16 Fantasy Takeaways from NFL Week 8

Each week I dig through every single team and take notes on what happened, and how it can translate to the Fantasy Football world. Role changes, snaps played, touches, production, injuries, efficiency, Fantasy Football scoring, and other variables are important to break down each week. Being on top of what is going on will give you an edge in your Fantasy Football league. Being able to adjust and pivot with new information is extremely important in this game as well. Below are my Top 20 notes from Week 8.

Week 8 Fantasy Football Takeaways

1. The Will Levis debut did not just mean a Top 10 opening Fantasy Football performance for the Titan’s 2023 second-round selection, but also a monster DeAndre Hopkins Week 8. Levis threw 19/29 (65.5%) for 238 passing yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for 11 yards. Ryan Tannehill has thrown two touchdowns in six games this season, so the rookie quarterback throwing four in his NFL debut could be the nail in the coffin for who will be the starter for the rest of the season. Hopkins finished Week 8 with 128 receiving yards and three touchdowns for a season-high 34.8 Fantasy Points. DHop’s value looks much better with Levis.
2. The Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb connection has looked up to expectations in the last two weeks, which is a positive trend. Weeks 1-5, Prescott finished QB17 or worse for five straight games. During this same span, Lamb scored 25.3 Fantasy Points in Week 2 but under 15 points in the four other weeks, catching exactly four passes in four of those five games. For both Week 6 and Week 8 (BYE in between), Prescott has finished as a top-five Fantasy quarterback, throwing 272 and 304 yards in these games and accounting for six total touchdowns. Lamb has finished with 117 and 158 receiving yards the last two games, with two touchdowns in Week 8. This connection is looking much better vs. the mostly underperforming opening weeks.
3. Gus Edwards put together back-to-back Fantasy impactful games full of upside signs. 64 rushing yards and a touchdown along with 80 receiving yards for 21.4 Fantasy Points in Week 7. Edwards followed that up with 80 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in Week 8 for 29.4 Fantasy Points. The Baltimore offense is a great one to have a substantial role in, and Edwards has been taking off the last two weeks in a row in it.
4. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase were another quality stack to have in Week 8. The 27.6 Fantasy Points for Burrow was a season-high, and that was due to the 283 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and a season-high 43 rushing yards. Chase caught 10 of his 12 targets for 100 receiving yards and a touchdown for 25.2 Fantasy Points. Chase has earned 15-9-19-13-12 targets from Burrow across his last five games, with three of those games resulting in 100+ receiving yards.
5. Hard to argue there is a better Fantasy wide receiver option than AJ Brown, who simply cannot be stopped. Eight receptions for 130 receiving yards and two touchdowns for 33 Fantasy Points in Week 8. Across the last six games, AJB has ranged in each of them from 127-175 receiving yards and scored five touchdowns during that span. Week 8 was the second week AJB also scored over 30 Fantasy Points Weeks 3-8 AJB is averaging 138.5 receiving yards and 27.01 Fantasy Points. Monster tear.
6. 58% and 53% of the snaps played in Week 6 and Week 7, five and six targets in these games, 62 receiving yards in Week 5, and Zach Ertz hitting the IR were all positive signs for Trey McBride. Week 8 was the breakout game. 10 receptions on 14 targets for 95 yards and a touchdown for 25.5 Fantasy Points. Checking the boxes of high target volume, receiving yard upside, touchdown scoring, and Fantasy Football production. McBride could be a Top 10 play the rest of the season for the tight end position.
7. Rookie first-round selection by the Vikings, Jordan Addison, had his second big week in a row for Fantasy Football. Seven catches on 10 targets for 123 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Week 7 for 31.1 Fantasy Points. Seven catches again (eight targets) in Week 8 for 82 receiving yards and a touchdown for 21.4 Fantasy Points. Back-to-back weeks of solid volume, receiving yards, and touchdown production along with quality Fantasy Points. The big asterisk now is that Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles, which would have Fantasy impacts on the Viking pass-catchers if his season is done based on who the next man up would be at quarterback.
