Fantasy Football Week 8 Wide Receiver Projections & Rankings: Start Garrett Wilson, Sit Josh Downs
Week 8's wide receiver projections, as listed below, show what fantasy managers can expect. Amon-Ra St. Brown makes his WR1 season debut, Matthew Golden leapfrogs Christian Watson, and the Cowboys feature three top-25 wide receivers.
Top-12 Wide Receivers
Amon-Ra St. Brown takes the No. 1 wide receiver spot in Week 8. He has 31 targets, 23 receptions, and 297 yards over his last three games. Nonetheless, the battle for the honor will be tight among Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Puka Nacua, and CeeDee Lamb.
AJ Brown might be underwhelming, but he still has 16 targets over his last two games and no drop-off in his route rate. He is still a WR1 in my books.
Matthew Golden averages more than 2.0 targets per game compared to Christian Watson. They are really a tandem of co-WR1s rather than a WR1 and WR2.
High-Upside Wide Receivers
Fantasy managers can anticipate a redemption game for Garrett Wilson following two down games. He has faced back-to-back top-7 coverages, but the Raiders now offer a matchup as the 9th-worst in Yards per Target Allowed to outside receivers. Don't be fooled by any trade talk; Wilson will be fine.
The Eagles are on a slide. Their defense is 25th in EPA per Pass Allowed, and I expect a great day for the Commanders' passing game. Stefon Diggs should get at least a 20% target share. Added: I also love Antonio Williams this week for similar reasons.
Read more for Must-Start Wide Receivers in Week 8.
Bench These Wide Receivers
Rome Odunze hasn't scored a touchdown this season, and now he faces a stalwart Seahawks defense that just held Pat Mahomes to three points. So the upside isn't very high.
Josh Downs requested a trade out of Indianapolis, where they just limited Jonathan Taylor's touches in Week 7 amid the same trade rumors. I would not be surprised if the Colts limited Downs' route rate. Regardless, the Jaguars are one of the NFL's better defenses, and Downs has one game with 30+ yards.
Read more for Must-Sit Wide Receivers in Week 8.
Sleeper of the Week
I am very bullish on Ryan Flournoy as the WR22 this week. He has at least four receptions in every game this season. Flournoy is averaging 67 yards over his last three games. The Cardinals are 2nd-worst in Yards per Target Allowed to wide receivers. The Cowboys don't simply have Flournoy as Dak Prescott's third read.
Week 8 Projected Statistical Leaders
- Targets: Amon-Ra St. Brown (12.5)
- Receptions: Amon-Ra St. Brown (8.5)
- Yards: Amon-Ra St. Brown (99.5)
- Anytime Touchdown: CeeDee Lamb (55.1%)
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.