Week 8 sell-high trade targets: Goff, Pollard, Pitts fantasy inflated

Lions quarterback Jared Goff and Titans running back Tony Pollard headline the Week 8 fantasy football sell-high trade candidates, two veterans whose recent box scores have pushed their trade prices past what their remaining schedules support.

Pollard ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns against Cleveland, and Goff carries a 14-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio into Sunday's home game against a 6-0 Minnesota defense. Raiders receiver Tre Tucker and Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts round out the list after scoring spikes of their own.

Last week: 22-of-32, 303 yds, 2 TD, 20-17 W Packers

This week: vs. Vikings, Sun., Nov. 1, 1 p.m. ET

Goff has 14 touchdown passes and no interceptions through six games, and he's averaging 22.5 fantasy points per game for a 4-2 Detroit team. The former Cal star has topped 300 passing yards three times, including last Sunday's walk-off win over Green Bay.

That spotless interception total is the first reason to sell. Goff threw several passes into Packers defenders' hands during a second half full of pressure, and Green Bay let those ill-advised throws go unpunished . His trade price assumes that luck holds.

The schedule turns next. Minnesota visits Ford Field at 6-0 with the league's top-scoring defense, allowing 12.3 points per game, and Brian Flores' unit has given up only three passing touchdowns while intercepting seven passes. The Vikings also rank first in defensive expected points added per play . Detroit sees Minnesota again in Week 15 to open most fantasy playoffs, and a Week 11 game against Tampa Bay grades as a below-average quarterback matchup too.

The cleanest version of this deal involves a manager who drafted Goff as a backup and has been pleasantly surprised by his first half. If your other starter is a top-flight quarterback, Goff might be the safer one to move with a takeaway-heavy Minnesota defense upcoming Sunday. Before you deal him, make sure the quarterback you keep has the better Weeks 15 to 17 schedule.

Last week: 25 car., 129 yds, 3 TD; 3 rec., 26 yds on 3 tar., 27-24 L Browns

This week: at Bengals, Sun., Nov. 1, 1 p.m. ET

Pollard managers waited six weeks for a breakout, and it finally came against Cleveland. The 29-year-old's 155 scrimmage yards were his first 100-yard game of the season, and his three touchdowns tied a career high. He scored twice in the first quarter , including a 36-yard run on the opening drive, and tied the game with a 1-yard plunge with 58 seconds left.

Tyjae Spears is out again Sunday with a knee injury, so Pollard should handle another heavy workload at Cincinnati. After that, the schedule turns hostile. A Week 9 bye leads into two games against Jacksonville in Weeks 10 and 12, and the Jaguars have been one of the league's stingiest defenses against running backs. Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, two other defenses that hold backs under the league average, visit Nashville in Weeks 15 and 17.

The Nov. 10 trade deadline adds another variable. ESPN's Dan Graziano reported Pollard is " more likely " to be moved than Colts star Jonathan Taylor, and the former Memphis back is in the final year of his contract. Still, NFL insider Ari Meirov reported the Titans have told teams they'd prefer to keep offensive contributors while they evaluate second-year quarterback Cam Ward. A trade could lift Pollard's price again, but a new team wouldn't guarantee him a lead role.

Ward hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in the first three quarters of any game this season, and rookie Carnell Tate led Tennessee with five catches for 69 yards against Cleveland. Tate is out Sunday with a shoulder injury, which could lower his asking price this week. If we're assuming a tough schedule is coming up for Pollard, maybe the Titans give Tate more looks, and he is someone you could try to acquire.

Last week: 5 rec., 103 yds, 1 TD on 12 tar., 35-21 L Rams

This week: at Jets, Sun., Nov. 1, 1 p.m. ET

Tucker leads Las Vegas with 474 receiving yards, and 200 of them came in the last two games. The Cincinnati product caught five passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns against Buffalo, then turned 12 targets into five catches, 103 yards and a 37-yard touchdown against the Rams. He has caught at least four passes in every game since Week 1.

The Week 7 line came with help from the scoreboard. Tucker was quiet against the Rams until Las Vegas fell behind by three scores in the fourth quarter, and the Raiders have lost four straight after a 3-0 start. Kirk Cousins is also getting Brock Bowers back to full strength. The star tight end practiced fully Thursday and Friday after a calf injury, and he has topped 70 receiving yards in all five of his games.

Sunday's trip to New York is a neutral matchup, but Seattle in Week 10 and the Chargers in Week 14 have been two of the toughest defenses for receivers lately. The Weeks 15 to 17 slate of Denver, Tennessee and Arizona looks neutral, so this sell rests more on how Tucker is producing than on the playoff schedule.

If the speedy receiver has been the borderline flex start that paid off the last two weeks, look for a replacement with a clearer path to consistent touches, like a running back with limited backfield competition.

Last week: 5 rec., 22 yds, 1 TD on 5 tar., 29-20 W 49ers

This week: at Buccaneers, Sun., Nov. 1, 1 p.m. ET

Pitts made our Week 7 sell-high list , and he scored again against San Francisco. The Florida product has four touchdowns in his last three games with exactly five catches in each, and he became the sixth-youngest tight end to reach 300 career receptions in the win over the 49ers.

The yardage hasn't kept pace with the scoring. Pitts has 124 receiving yards over that three-game stretch, including 22 yards on five catches last week, so touchdowns are carrying most of his fantasy output. Atlanta also leaned on all four tight ends against San Francisco. Pitts played 37 offensive snaps to Austin Hooper's 28 and Nick Muse's 21, and Muse caught a touchdown of his own.

He isn't the focal point of the offense, either. Bijan Robinson leads the NFL with 907 scrimmage yards, and Drake London has 616 receiving yards through seven games.

The schedule doesn't help the sell case. Kansas City in Week 10, Detroit in Week 13 and Washington in Week 15 have all been generous to tight ends, and Minnesota in Week 12 is the only clear problem. Instead, this comes down to track record. Pitts didn't top 8.0 PPR points in any of his first four games, and managers have sat through long stretches of uneven production from the former No. 4 overall pick over the years.

Most managers won't view the four-touchdown stretch as his new baseline, so you're hunting for the one who does. If that person even exists, maybe it's a Gators alumnus with a fond memory of the old days! Ask for a weekly starter at running back or receiver in return, assuming your other tight end is the more dependable option looking ahead.