After a week of brutal injuries, the wide receiver landscape has changed a ton. My goal is to help you navigate through these murky waters and come out victorious in week eight. The rankings you’ll see below are based on statistical analysis, matchup data, sportsbook data, and film. That said, let’s dive right into and start setting our lineups for week eight of the fantasy football season.
Notable Injury Predictions
Tua Tagovailoa Will Play
Mike Evans + Chris Godwin Will be Out
Travis Etienne Will Not Play
These rankings will change as we get more information, but right now, this is how I see these players trending based on recent news.
Week 8 WR Rankings
Tier 1
1. Justin Jefferson @ LAR
2. Ja'Marr Chase vs PHI
3. CeeDee Lamb @ SF
4. Amon-Ra St. Brown vs TEN
Tier 2
5. Drake London @ TB
6. A.J. Brown @ CIN
7. Malik Nabers @ PIT
8. Tyreek Hill vs ARI
9. Cooper Kupp vs MIN
Tier 3
10. Stefon Diggs vs IND
11. Jayden Reed @ JAC
12. Brian Thomas Jr. vs GB
Tier 4
13. Amari Cooper @ SEA
14. Davante Adams @ NE
15. DJ Moore @ WAS
16. Terry McLaurin vs CHI
17. Garrett Wilson @ NE
18. Tee Higgins vs PHI
Tier 5
19. DeVonta Smith @ CIN
20. Jaylen Waddle vs ARI
21. Diontae Johnson @ DEN
22. Marvin Harrison Jr. @ MIA
23. Zay Flowers @ CLE
24. George Pickens vs NYG
25. Jauan Jennings vs DAL
Tier 6
26. Tank Dell vs IND
27. Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs BUF
28. Jalen McMillan vs ATL
29. Darnell Mooney @ TB
30. Ladd McConkey vs NO
31. Wan'Dale Robinson @ PIT
Tier 7
32. Khalil Shakir @ SEA
33. Dontayvion Wicks @ JAC
34. Michael Pittman Jr. @ HOU
35. Courtland Sutton vs CAR
36. DeMario Douglas vs NYJ
Must Start: WR
Jaylen Waddle vs ARI
ESPN Projection - WR23
For everyone new here, in order to qualify for the FTR start of the week, you have to be projected out as a back-end WR2/RB2 according to ESPN’s projections. Before you yell at me, this take is based on the prediction that Tua Tagovailoa will be playing this week. In an article by ESPN, Marcel Louis-Jacques wrote, “This week, our plan is [for Tagovailoa] to start practicing on Wednesday,” McDaniel said. “The clearing doesn’t come until after some of the activity, but we’re obviously doing so in the hope of everything going well so that he can play Sunday.”
To me, this is a clear indicator that Tagovailoa will be back, but they don’t want to confirm it if they don’t have to. I’m wiping the slate clean with Jaylen Waddle because even the 2023 WR1 Tyreek Hill has been basically unstartable. Even though it’s a short sample size, Waddle scored 16.2 points in his only full game with Tagovailoa this year. For a larger sample size, we can see that Waddle has been a consistent WR2 throughout his whole career, never averaging less than 14 PPG.
Looking ahead to week eight, this is also an above-average matchup for Waddle as the Cardinals have allowed the 8th most fantasy points to wide receivers this year (254.9). PFF’s WR/CB matchup tool also has this as an “average” matchup, so I’m not worried on that front. Assuming Tagovailoa plays, Waddle should slide right back into your WR2 slot this week.
Week 8 RB Rankings
Tier 1
1. Saquon Barkley @ CIN
2. Kyren Williams vs MIN
3. Derrick Henry @ CLE
4. Breece Hall @ NE
5. Bijan Robinson @ TB
6. Kenneth Walker vs BUF
Tier 2
7. Joe Mixon vs IND
8. Jahmyr Gibbs vs TEN
9. Alvin Kamara @ LAC
10. Josh Jacobs @ JAC
11. Chuba Hubbard @ DEN
12. Jordan Mason vs DAL
13. James Conner @ MIA
Tier 3
14. De'Von Achane vs ARI
15. Jonathan Taylor @ HOU
16. James Cook @ SEA
17. Kareem Hunt @ LV
18. Brian Robinson Jr. vs CHI
19. J.K. Dobbins vs NO
20. Aaron Jones @ LAR
21. D'Andre Swift @ WAS
22. Tony Pollard @ DET
23. David Montgomery vs TEN
Tier 4
24. Javonte Williams vs CAR
25. Najee Harris vs NYG
26. Tank Bigsby vs GB
27. Chase Brown vs PHI
28. Rico Dowdle @ SF
29. Rachaad White vs ATL
30. Rhamondre Stevenson vs NYJ
Tier 5
31. Nick Chubb vs BAL
32. Alexander Mattison vs KC
33. Zack Moss vs PHI
34. Bucky Irving vs ATL
35. Tyrone Tracy Jr. @ PIT
36. Zach Charbonnet vs BUF
Must Start: RB
Josh Jacobs @ JAC
ESPN Projection - RB20
Having Josh Jacobs as my start of the week has to be one of the easiest things I’ve written in a long time. There is just no logical explanation for why Jacobs is a borderline RB2 for the week. With Jordan Love back, Jacobs has turned a corner as expected, scoring 11.8, 16.4, 12 and 20.2 points. This is even more impressive because Jacobs only had one touchdown in those four games.
This just seems like a stroke of bad luck because Jacobs has no competition, and the Packer’s offense has been fairly high-scoring recently. On top of that, Jacobs gets to play the Jaguars, who are one of the best matchups for running backs this year. Their defense can’t stop anyone, as they’ve allowed the 6th most fantasy points (186.1) to running backs this season. Jacobs is a smash start, and it still makes no sense why he’s this low, according to ESPN.