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Week 8 Fantasy Football Quarterback Preview

Top Fantasy QBs for Week 8

Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals

Jalen Hurts, Eagles

Hurts finished fifth among fantasy QBs despite attempting just 14 passes in the win over the Giants. Of course, scoring twice on the ground drove that. But we know Hurts brings that potential every week. This week finds a Bengals defense that’s been seventh most friendly to QBs by our adjusted fantasy points allowed.

Joe Burrow, Bengals

The Eagles look like a bad matchup for QB scoring by the season numbers. They’ve allowed the sixth-fewest points per game to the position and eighth-fewest adjusted. But they’ve feasted on:

• Daniel Jones (7.0 fantasy points)
• Deshaun Watson (10.1)
• and Derek Carr (10.4)

And they’ve allowed fine-to-good outings to:

• Jordan Love (20.0, in the opener)
• Kirk Cousins (20.0)
• Baker Mayfield (32.4)

Burrow’s coming off a meh outing against the Browns, who have generally given him more trouble than most opponents. He has also tossed 2+ TD passes in five of his past six outings and ran for a 47-yard TD in the other. We’ll go ahead and bet on him.

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns

Lamar Jackson, Ravens

Jackson's reached 21 fantasy points in each game. He's hit 38+ in two of his past three outings. Even with Zay Flowers banged up, Jackson remains a top-end fantasy starter.

Jameis Winston, Browns

Winston will start at the same time Cleveland’s swapping in OC Ken Dorsey at play caller. With further question marks at WR – and Cleveland implied for only 18 points – Winston’s best reserved for two-QB leagues.

Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions

Jared Goff, Lions

Goff has been hot, but goes up against a Titans pass defense that was top-10 against the pass up until last week. The Lions could get up early in this game and go back to the ground game, which limits Goff’s upside. He is a solid QB2. 

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans

C.J. Stroud, Texans

Stroud is coming off his worst outing as a pro: An 86-yard, 0-TD dud vs. the Packers. He's now averaging just 5.4 yards per pass attempt over the last two games without WR Nico Collins, who remains out this week. But a matchup with the Colts might be just what Stroud needs to bust out of his slump. In three career games vs. the Colts, he's thrown for 882 yards with six TDs and 0 INTs. Indianapolis heads into this one ranked 25th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs.

Anthony Richardson, Colts

Richardson continued to struggle as a passer last week. But he set season highs with 14 carries and nine designed runs. If that type of usage continues, Richardson will at least have a weekly ceiling. He gets a rematch this Sunday with the Texans, who Richardson threw for 212 yards and two TDs against on just nine completions back in Week 1. Richardson also ran for 56 yards and a score in that one.

Green Bay Packers at Jacksonville Jaguars

Jordan Love, Packers

Love has been a QB1 in four of his five full games this year. With his bevy of weapons, Love has spread the ball around and been leaned on the red zone to throw for TDs. He faces a great match-up this week with the Jaguars allowing a QB1 performance every game so far. Love is a top-five option this week.

Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars

Lawrence is starting to get his mojo a bit, connecting with Brian Thomas Jr. and Evan Engram. He has been a solid QB2 and should remain there against the Packers who have been solid against opposing fantasy QBs.

Arizona Cardinals at Miami Dolphins

Kyler Murray, Cardinals

Murray continues to underwhelm as a passer, but his rushing performance to date has helped him rank as the QB8. He faces a Dolphins defense that leads the league in pressure rate, so boosted rushing might be necessary come Sunday. 

Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins

Tua’s on track to make his first start since Week 2. You know there’s elevated risk here. And there’s potential for rust after an extended layoff. The Arizona matchup looks just fine, though. They sit 31st in PFF’s coverage grades; 29th in pass defense DVOA.

New York Jets at New England Patriots

Aaron Rodgers, Jets

Rodgers has thrown for 276+ yards in three of seven games this season. Two of those came the past two weeks. The other came in the first meeting with New England. Rodgers completed a season-high 77.1% of passes in that one. His yards per completion has jumped the past two games. And getting an extra week of practice with Davante Adams can only help. Rodgers doesn’t quite reach our top 12, but he’s a fringe starting option for Week 8.

