Week 8 fantasy football playbook
Fantasy matchups to exploit, sneaky DFS picks and the latest rankings to help make your Week 8 Sunday less miserable.
Thanks again for being a loyal reader and subscriber! Keep reading for the latest fantasy football rankings, injury news, players trending up and down, and more. Best of luck in Week 8!
Week 8 playbook: Quarterbacks
View the latest Week 8 player rankings for all positions and scoring formats.
🤕 QB pain index
🚫 Nope: Jayden Daniels (WAS); Lamar Jackson (BAL); Brock Purdy (SF); Tyrod Taylor (NYJ); Bryce Young (CAR)
🫤 Looking iffy: Michael Penix Jr. (ATL)
View latest NFL injury report
↕️ QB matchup breakdown
📈 Notable QBs with great matchups
Best - Bo Nix (DEN) at DAL
2nd best - Caleb Williams (CHI) at BAL
4th best - Jordan Love (GB) at PIT
💪 Stud potential: Bo Nix — Nix erupted for 43.9 fantasy points in Week 7, becoming the first player ever to record two rushing and two passing TDs in a single quarter. Now he faces Dallas, who’ve allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks and rank 30th in EPA per dropback. With five games of 20+ rushing yards and a strong home track record, you can make the case that Nix is a top-five QB start this week.
📉 Notable QBs with tough matchups
Worst - Mac Jones (SF) at HOU
3rd worst - Drake Maye (NE) vs. CLE
4th worst - Dak Prescott (DAL) at DEN
🥶 Bust alert: Jordan Love — “…he comes into Week 8 against the Steelers having scored 16.9 Fantasy points or less in three of his past four starts. The matchup isn’t daunting since all but one quarterback against Pittsburgh have scored at least 19.8 Fantasy points. But Love has attempted more than 30 passes just twice this season …” — Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports
🍟 DraftKings QB value menu
Week 8 playbook: Running backs
View the latest Week 8 player rankings for all positions and scoring formats.
🤕 RB pain index
🚫 Nope: Bucky Irving (TB)
🙏 Cautiously optimistic: Breece Hall (NYJ); D’Andre Swift (CHI)
View latest NFL injury report
↕️ RB matchup breakdown
📈 Notable RBs with great matchups
Best - Breece Hall (NYJ) at CIN
2nd best - D’Andre Swift/Kyle Monangai (CHI) at BAL
6th best - JK Dobbins (DEN) at DAL
💪 Stud potential: JK Dobbins — Dobbins is primed for a bounce-back at home in a matchup with Dallas, who’ve allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to RBs and the most receiving yards to the position. He remains the lead back in a high-scoring offense and continues to rank among league leaders in explosive runs. With positive game script expected and heavy red-zone potential, Dobbins carries top-15 RB upside.
📉 Notable RBs with tough matchups
2nd worst - Rhamondre Stevenson (NE) vs. CLE
4th worst - Jaylen Warren (PIT) vs. GB
5th worst - Tony Pollard/Tyjae Spears (TEN) at IND
🥶 Bust alert: Rhamondre Stevenson — “Stevenson has been held under 40 rushing yards in five of his seven appearances this year and will now have to deal with the Cleveland run defense.” — Justin Boone, Yahoo! Sports
🍟 DraftKings RB value menu
Week 8 playbook: Wide receivers
View the latest Week 8 player rankings for all positions and scoring formats.
🤕 WR Pain index
🚫 Nope: A.J. Brown (PHI); Nico Collins (HOU); Mike Evans (TB); Christian Kirk (HOU); Chris Godwin (TB); Ricky Pearsall (SF); Calvin Ridley (TEN); Garrett Wilson (NYJ)
🫤 Looking iffy: Christian Watson (GB)
✅ Good to go: Josh Downs (IND); Emeka Egbuka (TB); Terry McClaurin (WAS); Chris Olave (NO); Deebo Samuel Sr. (WAS)
View latest NFL injury report
↕️ WR matchup breakdown
📈 Notable WRs with great matchups*
Darnell Mooney (ATL) vs. MIA (Minkah Fitzpatrick, SCB)
DJ Moore (CHI) at BAL (Chidobe Awuzie, RCB)
Zay Flowers (BAL) vs. CHI (Nick McCloud, LCB)
💪 Stud potential: Zay Flowers — With Lamar Jackson returning, Flowers’ fantasy value shoots back up. That would have been nice, but he’s still commanded a 30% target share and ranks top-10 in route participation, and Chicago has allowed six receivers to top 13 PPR points. He may have less top-10 potential in PPR leagues this week as he would have with Jackson, but he’s still worth flagging here.
📉 Notable WRs with tough matchups*
Terry McLaurin (WAS) at KC (Nohl Williams, RCB)
George Pickens (DAL) at DEN (Riley Moss, RCB)
CeeDee Lamb (DAL) at DEN (Pat Surtain, LCB)
* Based on WR/CB matchup analysis by FantasyPoints.com
🥶 Bust alert: George Pickens— “Pickens won’t only have to fight Lamb for targets again, but he’ll also have to battle one of the league’s best passing defenses. The Broncos have allowed the fewest fantasy points to wide receivers this season, in part because they’ve allowed just one touchdown to a wideout all year.” — Jack McKessy, USA Today
🍟 DraftKings WR value menu
Week 8 playbook: Tight ends
View the latest Week 8 player rankings for all positions and scoring formats.
🤕 TE pain index
🙏 Cautiously optimistic: Dalton Kincaid (BUF); David Njoku (CLE)
✅ Good to go: Juwon Johnson (NO)
View latest NFL injury report
↕️ TE matchup breakdown
📈 Notable TEs with great matchups
Best - Mason Taylor (NYJ) at CIN
3rd best - Tucker Kraft (GB) at PIT
5th best - Dalton Kincaid (BUF) at CAR
💪 Stud potential: Dalton Kincaid — Kincaid is listed as Questionable, but after practicing all week in a limited fashion, there is hope he returns as a high-end TE1 option. He leads Buffalo in receiving yards and touchdowns despite missing a game and boasts a 24% target rate. The Panthers have given up the fifth-most fantasy points to tight ends and struggle mightily in the red zone. Expect Kincaid to reassert himself as Josh Allen’s trusted target and a weekly starter.
📉 Notable TEs with tough matchups
3rd worst - Zach Ertz (WAS) at KC
4th worst - Theo Johnson (NYG) at PHI
5th worst - George Kittle (SF) at HOU
🥶 Bust alert: Zach Ertz. “Marcus Mariota is in line to start Monday night with Jayden Daniels injuring his hamstring last week. That’s a bad development for Ertz, who has averaged 6.5 fantasy PPG with Mariota this season and 11.8 with Daniels. Not to mention, Ertz has a tough matchup this week.” — Michael Florio, NFL.com
