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2021 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers for Week 8

Maybe Ja’Marr Chase will be better once they add stripes to NFL footballs, right?

By Skyler Carlin
Cincinnati Bengals v Baltimore Ravens Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

Bye-mageddon, bye-pocalypse, or whatever you dubbed it is now behind us with Week 7 now completed. There were six teams on a bye week in Week 7, which is the most we’ll see in any single week for the rest of the season. We were all limited in who we could play, so there’s no need for anyone to feel like they were singled out by the handful of teams that had a week off in Week 7. As for Week 8, there are only two teams on a bye, the Baltimore Ravens and the Las Vegas Raiders. With a large group of wide receivers returning to action, here are my favorite wide receivers for Week 8, and tidbits of why I ranked each wideout where I did.

WR Rankings Week 8

RANK NAME TEAM OPPONENT NOTES
RANK NAME TEAM OPPONENT NOTES
1 Cooper Kupp LAR @ HOU Currently has the most PPR points through the first seven weeks for a WR (190.4) in NFL history and draws the HOU defense in Week 8.
2 Tyreek Hill KC vs. NYG Coming off of his fourth single-digit scoring output of the season, Hill is poised to bounce back on Monday Night Football vs. NYG.
3 Stefon Diggs BUF vs. MIA Had his best performance of the season in Week 6 and gets MIA in Week 8, who allow the third-most points to WRs this season.
4 Ja'Marr Chase CIN @ NYJ Ja'Marr Chase is a top five WR for the rest of the season and there's not a matchup that should prevent anyone from using him.
5 Justin Jefferson MIN vs. DAL Vikings could be in a shootout with the Cowboys, which could lead to plenty of opportunites for Jefferson.
6 Deebo Samuel SF @ CHI Samuel is the only worthwhile WR to have from the 49ers and owns a league-high 36.7% target share thus far.
7 DeAndre Hopkins ARI vs. GB Hopkins is no longer the only fantasy-viable WR on the Cardinals, but he's still capable of producing WR1 weeks, especially with Jaire Alexander sidelined for GB.
8 A.J. Brown TEN @ IND Brown WR1 SZN is officialy back on following his stellar outing in Week 7 vs. KC.
9 CeeDee Lamb DAL @ MIN Cowboys are rolling on offense and can support both Lamb/Cooper in fantasy every week with Prescott back at QB.
10 Mike Williams LAC vs. NE NE's defense isn't the same dominant group we're accustomed to and Williams is still WR10 right now, even with him having a bye week in Week 7.
11 Chris Godwin TB @ NO Godwin could be the go-to WR for TB in Week 8 as Evans could see plenty of Marshon Lattimore on Sunday.
12 Diontae Johnson PIT @ CLE With the injury to JuJu Smith-Schuster, Johnson possesses one of the safest floors at WR.
13 D.J. Moore CAR @ ATL If there's a week where Moore can bounce back, even with poor play from Darnold, it's this week against ATL's defense that surrenders the seventh-most points to WRs.
14 Amari Cooper DAL @ MIN I believe we get touchdowns for Lamb and Cooper this week vs. MIN on Sunday Night Football.
15 Keenan Allen LAC vs. NE Allen is still seeing a 24.6% target share for LAC (18th among WRs) and should be included more in the offense following the bye week.
16 Terry McLaurin WAS @ DEN Slight downgrade for McLaurin in a road game in Denver with an inconsitent QB in Heinicke.
17 Courtland Sutton DEN vs. WAS Even with Jeudy returning for DEN, Sutton is primed for a productive game agaisnt a WAS defense that gives up the second-most points to WRs.
18 D.K. Metcalf SEA vs. JAC Metcalf is a borderline WR1 now with Smith at QB, but he can still overcome below average QB play vs. JAC in Week 8.
19 Antonio Brown TB @ NO If Brown is able to return for TB in Week 8, Brady could rely on him to succeed against NO's defense.
20 Adam Thielen MIN vs. DAL Whenever MIN gets near the end zone, Thielen is always a threat to catch a touchdown.
21 Calvin Ridley ATL vs. CAR Ridley is no longer a trustworthy WR in fantasy, but CAR's defense has given up the eighth most points to WRs in the past month.
22 Robert Woods LAR @ HOU I just have a gut feeling that we get another noteworthy outing from Woods in Week 8 against HOU.