Drake Maye, Patriots

Maye has delivered impressive QB8 and QB6 fantasy finishes in his first two starting weeks. But he got a weak Jaguars defense last time out. And his Week 6 start vs. Houston found a very mixed collection of throws – including TDs from 40 and 35 yards out. The 40-yarder to Kayshon Boutte came on a gorgeous deep ball. The other benefited from a long run after the catch. The Jets arrive allowing the fourth-fewest QB points per game. And more than half of what they have given up came from Josh Allen and Russell Wilson the past two weeks. There’s upside to Maye and potential fragility to the Jets’ defense. But we’d rather be cautious with the rookie than over-trust him against a talented D.

Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Kirk Cousins, Falcons

Cousins has been inconsistent this year, but his last matchup vs. Tampa was one of Cousins’ best performances of his career (509 yards and 4 TDs). While the Buccaneers secondary remains susceptible, the Falcons might not need to dial up their pass rate with the Bucs missing Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Treat Cousins as a high-end QB2.  

Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers

No Mike Evans and Chris Godwin puts a huge damper on Mayfield’s upside week to week. He’s been a QB1 in every game except one this season, but it is doubtful that Mayfield can hit that again with his young receiving group. Expect low-end QB2 type numbers.

New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers

Justin Herbert, Chargers

Herbert’s lack of weapons keep him well outside of QB1 range. On the year, he’s the QB25, with a best finish of QB14. On the year, L.A. sits eighth-lowest league-wide in pass rate over expected. Look for the Chargers to continue leaning on the run.

Buffalo Bills at Seattle Seahawks

Josh Allen, Bills

Allen came alive last week ending up as a top-five fantasy QB for the week. With another week of Amari Cooper at practice and Allen’s rushing ability he could have another smash game. The Seahawks pass defense is susceptible, so Allen has QB1 overall potential.

Geno Smith, Seahawks

No DK Metcalf will be a big hit for Smith, but there is at least enough weapons to still do some damage. The Bills also don’t present the easiest matchup of the week, although they'll be without standout LB Terrel Bernard. Smith is a mid-range QB2 who should have a solid floor still with Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos

Bo Nix, Broncos

Nix has quietly finished as a top-17 fantasy QB in five of seven games this season, including three straight top-16 finishes. That's largely thanks to his 36 rushing yards per game. Now comes a pathetic Panthers defense that ranks 30th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs. Denver's 26-point implied total is fourth highest on the week! Nix still isn't a comfortable QB1 play, but he's an excellent QB2 this week.

Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders

Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs

Mahomes hasn’t finished better than QB13 in a given week. The arrival of DeAndre Hopkins helps – along with the matchup vs. Vegas. Still, in his current form, we’d be surprised if Mahomes is a difference-making QB1.

Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders

Caleb Williams, Bears

Williams was finding his NFL legs before the Bears bye week. He has two straight QB1 weeks and now faces one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL. With his bevy of weapons, it could be a pass-heavy script for the Bears offense early, resulting in a QB1 game for Williams.

Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers

Brock Purdy, 49ers

Purdy arrives as the QB12 in points per game and finds nothing scary in the matchup. The biggest question for him will be how healthy his pass-catching corps proves to be come Sunday night. That could also impact just how much Kyle Shanahan lets Purdy throw it. Ultimately, we’re expecting Purdy to be a decent fantasy option with a limited ceiling. And we’ll watch the status of all pertinent players through the weekend.

Dak Prescott, Cowboys

Prescott’s supposed to at least be trustworthy at home. But last time we saw him, he managed just 178 yards and 2 INTs on 51.5% completions in a blowout home loss to the Lions. That was his lowest completion rate in a game since Week 17 of 2022, and eighth-lowest of his career. Even with that game, Prescott’s still averaging 32.6 fewer yards per game on the road. And this week sends him to visit a San Francisco D ranked third in pass DVOA. Avoid if you can.

New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers

(Daniel Jones and Russell Wilson sit outside our top-25 Week 8 QB rankings.)

Week 8 Fantasy Football Preview

On the latest Draft Sharks podcast, Matt Schauf and Jared Smola examine the Week 8 slate -- plus a number of key injury situations:

Kevin English, Senior Analyst

Kevin brings 15 years of experience as a fantasy analyst and mid-stakes competitor across various formats (redraft, best ball, dynasty, DFS). His work has been featured on The Mercury News, Rotoworld, and FantasyPros.