8. Three games in a row for Breece Hall of Fantasy Football, and general production. Week 5 Hall rushed for a season-high 177 yards, scored a touchdown, and caught three passes for 28.4 Fantasy Points. Week 6 Hall then went on to score another rushing touchdown and was boosted by five receptions for 54 yards and 20.3 Fantasy Points. BYE Week 7. Week 8 Hall caught six passes for 76 yards and a touchdown for 21.3 Fantasy Points. Hall has rushed for under 40 yards in back-to-back weeks, but the high pass-catching volume is what has boosted his Fantasy production. Three 20+ Fantasy Point weeks in a row has been a great sign for the rest of this season.
9. Javonte Williams has been another running back trending in the right direction for the last three weeks now. Week 6 was a sign of high rushing efficiency, rushing 10 times for 52 yards (5.2 yards per carry). In Week 7, Williams played above 50% of the snaps for the first time all season and again was highly efficient, rushing 15 times for 82 yards (5.47 yards per carry) and catching three balls. Week 8 was the big one that the previous two weeks were leading up to, with Williams scoring a season-high 18.8 Fantasy Points. Season-high 27 rushing attempts for also a season-high 85 rushing yards in Week 8. Williams again caught three passes but scored on one of them. Positive signs after a slow start to the year, which we expected as he tore his ACL last season.
10. Dalton Kincaid was the biggest eyebrow-raiser on Thursday Night Football. The 2023 first-round selection by the Bills caught five of his seven targets for 65 yards and a TD for 17.5 Fantasy Points. This performance came after Kincaid caught eight passes for 75 yards the week prior and scored 15.5 Fantasy Points. Dawson Knox being out does help, but we are now seeing some Fantasy consistency for the rookie, who will have a ton of upside moving forward being attached to Josh Allen. 
11. Keeping this one simple – but signs continue to point in the direction that two backfields can become either more of a committee or have the 1A to the 1B switch roles. Cam Akers out-scored Alexander Mattison this week, and Devin Singletary also out-scored Dameon Pierce. These are two backfields to monitor, and if either Akers or Singletary is available on your waivers then I would grab them. I also believe Mattison and Pierce are two guys I would be trading away right now in Fantasy Football.
12. Saquon Barkley rushed the ball 36 times in Week 8. Yes, you read that right. Barkley totaled 128 yards on the ground and also caught three passes. With the Giants on their third-string quarterback in Week 8, Barkley literally had to put the team on his back for the week. Daniel Jones is expected to practice on Wednesday.
13. Taylor Heinicke stepped in for Desmond Ridder, who was evaluated for a concussion and cleared but did not come back in. For Fantasy Football purposes, the switch from Ridder to Heinicke may be a plus for the pass-catchers but coach Arthur Smith said he was simply being cautious. I would not be shocked if the switch happened by the end of the year though.
14. Chuba Hubbard totaled 17 touches on the day, and although his 1.9 yards per carry was extremely inefficient Miles Sanders only touched the ball twice. Sanders missed Week 6 due to injury, which meant Hubbard filling in, but as of now, it looks like Hubbard’s job.
15. The Jaylen Waddle we know and love was back in Week 8. Seven receptions on 12 targets for 121 receiving yards and a touchdown for 25.1 Fantasy Points. Waddle opened up the season displaying his yards per catch upside with 19.5 and 21.5 the first two weeks of football, but this was his first week over 100 receiving yards. The hope here is that we have more days like this from Waddle, who finished with 1,356 receiving yards last season.
16. Rookie Zach Charbonnet finished with seven touches and 64 total scrimmage yards in comparison to Kenneth Walker III’s nine touches and 70 scrimmage yards. KWIII was battling a calf injury, so that is to monitor. Charbonnet was selected 52nd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft by Seattle and should be picked up off of waivers if available.

Week 9 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Half-PPR by Position | Flex Rankings | Positional Ranks w/ K & DST | Dynasty | Superflex Dynasty