Fantasy WR PPR Rankings Week 8: Who to start, sit at wide receiver in fantasy football

Several PPR studs were out of commission last week, sending fantasy football owners scrambling to pick up the pieces. We’re sure many of you had to start risky guys, but we shouldn’t have to rely on as many this week. That said, we’re still searching for under-the-radar sleepers in our Week 8 fantasy WR PPR rankings. This is a never-ending cycle and is fluid week-to-week, so use our rankings to aid you with your start ’em, sit ’em decisions.

We lose Marquise Brown, Rashod Bateman, Henry Ruggs, and Hunter Renfrow to byes this week, but we trade them in to get CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, Mike Williams, and Diontae Johnson, among many others, back. Sounds like a fair deal, right?

WEEK 8 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

You’re always going to start Calvin Ridley (vs. Panthers) based on the upside and both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams (vs. Patriots) based on what we’ve seen this year, but they could be in for a regression this week facing two top-flight defenses against fantasy WRs. However, Brandin Cooks (vs. Rams) is enough of a concern to consider benching him. Of course, don’t bench him for just anybody, but you can probably come up with better options.

WEEK 8 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

Among high-upside players on the start-or-sit bubble, Cole Beasley (vs. Dolphins), Marquez Callaway and Tre’Quan Smith (vs. Buccaneers), Marvin Jones and Laviska Shenault (@ Seahawks), and T.Y. Hilton (vs. Titans) all have favorable matchup. Beasley has been unproductive in shootouts before, but the upside is high enough to like him in the flex spot. Shenault has drawn seven or more targets in four games (10 targets in two games), but he hasn’t quite had the explosive week we hope for yet. Against a struggling Seattle secondary, this could be the week it all comes together for him.

On top of those guys, Michael Gallup (@ Vikings) and Jerry Jeudy (vs. Washington) are expected to return from the IR this week. Both have favorable matchups, too, so while we don’t know exactly how much they’ll play or what their roles will be, we still like their chances of at least providing flex production. We saw Jarvis Landry (vs. Steelers) look good right off the IR last week, and with a favorable matchup on paper this week, he still has some PPR flex value (though we’re not quite as high on teammate Odell Beckham Jr.)

Corey Davis (vs. Bengals), Jakobi Meyers (@ Chargers), Jaylen Waddle (@ Bills), and Russell Gage (vs. Panthers) have tough roads this week. Cincinnati has been much improved on defense and is among the top-12 best units against fantasy WRs. Los Angeles and Buffalo were the No. 1 and No. 2 teams against fantasy WRs entering Week 7, so the concerns for Patriots and Dolphins pass-catchers speak for themselves. The Panthers defense is reeling, so perhaps Gage will be fine, but there are still questions about how consistent his targets will be.

Keep an eye out for the status of Kadarius Toney (ankle), Sterling Shepard (hamstring), and Kenny Golladay (knee), as they could be in a prime position to have fantasy success against one of the league’s worst secondaries in Kansas City. Of course, given the injuries, it’s tough to plan for any, especially since they play on Monday night. If they do play, they will still carry injury concerns, but their juicy matchup might outweigh the risks. If one or two (or all) are out, Darius Slayton would be in play.

We survived the “byemaggedon,” which thrust a ton of risky players into starting lineups, so that’s a great thing. However, we’re still challenged with finding value after the bona fide studs due to injuries. It’s not easy, but this week offers plenty of options.

Note: We’ll be updating these WR PPR rankings as needed throughout the week, so check back for the latest changes and analysis.

Fantasy WR PPR Rankings Week 8: Who to start at wide receiver

Rankings based on full-point PPR scoring