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Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers in Week 8

Ranking the best wide receivers by matchup and opportunity for Week 8.

By Matias Wodner
NFL: Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Death, taxes and Antonio Brown being the WR1 in fantasy football every single season. The man is unstoppable regardless of whichever starting cornerback lines up across from him.

Speaking of WR1s, Stefon Diggs is expected back this week against the Cleveland Browns. Going into the game he got injured, Diggs was THE WR1 in fantasy football. Here’s to hoping he can stay healthy over the second half of this season.

Also, drop Terrelle Pryor and Martavis Bryant already. It’s not worth looking at them rot on your bench.

WR Rankings - Week 8

Rank Player Team Opponent Notes
Rank Player Team Opponent Notes
1 Antonio Brown PIT @DET He's Antonio Brown.
2 A.J. Green CIN IND IND continues to bleed fantasy points rto WRs at a shocking pace. Green is going to eat.
3 Julio Jones ATL @NYJ ATL offense is out of sync, but Julio is not. TD last week could open the flood gates this week vs. NYJ.
4 Mike Evans TB CAR Matchups don't matter for Evans who has scored 4 TDs in 6 games this season and has gotten 8+ targets in each game.
5 Dez Bryant DAL @WAS Norman may be back, but Dez has scored a TD or gone for 98 yards in every game since W1.
6 Michael Thomas NO CHI Knee injury and potential for a blowout are slight concerns, but Thomas could go off vs. CHI in the dome.
7 Brandin Cooks NE LAC Beginning to establish a very nice floor and more TDs will come. Could start this week in what should be a shootout.
8 Kelvin Benjamin CAR @TB Kelvin went 5/70 + 6/93/1 vs. TB last season. TB gives up the most fantasy points per game to WRs.
9 Doug Baldwin SEA HOU HOU defense has been dealt major injury blows and Baldwin is historically a monster at home.
10 Keenan Allen LAC @NE He's been a bit underwhelming lately, but a game against the league's worst pass defense should remedy that.
11 Alshon Jeffery PHI SF SF is bad at all CB positions, but outside WRs have done the most damage against them. Alshon could rebound nicely.
12 DeAndre Hopkins HOU @SEA Hard to knock him down too far, but the matchup is brutal and Watson could really struggle in this one.
13 Michael Crabtree OAK @BUF While Amari exploded last week, Crabtree remains the most consistent WR on OAK and scored once again last week.
14 Demaryius Thomas DEN @KC He's struggled vs. KC/Peters in the past, but Sanders is likely out again and KC has bled fantasy points to WRs all season.
15 Stefon Diggs MIN @CLE Put in a full practice on Thursday and looks good to go. CLE got wrecked by WRs in Diggs' mold (Brown/Hilton).
16 Nelson Agholor PHI SF Continues to score TDs and that should happen again vs. a weak SF secondary.
17 Amari Cooper OAK @BUF Don't expect a repeat of last week, but an in-sync Derek Carr should mean no more brutal duds from Amari.
18 Chris Hogan NE LAC LAC's two boundary CBs are stellar and LAC has erased TEs, leaving Hogan with possibly the best matchup for NE.
19 Tyreek Hill KC @DEN Scored 3 times vs. DEN in 2016, but 2 of those were rushing TDs. He can boom at any moment, as you all know.
20 Devin Funchess CAR @TB TB gives up the msot fantasy points to WRs and Funchess has drawn 8+ targets in each of his last 5 games.
21 Pierre Garcon SF @PHI PHI's secondary is vulnerable and Garcon is commanding 10+ targets regularly.
22 Josh Doctson WAS DAL Appears to have supplanted Pryor for the #1 WR role. Has yet to put it all together, but his talent is immense.
23 Jarvis Landry MIA @BAL Even if Parker is back, Landry gets the best matchup of all MIA WRs and Landry has scored 3 TDs in Moore's last 5 games.
24 Adam Thielen MIN @CLE His outlook was much rosier with Diggs out. Should still be a reliable WR2/3 in a good matchup.
25 DeSean Jackson TB CAR Has been more reliable than expected and Jameis is connecting with him often.
26 Mohamed Sanu ATL @NYJ Sanu has gone over 10 PPR points in every full game he's played this season.
27 Ted Ginn Jr. NO CHI Snead will be back, but Ginn's role is set in stone. He's caught all 11 of his targets for 207 yards and a TD over last 2 weeks.
28 Marvin Jones Jr. DET PIT With Tate likely out again, Jones will command upwards of 10 targets. PIT gives up the fewest fantasy points to WRs, though.
29 Jermaine Kearse NYJ ATL NYJ will probably have to throw a lot in this one, and Kearse sets up better and is more reliable than Anderson.
30 Bennie Fowler DEN @KC KC has given up the 2nd-most fantasy points to WRs and Fowler will get the easier matchups vs. burnable KC CBs.
31 T.Y. Hilton IND @CIN In a big bye week, you can try to hit a home run with Hilton, but he's nearly unusable.
32 Deonte Thompson BUF OAK Was BUF's leading receiver last week and Matthews is playing with a cast on his hand.
33 Paul Richardson SEA HOU Doesn't get many targets, but he makes them count with 3 TDs in his last 5 games. SEA at home is enticing.
34 Brandon LaFell CIN IND If you want to chase a TD, this is the week to do it and this is the cheapest WR matchup to do it with.
35 JuJu Smith-Schuster PIT @DET Hype is unrivaled. Keep in mind he hasn't gotten over 6 targets in any game and plays a different position than Martavis.
36 Jeremy Maclin BAL MIA Seems the likeliest of all injured BAL WRs to play on TNF. Flacco looks terrible so not sure you can use Maclin.
37 Will Fuller HOU @SEA He's earned the benefit of the doubt, but if he can score a TD against SEA on the road he might score 20 this season.
38 DeVante Parker MIA @BAL Will he play a full alottment of snaps if he's even out there? Very risky, especially in a brutal matchup.
39 Robby Anderson NYJ ATL The big-play threat, ATL doesn't give up many big plays through the air whatsoever.
40 Tyler Lockett SEA HOU Gets more targets than P-Rich, but just doesn't do enough with them to feel great about him, even in a good matchup.
41 TJ Jones DET PIT Primed to take over in the slot for Golden Tate.
42 Tyrell Williams LAC @NE This feels like one of those random weeks that Tyrell goes for 100 and a long score. It could also be Travis Benjamin, though.
43 Willie Snead NO CHI Ready to return from a hamstring injury, but his usage was concerning in his one prior game this season.
44 Marquise Goodwin SF @PHI A boom-or-bust player, Goodwin has put up 5/116 + 4/80 sandwiched between a 2/26 game. PHI secondary is burnable.
45 Ricardo Louis CLE MIN I guess if you want to play a Brown you can take a chance on Louis, who seems to be playing the most.
46 Dontrelle Inman CHI @NO Inman was just traded for and is immediately the Bears' best WR. Should contribute immediately, but NO is a tough matchup.
47 Jamison Crowder WAS DAL You can bank on his snap rate if you want, but he's been non-existent from a production standpoint.
48 Torrey Smith PHI SF If you really want a dart throw, take a chance on Smith breaking off a long one against poor SF CBs.
49 Kenny Stills MIA @BAL Would move up a bit if Parker doesn't play, but the matchup still warrants avoidance.
50 Mike Wallace BAL MIA He's a GTD and he's a boom-or-bust option anyway.

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