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Should I start Jauan Jennings, DK Metcalf, George Pickens for Week 8? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
The wide receiver position can be volatile at times. A combination of injuries, matchups, changes in week-to-week usage, injuries to other receivers, injuries to quarterbacks, and luck with game scripts can heavily influence their production.
In many fantasy leagues, teams on the playoff bubble don't have the luxury of being able to endure low-scoring games from multiple of their starting wide receivers. Even WRs who are not elite players at their positions necessitate starting consideration due to the size of starting lineups.
San Francisco 49ers WR Jauan Jennings (shoulder, ribs, ankle), Pittsburgh Steelers wideout DK Metcalf, and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens all fit into this category. So should you start Jennings, Metcalf, and Pickens for Week 8?
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Should I Start Jauan Jennings for Fantasy Football?
This is a tough question to answer, but I'd lean toward no outside of deeper leagues. The problems are many here -- Jennings is dealing with five broken ribs, high and low ankle sprains, and a severely injured shoulder. He's playing through the pain and has displayed a lot of grit.
But it hurts his fantasy upside. He returned to the WR1 role for the 49ers in Week 7, easily pacing the team in targets. But starting QB Brock Purdy (toe) has been ruled out, and backup Mac Jones (knee, oblique) is dealing with two injuries of his own.
If you want proof that the 49ers are constantly lying about their players' injuries, George Kittle said so himself. Frustrating team to deal with in fantasy. pic.twitter.com/q3nlzfrFqv
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) September 19, 2025
Too often, the narrative around the 49ers stems from their ridiculously high rate of injuries, driven largely by head coach Kyle Shanahan's willingness to let his players play through serious ailments, where they often pick up more in the process, and by working them so hard at practice.
It's hard to put Jennings in starting lineups. A possibly seriously injured QB is throwing to a seriously injured WR. We might see running back Christian McCaffrey be the most impactful receiver yet again, with TE George Kittle handling a handful of targets.
Should I Start DK Metcalf for Fantasy Football?
Metcalf is such a strange player, according to my analysis. He's 6-foot-4 and nearly 230 pounds, and clearly has an incredibly athletic build with low body fat. But he's a very poor contested catch receiver. He's consistently played with the strength of a much smaller wideout.
It will never fail to amaze me how soft DK Metcalf plays for being 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. Sub-200 pound WRs fight for the ball harder than he does. pic.twitter.com/HByfXV40ZR
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 25, 2025
In addition, he's been one of the worst separators at the position in the entire NFL. A lot of his production has been from deep shots downfield and yards after the catch. It seems like Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has been trying to scheme around his weaknesses.
The massive contract the Steelers gave Metcalf hasn't been paying off so far. Last week, against the Cincinnati Bengals, he was outperformed by not one but two of his team's tight ends in fantasy football. The former Seahawk had just 50 receiving yards, with most of them coming on one downfield catch.
Rodgers to DK for a touchdown!
CLEvsPIT on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/MEeG0WWLpO
— NFL (@NFL) October 12, 2025
It's interesting that a player as big as he is has won mostly with his speed and nothing else. Still, that gives him flex appeal against the Green Bay Packers this week, and he did have double-digit PPR fantasy points in all of his games aside from Week 7.
Should I Start George Pickens for Fantasy Football?
I would say yes. The Cowboys will face the tough Denver Broncos pass defense in Week 8, and Pickens will likely be matched up on at least a few of his routes with cornerback Patrick Surtain II, one of the league's best defensive backs.
That said, Dallas has a ridiculously productive offense this season. New head coach Brian Schottenheimer has coached up his group impressively -- the offensive line is playing well, the run game is "pounding the frickin football" well (in the words of Schottenheimer himself), and Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is playing at an elite level.
GP is a walking highlight 🎥
Up Next ➡️ #DALvsDEN 10/26 on CBS pic.twitter.com/lu8F7j5JuI
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) October 22, 2025
The extra defensive attention to Lamb will likely help Pickens make a few deep downfield catches and perhaps score, which will help his fantasy production. He's an immensely talented WR, and his potential was clearly unlocked this season in the games that Lamb didn't play.
We know Pickens is capable of putting up 30 or more points in games without Lamb because he's already done it. Lamb's presence doesn't destroy his fantasy value, though it certainly lowers both his ceiling and floor. The Cowboys' passing game is capable of supporting two fantasy starters at WR, though.
Even in a tough matchup, Pickens is a must-start and is at worst a flex play depending on league size. Doesn't make sense to bench him -- he's one of the league's best WR2s in fantasy football, if not its best right now.
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 8 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Jauan Jennings, DK Metcalf, and George Pickens. 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 - Jauan Jennings, DK Metcalf, and George Pickens. 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 Jauan Jennings, DK Metcalf, and George Pickens compared to others:
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