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Who should I start or sit for fantasy football in Week 8 of the 2025 season? Andrew's potential fantasy football busts to avoid in Week 8 fantasy football lineups.
Welcome to the 2025 season's bye-pocalypse, bye-nado, or bye-mageddon (whatever you want to call it).
Six teams, including high-profile offenses like Detroit, Los Angeles, and Seattle, are taking the week off. There are lots of lineup holes to fill, so you may not have the luxury of sitting these potential busts.
Below, we sort through the stats and find 10 fantasy football busts, or players that may disappoint, for Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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Jacory Croskey-Merritt (RB, WAS) at Kansas City (MNF)
Washington Commanders rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt failed to deliver on expectations in two run-positive matchups: 68 total yards against Chicago and 32 total yards in Dallas. Now, there's even more working against him.
- Quarterback Jayden Daniels (hamstring) won't suit up on Monday night. While wide receivers Terry McLaurin (quad) and Deebo Samuel Sr. (heel) are trending in the right direction, the offense as a whole gets downgraded.
- The Bears allow 110 yards per game to opposing running backs. The Cowboys aren't far behind at 103 yards. The Chiefs, Washington's Week 8 opponent, are all the way down at 78 yards.
- The Kansas City offense is 'NBA Jam' on fire, scoring 30 points or more in each of the last four games.
The last two points are especially relevant for Croskey-Merritt's Week 8 outlook. Kansas City's defense is good enough to prevent early-game rushing success, and, if the score gets out of hand as is predicted (12.5-point spread), then Bill's chances of having a start-worthy fantasy game plummet.
The rookie has caught seven passes in seven career games and has a 30% route participation rate, good for 44th among running backs. He's essentially a zero in the receiving department, and the matchup doesn't set him up for a good ground game.
Chase Brown (RB, CIN) vs. New York Jets
It was great to see signs of life from Chase Brown on Thursday Night Football last week. I'm not buying his resurgence.
It almost feels like 12 PPR points is the ceiling. Anybody who watched will tell you that Brown played a great game, yet on some platforms and formats, he finished below his projection.
Chase Brown is LOOSE. Look at Ja'Marr get out and block 👀
PITvsCIN on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/rUG5o2bi1B— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025
Brown has four catches for negative yardage since Joe Flacco took over as quarterback. The Jets allow the third-fewest receptions and receiving yards to running backs. He also hasn't found the endzone since Joe Burrow was quarterbacking the team. That's a lot of high-value touches left on the table.
So, while Brown looked like the runner who led fantasy managers to the playoffs last season, we'd still like to see more in other aspects of the game. Plus, with New York cornerback Sauce Gardner (concussion) potentially out of the lineup, the Bengals should have no issue beating the Jets through the passing attack.
Rhamondre Stevenson (RB, NE) vs. Cleveland
Well, it finally happened. Rookie running back and fantasy football preseason sensation TreVeyon Henderson was essentially phased out of the New England offensive game plan. Henderson saw just three snaps in the first half.
But the Patriots went up by 18 points in the middle of the third quarter, so surely Henderson got some touches to run out the clock, right? Nope. That honor went to Terrell Jennings. Henderson finished with two carries for five yards.
Sounds like RB Terrell Jennings made an impression, as Mike Vrabel says the team has found its “five-minute” back. pic.twitter.com/gWyHE21bUh
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 19, 2025
Anyway, if the trend continues and New England has moved from what was once a three-back system to a lead back, it's stock up for Rhamondre Stevenson. Or, it would be, if the Patriots weren't hosting the Cleveland Browns.
Stevenson has struggled to eat up chunk yardage, even against poor run defenses: 13 carries for 18 yards against New Orleans, seven for 14 against Buffalo, and four for 18 against Pittsburgh. Miami and Tennessee have been his best efforts. Those defenses are allowing the first and third most rushing yards to running backs, respectively. The Titans lost Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons midgame.
