Fantasy Football Week 8 Deep-Sleepers: Kyle Monangai, Chimere Dike Plus 3 More

Kyle Monangai and Chimere Dike have elevated opportunities in Week 8 as their counterparts are injured and their roles trend upwards.

Oct 19, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai (25) reacts after rushing for a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the second quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

We adore the underdog story. Who doesn't? Players and teams overcoming all odds to reach ultimate success. The Blue Jays were not considered a near preseason favorite to win the World Series, but they are up on the Dodgers as of Saturday. How about March Madness? Loyola-Chicago? Fairleigh Dickinson? We love it. Week in and week out, we see underdogs on the NFL rosters breakout. These are sleepers. They can have great fantasy football viability and DFS returns if spotted early. These are sleeper candidates in Week 8.

RB - Kyle Monangai - Chicago Bears

Ben Johnson finally unleashed RB Kyle Monangai

-13 attempts
-81 rushing yards
-1 rushing TD
-2 receptions
-13 receiving yards

Congrats to the rookie on the big day 🔥pic.twitter.com/d9ghQl3w64

— Just Another Year Chicago: Bears (@JAYChi_Bears) October 19, 2025

D'Andre Swift has lingered on this week with a questionable status. He is now expected to play, but without full health. This allows an opportunity for Monangai to get some notable work against the Ravens. Over the past two weeks, Monangai has elevated his snap-share to 45%. The team will continue to work him in, as has been their goal, and so we can expect Monangai to remain over 1/3rd on running back snaps. This has value against an injured and struggling Ravens team.

WR - Arian Smith - New York Jets

The Jets are very injured at the moment. Garrett Wilson is out. Breece Hall may be out. Josh Reynolds may be out. This opens the door for opportunity. Tyrod Taylor will not play, but there is still opportunity for someone to breakout with no notice. If anyone, it would be Arian Smith.

Smith is a Jets 4th round pick and we played at Georgia after being a highly recruited prospect out of high school. He has the natural skill and the Jets had raved about him in the preseason. He just needs an opportunity and it can happen against a mediocre Bengals team. This is a high-risk, high-upside play, but it can pay as his upside is much higher than Allen Lazard and Tyler Johnson.

WR - Xavier Hutchinson - Houston Texans

Nico Collins and Christian Kirk are out this week. That makes Hutchinson the WR1. He has more targets and production than any other receiver, including rookie draft pick, Jayden Higgins. In fact, Hutchinson has the most receiving touchdowns on the team, trumping Nico Collins. They trust him and will use him against the 49ers for a target share that could exceed 25%.

WR - Chimere Dike - Tennessee Titans

Four targets, four catches, for 70 yards and a TD for Tennessee Titans rookie Round 4 WR Chimere Dike: pic.twitter.com/FyTuCggi3U

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) October 23, 2025

Dike has flown under-the-radar as the WR3 in Tennessee. With Ridley out, he could have great upside. The Titans will surely fall behind to the Colts and that will trigger a pass-heavy, risk-free offense in the second half. Dike leads the Titans in red zone targets (5) and they might as well unleash their young prospects in Dike and Ayomanor.

WR - Troy Franklin - Denver Broncos

It actually angers me that Franklin is still a sleeper. He is owned well under 50% in fantasy leagues. He should not be. Franklin has 11 red zone targets this year, far leading the Broncos. He now gets a run at the 32nd ranked Cowboys secondary. Franklin is not just a sleeper, he is a must-start,