Fantasy football expert Brandon Funston provides his weekly insight and rankings of the best players to help you win big.
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady is at home this week, where he has averaged 311.3 passing yards and has thrown for a combined nine touchdown passes (without an interception) in his past three contests. Hosting the Los Angeles Chargers this week, Brady is about as safe a bet as there is at the quarterback position; he claims the top spot in the Week 8 quarterback rankings.
Name | Team | Opp |
Tom Brady | NE | vs LAC |
Carson Wentz | PHI | vs SF |
Drew Brees | NO | vs CHI |
Kirk Cousins | WAS | vs DAL |
Russell Wilson | SEA | vs HOU |
Cam Newton | CAR | @ TB |
Dak Prescott | DAL | @ WAS |
Philip Rivers | LAC | @ NE |
Deshaun Watson | HOU | @ SEA |
Matt Ryan | ATL | @ NYJ |
Andy Dalton | CIN | vs IND |
Jameis Winston | TB | vs CAR |
Tyrod Taylor | BUF | vs OAK |
Alex Smith | KC | vs DEN |
Derek Carr | OAK | @ BUF |
Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | @ DET |
Matthew Stafford | DET | vs PIT |
Josh McCown | NYJ | vs ATL |
Matt Moore | MIA | @ BAL |
Case Keenum | MIN | @ CLE |
C.J. Beathard | SF | @ PHI |
Trevor Siemian | DEN | @ KC |
Joe Flacco | BAL | vs MIA |
Jacoby Brissett | IND | @ CIN |
Mitch Trubisky | CHI | @ NO |
DeShone Kizer | CLE | vs MIN |
Running Backs
Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell faces a Detroit Lions defense that has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points per game to the running back position. The Steelers back has averaged a whopping 31 touches in his past six games. The thought of that kind of workload against a generous Lions defense is what has propelled Bell o the top of the running back class in Week 8.
Wide Receivers
With an average of almost 110 receiving yards per game (109.3), Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown is the runaway leader in fantasy points scored at the wide receiver position. He’ll face a Lions defense that has been middle of the pack in terms of fantasy point prevention to the wide receiver position, which is to say that they are not a daunting enough matchup to knock Brown off the top of the fantasy receiver ranks for Week 8.
Tight Ends
Since entering the NFL in ’10, no player has scored more touchdown than Rob Gronkowski (73 touchdowns in 81 games). If he’s healthy enough to suit up and play, he’s likely to score. That kind of upside is what lands him atop the Week 8 fantasy tight end rankings this week, and most other weeks, for that matter.
Name | Team | Opp |
Rob Gronkowski | NE | vs LAC |
Zach Ertz | PHI | vs SF |
Travis Kelce | KC | vs DEN |
Hunter Henry | LAC | @ NE |
Jimmy Graham | SEA | vs HOU |
Jordan Reed | WAS | vs DAL |
Kyle Rudolph | MIN | @ CLE |
Tyler Kroft | CIN | vs IND |
Austin Seferian-Jenkins | NYJ | vs ATL |
Cameron Brate | TB | vs CAR |
Jason Witten | DAL | @ WAS |
Jared Cook | OAK | @ BUF |
Zach Miller | CHI | @ NO |
Ed Dickson | CAR | @ TB |
Jack Doyle | IND | @ CIN |
Austin Hooper | ATL | @ NYJ |
Ryan Griffin | HOU | @ SEA |
Vernon Davis | WAS | vs DAL |
Nick O’Leary | BUF | vs OAK |
George Kittle | SF | @ PHI |
Ben Watson | BAL | vs MIA |
Coby Fleener | NO | vs CHI |
O.J. Howard | TB | vs CAR |
A.J. Derby | DEN | @ KC |
Eric Ebron | DET | vs PIT |
Julius Thomas | MIA | @ BAL |
David Njoku | CLE | vs MIN |
Antonio Gates | LAC | @ NE |
Vance McDonald | PIT | @ DET |
Defense / Special Teams
The Philadelphia Eagles have been a top-12 fantasy defense/special teams thanks to a strong pass rush and 12 forced turnovers (sixth-best in the NFL). Facing a San Francisco offense that ranks just 25th in scoring and has allowed the fourth-most quarterback sacks, the Eagles fly to the top of the Week 8 fantasy defense/special teams rankings.
Name | Opp |
Philadelphia Eagles | vs SF |
Minnesota Vikings | @ CLE |
Cincinnati Bengals | vs IND |
Kansas City Chiefs | vs DEN |
Seattle Seahawks | vs HOU |
Baltimore Ravens | vs MIA |
New Orleans Saints | vs CHI |
Buffalo Bills | vs OAK |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | vs CAR |
Detroit Lions | vs PIT |
Carolina Panthers | @ TB |
Atlanta Falcons | @ NYJ |
Pittsburgh Steelers | @ DET |
Miami Dolphins | @ BAL |
Cleveland Browns | vs MIN |
Denver Broncos | @ KC |
Houston Texans | @ SEA |
New England Patriots | vs LAC |
New York Jets | vs ATL |
Chicago Bears | @ NO |
Oakland Raiders | @ BUF |
Washington Redskins | vs DAL |
Indianapolis Colts | @ CIN |
Dallas Cowboys | @ WAS |
Los Angeles Chargers | @ NE |
San Francisco 49ers | @ PHI |
Kickers
No kickers blurb… ever!
Name | Team | Opp |
Jake Elliott | PHI | vs SF |
Stephen Gostkowski | NE | vs LAC |
Harrison Butker | KC | vs DEN |
Justin Tucker | BAL | vs MIA |
Wil Lutz | NO | vs CHI |
Randy Bullock | CIN | vs IND |
Matt Bryant | ATL | @ NYJ |
Kai Forbath | MIN | @ CLE |
Matt Prater | DET | vs PIT |
Steven Hauschka | BUF | vs OAK |
Blair Walsh | SEA | vs HOU |
Graham Gano | CAR | @ TB |
Chris Boswell | PIT | @ DET |
Giorgio Tavecchio | OAK | @ BUF |
Nick Rose | WAS | vs DAL |
Adam Vinatieri | IND | @ CIN |
Nick Novak | LAC | @ NE |
Mike Nugent | DAL | @ WAS |
Ka’imi Fairbairn | HOU | @ SEA |
Brandon McManus | DEN | @ KC |
Patrick Murray | TB | vs CAR |
Chandler Catanzaro | NYJ | vs ATL |
Connor Barth | CHI | @ NO |
Cody Parkey | MIA | @ BAL |
Robbie Gould | SF | @ PHI |
Zane Gonzalez | CLE | vs MIN |