Week 8 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Keenan Allen vs. Khalil Shakir

Evaluating who to start in fantasy football in week eight between Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen and Buffalo Bills WR Khalil Shakir.

Oct 19, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen (13) celebrates after a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts at SoFi Stadium. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Two players located right next to each other in our week eight WR rankings, Buffalo Bills WR Khalil Shakir and Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen, are in the grey area of being in or outside of fantasy managers' starting lineups. Here is a breakdown on who to start and who to sit between Allen and Shakir in week eight.

Keenan Allen

Oct 19, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen (13) runs the ball in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at SoFi Stadium. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen is coming off his best game of the 2025 season. In week seven against the Indianapolis Colts, he had 11 receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown. This broke a cold streak of low receiving yard games for Allen, where in two of his last three games, he logged under 40 receiving yards. Against the Minnesota Vikings, there is a window of opportunity for him to have a similar outing.

The Vikings have put forth a high level secondary this season. This year, they are currently allowing the 7th fewest passing yards per game, 184. However, in the past three games, they have shown volatility to the WR position, giving up three 100 or more receiving yards to three opposing WRs. Two of these took place in week seven against the Philadelphia Eagles, where QBJalen Hurts threw for 326 yards and WR A.J. Brown had 121 receiving yards, and DeVonta Smith had receiving 183 yards. Outside of the three recent 100-yard games, the most yards they have allowed to an opposing WR was in week one, where the Chicago Bears' DJ Moore had 68 receiving yards.

Another thing Allen fantasy owners should pay attention to and monitor is the rising usage of WR1 for the Chargers, Ladd McConkey. McConkey, after starting the year rather slowly in fantasy production, is beginning to heat up. In the past two weeks, he has garnered 24 targets, the highest on the team in that stretch. This usage, if it continues to trend up for McConkey, will most certainly eat into Allen's fantasy football ceiling in week eight and beyond.

Khalil Shakir

Oct 13, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) on the field against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Buffalo Bills Khalil Shakir has now had back-to-back disappointing fantasy football outings. In the last two games, he has had a combined nine receptions and 88 yards. In his latest game in week seven against the Atlanta Falcons, he logged three receptions for 33 yards on five targets. The thing about this performance is that it could be foreseen. The Falcons this season have positioned themselves as an elite secondary. They are currently allowing the fewest passing yards per game in the NFL. Going into week eight, he will have a slightly better chance of putting forth an impressive game in fantasy football.

Shakir and the Bills this week will take on the Carolina Panthers. Carolina this year is allowing  the 10th fewest passing yards per game, 203.1. Even with them being solid in guarding the pass as a team overall, they have struggled to contain opposing teams' WR1s. In three of their last four games, WR1s have logged 100 receiving yards or more. Two of these performances in PPR fantasy formats ranked inside the ranks of WR1-8 for their respective weeks.

Final Verdict

When debating who should start and who should sit in week eight in fantasy football between Allen and Shakir, Allen should be a sit, and Shakir should be a start. The main reason is the crowded feel of Chargers WR depth chart, beginning to feel even more crowded in the scope of fantasy football. The rise of McConkey and the hit-or-miss big game ability of WR Quentin Johnston make the outcome of whether Allen will be the Chargers' WR to have a big game in week eight unclear. Shakir, as his team's WR1 going up against a team that has struggled to defend WR1s as of late, makes the possibility of him having an impactful fantasy performance feel larger than Allen's chances, making him the start candidate in this case.