23 Michael Pittman Jr. IND vs. TEN Wentz has been playing well for IND and Pittman is his favorite target as they face TEN's defense, who permits the most points per week to WRs.
24 Mike Evans TB @ NO Evans doesn't have a great track record against Lattimore, who will likely shadow the Pro Bowl wideout on Sunday.
25 Cordarrelle Patterson ATL vs. CAR Patterson continues to be a focal point in ATL's offense and has eligibilty as a WR or RB in most leagues.
26 Tee Higgins CIN @ NYJ While Chase dominated BAL a week ago, his performance overshadowed the fact that Higgins saw a career-high 15 targets in Week 7.
27 DeVonta Smith PHI @ DET If there's going to be a week where Smith explodes, it will be this week against a weak secondary in DET.
28 Emmanuel Sanders BUF vs. MIA Sanders has operated as a deep threat in a pass-first offense in BUF, with an average target distance of 17.3 yards (fourth among WRs).
29 Marvin Jones Jr. JAC @ SEA Jaguars could play from behind vs. the Seahawks and Jones is now the No. 1 wideout with Chark out for the season.
30 Brandin Cooks HOU vs. LAR Cooks should be able to produce a decent week, even against an LAR defense as Ramsey hasn't shadowed many WRs this season.
31 Chase Claypool PIT @ CLE Claypool gets a boost with Smith-Schuster out and maybe he can connect on a deep shot one of these weeks with a dead-armed Roethlisberger.
32 Jerry Jeudy DEN vs. WAS Jeudy returns for DEN in Week 8 and gets a juicy matchup against a WAS defense that is giving up points to WRs at an alarming rate.
33 Christian Kirk ARI vs. GB It can be any of ARI's WRs that could explode in any week and Kirk could have the opportunity to do so against a shorthanded GB squad.
34 Jarvis Landry CLE vs. PIT Regardless of whether it is Mayfield or Keenum under center, Landry is back to being a viable PPR option upon his return.
35 Jaylen Waddle MIA @ BUF MIA doesn't have many guys avaiiable for Tua to target so Waddle is the No. 1 wideout in a game where MIA could be playing from behind.
36 Tyler Lockett SEA vs. JAC Lockett has caught only four passes for 47 yards in two games with Smith at QB, but maybe he can have a decent showing against JAC's defense.
37 Julio Jones TEN @ IND Julio is no longer the All-Pro WR he once was, but he could still have a semi-productive game versus an IND defense that surrenders the 10th most points per game to WRs.
38 Laviska Shenault JAC @ SEA Maybe this is the week that Shenault is finally able to prove why he should have a consistent on the Jaguars?
39 Tyler Boyd CIN @ NYJ With Higgins back for CIN, Boyd now becomes a low ceiling player in fantasy as the No. 3 wideout in a slow-paced offense.
40 Jakobi Meyers NE @ LAC WRs have had a tough time against the LAC as they've allowed the least amount of points per game in the NFL to WRs.
41 Cole Beasley BUF vs. MIA There's a chance we see 3 WRs on BUF have fantasy-viable weeks against MIA.
42 Sterling Shepard NYG @ KC I would move Shepard up if we knew we were getting a healthy version of the slot specialist against KC.
43 Robby Anderson CAR @ ATL Anderson continues to get peppered with targets (38 in the past four weeks), but he's turned that into only 29.4 points in PPR formats.
44 A.J. Green ARI vs. GB ARI uses all of their weapons every week, putting Green in a spot to find the end zone often.
45 Corey Davis NYJ vs. CIN White could be replacing Wilson for the NYJ in Week 8, and Davis remains the only playable WR on the Jets.
46 Randall Cobb GB @ ARI Cobb might be the only WR active for GB on Thursday night (don't fact check me), so he could be busy in Week 8 against ARI.
47 Odell Beckham Jr. CLE vs. PIT Beckham continues to struggle finding his rhythm with CLE, but one of these weeks it feels like he'll eclipse 100+ yards. This isn't the week, though.
48 Van Jefferson LAR @ HOU Being the third wideout on the LAR is valuable, especially when Stafford is at QB.
49 Marquez Callaway NO vs. TB Callaway is the best WR the Saints have right now and gets a favorable matchup against a hobbled TB secondary.
50 Kadarius Toney NYG @ KC I wanted to include Toney in case he does suit up in Week 8. If he does, Toney has the potential to finish as a top 20-30 WR in the event that he is fully healthy.

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