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Should I start Tez Johnson, Kayshon Boutte, Romeo Doubs for Week 8? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
We've reached Week 8 of the regular season, which is the biggest bye week of the season. Six teams are on a bye, leaving every fantasy football manager's roster stretched a little thin. One position that has no shortage of options but plenty of volatility is wide receivers. Some strong fringe starters have emerged over the last few weeks, but finding the right one in the right matchup can be a challenge.
In this post, we'll look at three surging receivers to see if they should be in your lineup for this week's matchup. Tez Johnson, Kayshon Boutte, and Romeo Doubs have had some positive results lately, but can they be counted on in their Week 8 matchups?
So, should fantasy managers start Johnson, Boutte, and Dobbs in Week 8? Let's dive in and find out.
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Should I Start Tez Johnson for Fantasy Football?
The Buccaneers' receivers have been banged up all season, and their injury woes continue this week. Star WR1 Mike Evans (collarbone) returned last week from his hamstring injury, but he suffered a broken collarbone and will miss even more time. Second receiver Chris Godwin Jr. (fibula) returned from last year's gruesome ankle and leg injury but played just two games before missing time with a new leg issue. He has already been ruled out for Week 8, but he will hope to return after the Bucs' Week 9 bye week.
With Evans, Godwin, and Jalen McMillan (neck, IR) all sidelined, rookie Emeka Egbuka has emerged as the team's top target and a great fantasy producer, but another rookie is also stepping in to help fill the void--Tez Johnson. Johnson was a seventh-round pick out of Oregon. He had a huge year with Bo Nix, but struggled after Nix moved to the NFL. His small frame and a slow 40-yard dash time caused him to slide in the NFL Draft, but he has shown the ability to make plays in the last few weeks for the Bucs.
In Week 5, he caught all four of his targets for 59 yards against the Seahawks. In Week 6, he hauled in only one pass, but it was a 45-yard touchdown, and in Week 7, he had four catches for 58 yards and another touchdown.
Tez Johnson scores on the screen pass!
TBvsDET on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/fLNxdLnDPm— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2025
Johnson played a season-high 47 snaps against the Lions (68%) and has played over 65% of snaps in each of the last two weeks. He had a season-high nine targets against Detroit as well, showing the coaching staff is scheming him into the game plan, and that Baker Mayfield trusts him to make plays.
In Week 8, Johnson will likely be the team's No. 2 receiver behind Egbuka, and Egbuka is still battling a hamstring issue of his own as well. Johnson is a very solid flex play on this short week, especially against a Saints' defense that has allowed the fourth-most PPR points per target to perimeter wide receivers like Tez.
RotoBaller has Johnson ranked as the No. 41 WR this week, but he brings enough upside to deserve a look if you grabbed him off waivers in 10-team or 12-team leagues.
Should I Start Kayshon Boutte for Fantasy Football?
The Patriots have been rolling on offense with Drake Maye taking huge strides in his second season in the league with upgraded pass-catchers. One of his best options this season has been Kayshon Boutte, whom the Patriots drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. After playing just five games as a rookie, Boutte had 43 catches for 589 yards and three touchdowns last year in 15 games, but he's having a breakout year in his third season in the NFL.
Boutte started the year hot with a big game against the Raiders, and he was one of the top names on the waiver wire after Week 1. He cooled off for a few weeks, but he has re-emerged in the last couple of weeks and established himself as Maye's top big-play threat.
In Week 6, Boutte re-emerged with a monster game in New Orleans, near where he played his college football at LSU. He hauled in two touchdowns and finished with five catches on five targets for a season-high 98 yards.
In Week 7, Boutte found the end zone again on this 39-yard strike from Maye. He only had two targets, but he caught both of them for 55 yards.
Drake Maye's 39-yard TD pass to Kayshon Boutte traveled 52.6 yards in the air, Maye's 2nd of the season over 50 yards by air distance.
Maye is the only QB this season with multiple TD passes that traveled over 50 yards in the air.#NEvsTEN | #NEPatspic.twitter.com/n6UJtMDbXD
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 19, 2025
Boutte has caught 20 of his 25 targets and is one of Maye's top deep threats. He has a high ceiling in every matchup, but he also has a low floor since he is only averaging 3.6 targets per week. He hasn't hit 100 yards since Week 1, but he has been consistently making the plays when given opportunities.
The Browns are a tough matchup for receivers, giving up the 10th-fewest fantasy points to the position this season. Balancing his upside, risk, and matchup, Boutte comes in at No. 35 in RotoBaller's wide receiver rankings for Week 8, making him a flex option or WR3 if you're desperate. He isn't a locked-in starter in all formats, but he can step in if you need him to in Week 8.
Should I Start Romeo Doubs for Fantasy Football?
The Packers take on the Steelers on Sunday Night Football in a potential Aaron Rodgers revenge game, but the Packers' current pass-catchers remain thin. Jayden Reed (foot, clavicle) is still on IR and out multiple weeks, Christian Watson (knee) is questionable to make his season debut, and now even Matthew Golden (hip) is questionable even though he wasn't on the injury report at all until Friday.
With all those injuries, Doubs could end up very busy against the Steelers. He already leads the team in catches and targets this year and is second to only TE Tucker Kraft in receiving yards. He's also tied with Kraft for the most receiving touchdowns with four.
Doubs had three of those four touchdowns in a six-catch performance against the Cowboys just before the team's bye week. Since the Week 5 bye week, he had five catches for 55 yards, followed by six catches for 72 yards. He has totaled between 50 and 75 receiving yards in each of the last three weeks, with at least eight targets in each week. His first touchdown of the year came in Week 2 against the Commanders:
Romeo Doubs scores the game's first TD 🧀
WASvsGB on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/qaRPzx5YPo— NFL (@NFL) September 12, 2025
The Steelers rank in the bottom 10 against fantasy receivers on the season and have given up the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers in the last four weeks. With Doubs getting so many targets, especially in the red zone, he's a strong option this week to start as a WR3.
He's WR27 in RotoBaller's rankings this week, and he's the strongest start of the three receivers examined in this post. If Golden is out or Watson is not ready to return, Doubs' ceiling would rise even higher for this matchup against Pittsburgh.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 8 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Tez Johnson, Kayshon Boutte, Romeo Doubs. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 8. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 8 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Tez Johnson, Kayshon Boutte, Romeo Doubs. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 8.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool, but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our Who Should I Start? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 8 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 8 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 8 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 8 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Tez Johnson, Kayshon Boutte, Romeo Doubs compared to others:
[wr_player_list names="" sport="nfl_start" limit="150" type="ppr" pos="" ]
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