My rankings last week ranked 70th out of 203 rankers on FantasyPros. I was 9th for D/STs, 10th for kickers, and 11th for IDP. My quarterback rankings were 25th overall, top 70 in both tight end and wide receiver. This week, we have zero teams on a bye, but we still have plenty of players out. We have several quarterbacks out and several bad matchups to sift through. I will highlight my starts, sits, and streams. Here are my Week 8 fantasy football rankings.
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Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings: Who Should I Start?
You can find my rankings and the entire team over here at SGPN fantasy football on sportsgamblingpodcast.com. These are my rankings on the FantasyPros ECR. I have highlighted some players that I am higher on than the expert consensus. Good luck this week, and if you want any advice this season, please reach out. The easiest way to find us is by joining our Patreon and joining our discord.
We are live every Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on our SGPN Fantasy Football YouTube channel. There, you can get injury updates from our resident football doctor. The guys will keep you updated on the news and help you with those tough lineup decisions. Every week, it comes down to the wire for starts and sits. We have your back.
Sits of The Week
QB, Jared Goff – DET vs. LV
Goff gets a much-needed bounce-back opportunity with a banged-up Las Vegas Raiders team. The Lions implied points total is 26.5, with the Raiders missing half of their starting secondary. Their top-rated corner is out, and Detroit dominates the battle in the trenches. PFF has this one graded as the 9th best matchup on the slate with. Goff won’t have David Montgomery, which should open the team up for a heavier pass attack and more redzone passing.
Las Vegas is another team that could be bracing for a teardown after losing to the Bears in a bad way. Jimmy Garoppolo might play in this one, but the writing is already on the wall. It appears that Josh McDaniels has already worn out his welcome and lost the locker room. This team is not playing for him, and we know Detroit is all in on Dan Campbell. Goff has disappointed this season, but Las Vegas offers an opportunity too good to pass up.
QB, C.J. Stroud – HOU vs. CAR
Bryce Young vs. C.J. Stroud is a battle of this year’s top two rookie quarterbacks. Stroud will be motivated to show Carolina that they made the wrong choice. Houston is getting healthier coming off of the bye. Tank Dell and some offensive line pieces are expected to return. Carolina is another team bracing for a fire sale, with half of their defense involved in trade rumors.
Houston has shown confidence in Stroud, allowing him to pass at an extremely high rate. He offers a safe floor with at least 18.2 points in four of his last five. Stroud also shows off a ceiling, scoring 24.6 in three of those five games. Carolina has allowed two 25+ point performances in a row. I fully expect Stroud to outshine Young in this one; get him in your lineups. Stroud has earned his spot in the top 12 of the current expert consensus rankings for Week 8.
RB, Jaylen Warren – PIT vs. JAX
Najee Harris truthers, it’s time to come to the realization that this is a split backfield. Warren has had double-digit points in four of his last five games. He is crushing Harris in the passing game with 15 more targets, 14 more catches, and 113 more yards. Jaylen Warren has played between 40-49% of snaps in every game this year, with at least 11 touches in five of six games. Najee outscored Warren last week for the first time this season.
Warren offers you a flex option with RB2 upside. He has been a top-24 running back in back-to-back weeks and in three of his last five games. This consistency shows that he has a role in this offense. Warren is a great buy-low trade target that would explode if anything happened to Najee. If you have Najee, go get your handcuff.
RB, Rhamondre Stevenson – NE at MIA
The efficiency has been down, but Stevenson has had great volume, averaging 17 touches a game. A career-high 13 carries a game, and 4 touches offer you a safer floor. Ezekiel Elliot’s goal-line usage has been an issue and has definitely lowered the ceiling for Stevenson. Miami will push the pace, and Stevenson is the passing down back. Expect a heavy dose of Stevenson as New England chases Miami.
WR, Christian Kirk – JAX at PIT
Christian Kirk had a rough Week 1 but has been a consistent fantasy option ever since. Kirk is averaging 14.7 points per game and gets a plus matchup. Kirk thrives on man coverage, and he has surpassed Calvin Ridley for first-read targets. The Steelers have allowed the 9th most fantasy points to slot-wide receivers and the 3rd most to fantasy wide receivers this season. Kirk is an undervalued player that you should be targeting in trades.
We saw this last season; Jacksonville had a slow start and then took off. Something about their London trip. Kirk has gotten better each week, finishing 28th, 26th, 15th, and 11th at the wide receiver position over the last four weeks. I have him over Ridley in my rest-of-season rankings.
WR, Josh Downs – IND at NO
Gardner Minshew loves Josh Downs, and so should you. Downs has really emerged since Minshew took over and is shining in this offense. Per fantasy points, the New Orleans Saints have allowed the 2nd most targets, 4th most receptions, and 4th most YAC to the slot. This is the second-best slot matchup on the slate, and Downs has been dominant. He has 20 targets in the last three games and went five for 125 with a TD against Cleveland in Week 7.
Downs continues to rise in my rankings, and he has become an every week start. The Colts would be crazy to trade for Jerry Jeudy right now. I have Downs firmly above him in my rankings this week and the rest of the season. Downs is also on a cheap rookie deal. If the Downs manager shows any concerns about Jerry Jeudy, take advantage.
TE, Taysom Hill – NO vs. IND
Taysom Hill has been a consistent fantasy option with Juwan Johnson out. Hill has played at least 50% of the snaps in three of the four games Johnson has missed. Hill is seeing his route participation and his target increase, with 13 targets in the last two weeks. He is the TE15 on the season, and his redzone usage as a runner, passer, or receiver is unique. In the last two weeks, he finished as your TE12 and 5.