The Browns still sit atop the list for fewest fantasy points allowed to running backs. Given his track record, outside of last week, I'm skeptical about Stevenson.
Rome Odunze (WR, CHI) at Baltimore
The fantasy community has picked on the Baltimore Ravens' defense this season and gotten away with it. The defense is getting healthier: linebacker Roquan Smith, safety Kyle Hamilton, and cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Chidobe Awuzie, who have all missed time, are expected to play in Week 8. The only missing piece is defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike.
We projected this defense to be a top-10 unit, and they could return to form against the Bears. Even if they don't, there are other reasons to be concerned about Rome Odunze.
The Bears have won both of their games coming off their bye week on the backs of their running game. Head coach Ben Johnson has cracked the code and found the most effective ways to use D'Andre Swift in tandem with rookie Kyle Monangai.
Odunze's 27% target share over the first four games dropped to 20% in the last two. It coincided with his worst fantasy football efforts. He's totaled four catches for 63 yards and failed to score a touchdown. Interestingly, he's only exceeded 70 receiving yards once. His five touchdowns are inflating his fantasy football ranking.
Granted, Chicago's utilization of its ground game came during a rain-soaked win over Washington and a blowout victory over the Saints. The tides could turn if Lamar Jackson is under center for the Ravens and the Bears fall behind. So, we aren't sitting Odunze, but the path to a bust is there.
Drake London (WR, ATL) vs. Miami
Drake London may have a Darnell Mooney problem. In games that Mooney started and finished, London posts pedestrian numbers. He's an All-Pro-level wide receiver without him.
| Drake London Stats | Rec. | Yards | TD | Points Per Game (PPR) |
| Games with/ a healthy Mooney (Weeks 2, 3, and 7) |
12 | 146 | 0 | 8.2 |
| Games without Mooney (Weeks 1, 4, and 6) |
26 | 323 | 2 | 23.4 |
Possibly more important for Sunday is the Miami defense. Littered with preseason injuries, the Miami defense's perceived weak point was its secondary. It may still be bad, but the run defense is so poor that the secondary's stats don't look too shabby.
The Dolphins are the worst run defense in football, allowing 116 yards per game to running backs alone. The Falcons roster one of the best running backs in the league, plus a competent backup, and call a run play at the 11th-highest rate.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins are bottom 10 in scoring offense, and the Atlanta defense is top 10 in scoring defense. All that leads to the Dolphins allowing the sixth-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.
We're not sitting London due to his potential and talent, but it wouldn't surprise me to see another mediocre game from Atlanta's alpha.
Jaylen Waddle (WR, MIA) at Atlanta
The end is near for the Mike McDaniel-Tua Tagovailoa era in Miami.
The Dolphins' $212 million man has tossed six interceptions in his last two games, mustered 100 yards and negative fantasy points last week, and was essentially benched for seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers. He's back in the starting lineup on Sunday, but doesn't exactly have a vote of confidence from his head coach.
Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel says Tua will be the starting QB this week. And his expectation is that they will not throw “ten picks.” pic.twitter.com/Vqvztxu3zl
— Clay Ferraro (@ClayWPLG) October 20, 2025
Tagovailoa's stinker led to a 2.5 PPR point day for his top receiver, Jaylen Waddle. It was against the tough Cleveland defense, but the Week 8 opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, is even better against wide receivers.
The Falcons are the second-best against fantasy football receivers, trailing only the Denver Broncos. They've been especially stingy against outside receivers (a.k.a A.J. Terrell Jr. territory). Mike Evans, Justin Jefferson, Tetairoa McMillan, and Jauan Jennings failed to score 12 PPR points.
Jauan Jennings (WR, SF) at Houston
Brandon Aiyuk (knee) remains out of the lineup, and Ricky Pearsall (knee) continues to miss practices, making Jauan Jennings the WR1 again in San Francisco.
