

Fantasy Football analysis: Falcons QB Matt Ryan

Ryan has really been all-or-nothing this season. In Weeks 3-5, he accumulated fewer than 13 fantasy points in each game. However, he bookended those subpar performances with four games with at least 21 fantasy points. It’s likely no coincidence that Ryan had Jones at his side for those four games and missed him for two of those three matchups in the middle. Opposing QBs have averaged just 232.8 passing yards per game against the Panthers, who have allowed the fifth-fewest DraftKings points to the position. Granted, that’s partially due to the fact that the Panthers have been so permissive to running backs, offenses have decided to ride their ground game often versus Carolina.

Fantasy Start/Sit Recommendation

Ryan is always much more of a high-floor play than a high-ceiling play, but with Jones and Calvin Ridley available for this game, odds are he won’t leave you with another eight-point dud like he did in Week 5. He’s a fine low-end QB1 and costs $6,500.