New York Giants vs. New York Jets
The Jets are PFF’s 27th-ranked offensive line, and they rank 30th in pass-blocking. They have allowed 82 pressures and 14 sacks on 213 pass-blocking snaps, 19 sacks overall. Offensively, the Jets rank 30th in yards and 22nd in points. The Giants are coming off of two strong performances, holding Buffalo and Washington to just 21 points combined. They also had six sacks and caused three turnovers during that time.
Sits of The Week
QB, Geno Smith – SEA vs. CLE
Cleveland has been one of the toughest defenses this season, and their corners are playing great. They are the 4th stingiest fantasy defense against the quarterback position. Cleveland is allowing a measly 14 points per game, and they are terrorizing quarterbacks. FTN ranks Cleveland 1st in DVOA and 2nd in both pass and run defense. Geno has an uphill climb. There are much better options with all 32 teams playing this week.
Smith has struggled this year and has only one top-16 performance this season. The team has been playing left-handed with their inability to pass-block. It has landed Geno as your fantasy football quarterback 22 this season. He has scored 10 or less in half of his games. Cleveland doesn’t offer much of an opportunity for improvement. We expected regression, and that is exactly what we have gotten.
QB, Jordan Love – GB vs. MIN
Jordan Love had a hot start with two top-6 performances in the first three weeks. In the last three games, he scored 15.64, 1.98, and 16.30 fantasy points. Love is completing 57.3% of his passes, which ranks 32nd of quarterbacks with at least 160 dropbacks. His offensive line is crumbling, and Love really struggles under pressure, completing only 43% of passes under pressure.
Love is still a quarterback two in superflex leagues. But, the days of him being a being an every week start were short-lived. Even in a plus matchup against Denver, he threw for 194 yards and an interception. Love is a streaming option at best, and he is firmly on the in Week 8. There are zero teams on a bye, so he should be outside of your top-12 fantasy football rankings.
RB, Alexander Mattison – GB at MIN
Alexander Mattison is starting to lose his grip on the Minnesota Viking’s backfield. Cam Akers saw his snaps go from 16% to 39%. His touches went from two to twelve. Mattison’s snaps went from 79% to 53%. His touches went from 22 to 10. A short week needs to be considered, but Mattison’s inefficiencies this year can’t be ignored. Minnesota is the only team in the NFL without a rushing touchdown.
Green Bay is a tough matchup, and the added uncertainty has Mattison dropping down my week 8 fantasy football rankings. Mattison’s volume has been his only saving grace. Akers’ emergence really threatens him. Ty Chandler also looked electric in the passing game. Mattison is a flex option at best, with decreased volume, zero rushing touchdowns, and low efficiency.
RB, Brian Robinson Jr. – WAS vs. PHI
Washington could be on the verge of firing Ron Rivera, and Philadelphia won’t be trying to save him. Robinson is game script-dependent. He has been scripted out recently. He has received twelve or fewer touches in three straight weeks. This week, he gets a tough matchup and a team that allowed him only 51 yards just a few weeks ago. Philly is the second toughest matchup to the running back position.
Robinson has only had more than three targets once this season. He has not run for more than 45 yards since Week 3. This offense is really struggling, and Robinson has totaled only 64 rushing yards combined in the last three weeks. Chris Rodriguez has now emerged as another mouth to feed in this backfield. You missed your sell-high opportunity for Robinson. Now, he should sit on your bench in Week 8.
WR, Jerry Jeudy – DEN vs. KC
I hope you didn’t need this reminder, but just in case you did. Jeudy has been a major disappointment and is heavily rumored to be traded next week. If you removed the name, you would have him even lower in your fantasy football rankings. Jeudy’s best week was 13.1 points, and he has shown us that the floor can be very ugly. He scored a pitiful 4.4 (PPR) points against Kansas City just two weeks ago.
The middle is not much prettier. Jeudy has had zero finishes inside the top 24 wide receivers. Jeudy needs a fresh start, and we wish him luck. But that hope and name value is the only reason we have not cut him yet. He is currently the 54th-ranked wide receiver, and I wouldn’t fault you for dropping him. If he is not traded, I might just drop him.
WR, Amari Cooper – CLE at SEA
FantasyPros joked this week that Amari Cooper must not sleep well in hotels. Jokes aside, his home vs. road splits are wild. In his career, at home, he has 76 yards per game and 35 total touchdowns. On the road, he averages 55 yards per game and has 21 total touchdowns. Cooper this season has been on the road twice. He finished as WR29 and WR63 each week. This week, he gets to travel to Seattle, and P.J. Walker is in line to start again.
In the three games Walker has played in, Cooper has had 22 targets. Cooper has turned that into 7 receptions, 146 yards, and 0 touchdowns. Cooper appeared to be in line for a top-24 or even a top-12 season. He is currently 44th in fantasy points at the wide receiver position. Stop looking at the name and put him on the bench.
TE, Hunter Henry – NE @ MIA
Hunter Henry started the season as a reliable option. As of late, he has been unreliable, to say the least. He finished as the third-best fantasy tight end option on his team last week. Henry could be on the trade block, and his usage suggests that. He had a season-low in snaps three weeks in a row, dropping from 78 to 62 and all of the way down to 52. He has five fantasy points combined in the last three weeks. You could drop Henry at this point.
New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins
New England can usually hang their hat on good defense. They currently have the 29th most fantasy points. They only have 13 sacks on the season (5th worst), and Miami has only allowed 10. Miami is by far the number one offense in football. The Dolphins are expected to have Tyreek Hill this week to add to the Patriots’ problems. New England should not be considered this week. Check my rankings for better options.
