Fantasy Football Week 8 Wide Receiver Preview: Waiver adds, starts, sits, stashes, and more

Week 7 was a disaster at the wide receiver position. Brandon Aiyuk and Chris Godwin are out for the year. Mike Evans reinjured his hamstring and is getting an MRI. Jameson Williams is suspended for two games. 

Of course, the news isn’t all bad. We’re also expecting Cooper Kupp to return for the Rams and Tua Tagovailoa to return for the Dolphins, salvaging the seasons of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Kupp, Hill, and Waddle have been popular buy-low candidates that could start paying off as soon as Thursday night. I think it’s possible Evans just became the best buy-low candidate.

You need to wait for the MRI results, but assuming Evans’ timeline is in the four to six weeks range, I’ll be looking to buy very low. If he’s able to return, he’ll be playing without Chris Godwin and in a position to chase 1,000 yards for the 11th season in a row. He’ll also have a great schedule. After Tampa Bay’s Week 11 bye, they play the Giants, Panthers (twice), Raiders, Chargers, and Cowboys to finish the Fantasy season. Evans could legitimately be a top-10 wide receiver down the stretch if he can get healthy. But again, let’s see what the MRI shows. 

Here is the rest of the Week 8 WR Preview:

Week 8 WR Preview

The following players are not being projected to play in Week 8 at this time. Here’s what it means:

• 36% — Cooper Kupp was second in the NFL with a 36% target share in the first two weeks of the season. If he’s starting for the Rams, he should be starting for your Fantasy team.
• 19% — DeVonta Smith has a 19% target share in the three games A.J. Brown has played. That’s a problem if the Eagles keep trending run-heavy
• 28.2% — Amongst receivers who have earned at least 30 targets, George Pickens‘ 28.2% target per route run rate ranks fifth. 
• 2.79 — Jauan Jennings‘ 2.79 yards per route run ranks third amongst qualified receivers. If he can get healthy, he’ll have a big opportunity with Brandon Aiyuk out.
• 33.3% — Rashod Bateman’s 33% explosive per target rate ranks second behind only Nico Collins.
• 277 — Jerry Jeudy’s 277 routes are the fourth-most in the NFL. I’m still hopeful he could matter with Jameis Winston at quarterback.

My full set of Week 8 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don’t live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 8. Projected stats for all starting wide receivers are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.