Who Should I Start for Week 8? Fantasy Football outlooks for Woody Marks, Luther Burden III, Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel, Harold Fannin Jr., Brashard Smith, Elic Ayomanor, Devin Neal, Kyle Monangai, Arian Smith, Ollie Gordon II.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 8 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like Woody Marks, Luther Burden III, Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel, Harold Fannin Jr., Brashard Smith, Elic Ayomanor, Devin Neal, Kyle Monangai, Arian Smith, Ollie Gordon II. However, don't worry, we are here to help you 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.
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Fantasy Football Matchup Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 8:
Woody Marks, RB, Houston Texans
Houston Texans running back Woody Marks had a monster game in Week 4 that made him one of the hottest names on the waiver wire market. He had a down game in Week 5 before his bye week, though, causing many to question his role going forward.
When the Texans returned on Monday in Seattle, he only had 15 rushing yards on 10 carries but did add three catches for 20 receiving yards and a touchdown. Even more encouraging for his value, he played a season-high 63% of snaps, compared to just 25% of snaps for Nick Chubb. Part of that could have been due to the game script with the Texans playing from behind, but it seems like the rookie is gaining more work in the timeshare. Marks has good upside against the 49ers in Week 8 as a flex play.
He is ranked as the No. 27 RB in RotoBaller's rankings for this week, making him a RB3 or flex option against the 49ers, who have allowed seven running back touchdowns in seven games on the season, including five in the last three games.
Jaylin Noel, WR, Houston Texans
Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel is coming off his best game of the season and has another great opportunity in Week 8 against the 49ers. With Christian Kirk (hamstring) on the sideline on Monday Night Football, Noel had a season-high four catches for 77 yards against the Seahawks.
With Nico Collins (concussion) also out this week, the Texans' pass-catchers are extremely unproven, making the rookie Noel potentially the team's top wide receiver. Noel has shown the ability to make plays, and he's in a good matchup since San Francisco has allowed the fourth-most receiving yards and PPR points per target to slot receivers.
The rookie from Iowa State could be set up for a true breakout game if he gets a heavy workload, and he is the WR41 in the RotoBaller rankings, putting him on the radar as a deep league option and a desperation flex play this week.
Brashard Smith, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith will take on the Washington Commanders on Monday night in Week 8. Smith was listed on the injury report with a toe injury, but practiced fully all week and is good to go for Monday.
The rookie running back handled 14 carries for 39 yards and five catches for 42 yards in the Chiefs 31-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7. Smith got an extended run in the Kansas City blowout win, handling double-digit carries for the first time in his career. Andy Reid and the Chiefs have expressed how impressed they've been with Smith and will continue giving him more work each week. Smith could see an increased role this week with Kareem Hunt banged up with knee and ankle injuries.
The rookie back will take on the Commanders, who have been middle-of-the-pack in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs this season. Kansas City is favored by nearly 12 points at home on Monday night, so Smith could rack up garbage time carries like he did last week to go along with his work in the receiving game. Smith is ranked RB34 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, making him a RB3/Flex option this week with six teams on bye.
Devin Neal, RB, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints rookie running back Devin Neal has seen very limited usage so far this season, recording just three carries for 10 yards in the three games he's been active for. However, with Saints back Kendre Miller (knee) suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 7,
Neal now slots into the team's RB2 role behind veteran Alvin Kamara. Before getting injured, Miller had recorded at least nine touches in four consecutive games. There's no guarantee that Neal will assume the same workload that Miller had. However, there's no question that Neal's role in the offense will grow to some degree.
The Saints have a tough matchup in Week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are allowing just 3.9 yards per carry. That makes Neal tough to trust for fantasy managers in Week 8. Still, Neal could be a player worth stashing in deep leagues for his season-long upside.
Arian Smith, WR, New York Jets
New York Jets wide receiver Arian Smith should again see a substantial uptick in playing time when his team squares off with the hosting Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8. The rookie played a season-high in snap share (92%) last weekend, with fellow wideout Garrett Wilson (knee) tending to injury.
However, he failed to net positive yardage on 1-of-3 receiving. Smith will get another chance to make an impact this Sunday, although it's currently difficult to trust any of the Jets' skill position players with the offense failing to perform. Furthermore, head coach Aaron Glenn's refusal to name a starting quarterback muddies the situation further, adding an extra variable.
With Wilson set to miss another game, and Josh Reynolds (hip) questionable with an injury of his own, Smith will have a chance to lead New York's WR corps if both are inactive. Even still, he's nothing more than a long shot with New York's offense looking woefully outmatched.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 8 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Woody Marks, Luther Burden III, Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel, Harold Fannin Jr., Brashard Smith, Elic Ayomanor, Devin Neal, Kyle Monangai, Arian Smith, Ollie Gordon II. 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 name. In the second box, search for the second player 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, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with 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 circle), 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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 8 for Woody Marks, Luther Burden III, Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel, Harold Fannin Jr., Brashard Smith, Elic Ayomanor, Devin Neal, Kyle Monangai, Arian Smith, Ollie Gordon II:
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