49ers practice sights
Brock Purdy in QB rotation but still seems like Mac Jones to start again
Defensive ends: Mykel Williams. Sam Okuayinonu, Robert Beal, Trevis Gipson (re-signed), William Bradley-King
Side field DNP
WR Ricky Pearsall
CB Deommodore Lenoir
LB Luke Gifford pic.twitter.com/invZQCoT4C— Cam Inman (@CamInman) October 23, 2025
That role has worked out well before (see: Kendrick Bourne), but only in the right matchups. Bourne and Jennings, who returned in Week 6, were quiet against a great Atlanta secondary. Jennings caught four passes for 31 yards.
His 7.1 PPR points were the fourth time in five games that Jennings was in the single digits. The former seventh-round pick has been managing broken ribs and ankle sprains, and hasn't been able to get open downfield.
His inability to separate from defenders won't get any easier against the Texans, who allow the fifth-fewest points to the position. Although the 49ers throw at one of the highest clips in football, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle (who surprisingly didn't catch a pass against Atlanta) will take a large chunk of the targets.
Zach Ertz (TE, WAS) at Kansas City (MNF)
Zach Ertz, fantasy football's TE9, wouldn't be that high in the scoring department if Marcus Mariota were his starting quarterback every week. In Mariota's two starts this season, Ertz scored 6.8 and 6.1 PPR points. That average would put him down in the TE30 range. He's averaging 11.8 points with Daniels.
QB Marcus Mariota will start on Monday vs. the Chiefs. Jayden Daniels has been ruled OUT. pic.twitter.com/fJwa81uHws
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 23, 2025
Mariota is starting for the injured Daniels on Monday night. Mariota connected with Ertz for a 27-yard gain in garbage time against the Cowboys last Sunday, but it was his lone target of Mariota's 10 attempts, and the Commanders were without their top three wide receivers, Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel Sr., and Noah Brown. McLaurin and Samuel are expected to return this week.
The Chiefs are also allowing the third-fewest fantasy points to tight ends. The streaming tight end pool is fruitful this week. Grab one of Dalton Schultz or Cade Otton instead.
Theo Johnson (TE, NYG) at Philadelphia
Typically, a column like this wouldn't include Theo Johnson. But the second-year tight end is turning heads and earning fans with four touchdowns in his last four games.
His one dud since Jaxson Dart took over the starting quarterback job was against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. While the Eagles have managed attrition and injuries in their defense and aren't the dominant unit they were a season ago, the two strengths so far have been Quinyon Mitchell shadowing top wide receivers and the defense taking away tight ends.
Philadelphia surrenders the fourth-fewest fantasy points to the position. T.J. Hockenson, Travis Kelce, Jake Ferguson, Otton, and Johnson all scored 10.3 PPR points or fewer. Johnson caught two of four targets for 27 yards.
This is also the second time the Eagles are facing Dart, and they have tape on the rookie starting his fifth game. It wouldn't be a surprise to see a rougher offensive game for the Giants this time around, who embarrassed the Philly defense in primetime two weeks ago.
Travis Kelce (TE, KC) vs. Washington (MNF)
There are still too many mouths to feed in Kansas City. Here's what I wrote about Travis Kelce last week, in this exact column:
In the three full games that Rice and Kelce played together last year, Kelce averaged five PPR points (TE24) with a not-so-healthy four targets per game.
That average has actually slipped further, with Kelce seeing just three targets in the blowout win over the Las Vegas Raiders. If it weren't for blown coverage on a 44-yard gain, fantasy managers who started Kelce would have been crying his name.
1st & 20 is no problem for Mahomes and Kelce
LVvsKC on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/0pQG0hnyPv
— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025
Rashee Rice (10), Xavier Worthy (4), Marquise Brown (4), and running back Brashard Smith (5) earned more looks than Kelce. JuJu Smith-Schuster, who many thought would be phased out of the offense with Rice's return, tied Kelce with three targets.
Kansas City won't win every game by 31 points, which took Kelce out of the fourth-quarter plan of attack. But they are almost two-touchdown favorites against the Daniels-less Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football.
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