RADIO
Kevin looks for fantasy football risers, sleepers, breakout candidates for Week 9 of 2025. He analyzes last week's targets, receptions, air yards, snaps, routes.
Welcome back to our fantasy football targets, routes, and snap counts analysis for Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season. We'll be discussing almost every fantasy-relevant player in this article. Targets are paramount when it comes to evaluating pass-catchers for fantasy football. There are no air yards, receiving yards, receptions, or touchdowns without first earning a target. There’s a reason the biggest and most consistent target-earners are among the top fantasy point scorers; they can be relied on by not just their team’s offense to earn targets and produce on those targets.
This week was a somewhat unusual one in the NFL, with 12-of-13 games on the Week 8 slate all having outcomes decided by 10 points or more. The New York Jets, who wrecked a ton of Survivor Pools this past week, won by just a point over the Cincinnati Bengals in the only game that ended in less than double digits. Despite all of the blowouts, there were a ton of interesting things this week that I can't wait to get my thoughts out on.
Tucker Kraft blew up in a major way this week as the highest-scoring pass-catcher in fantasy football. Ultimately, it was a week for the running backs as four of the top five highest-scoring fantasy points totals came from the position. Was there any doubt that Jonathan Taylor would pace the running backs again? He's been amazing as this season's Saquon Barkley. Let's dive into what happened this week with each team that played.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Note: Statistics from our player pages at RotoBaller were included during the compilation of data, in addition to some of the following sites/databases: Pro Football Reference, PFF, Fantasy Points Data Suite, Fantasy Life, rbdsm.com/stats, NFELO, NFL NextGenStats, NFL Pro+, RotoViz, ESPN Stats and Info, and SumerSports.
The Arizona Cardinals were on bye in Week 8.
Falcons Notes From Week 8:
It was just an overall lackluster, and frankly, sad game from the Atlanta Falcons, as the team folded like a cheap suit against the previously 1-6 Miami Dolphins. No Michael Penix Jr., no Drake London, just a bad home loss to a team they probably should have beaten.
Bijan Robinson was the DFS chalk of all chalk this week, as it’s long been said to play any running back who faces the Miami Dolphins. We’ve seen the following against Miami:
- Week 3 – James Cook: 19-108-1
- Week 4 – Breece Hall: 14-81
- Week 5 – Rico Dowdle: 23-206-1
- Week 6 – Kimani Vidal: 18-124
- Week 7 – Quinshon Judkins: 25-84-3
So naturally, Robinson (9-25 rushing; 3-23 receiving) puts up just 48 total yards from scrimmage. It’s clear at this stage of the game for backup Kirk Cousins that defenses do not give him any respect, so Miami loaded up the box and let Cousins beat them.
Spoiler alert: he did not.
Kyle Pitts Sr. (9-59) led everything for the Falcons, who were overmatched from the jump. KhaDarel Hodge earned eight targets and couldn’t do anything of note with them or his 101 air yards because he is, in fact, KhaDarel Hodge.
This game was hard to pull anything from, due to the injuries to Penix and the late scratch for London. The Falcons are better than this.
Ravens Notes From Week 8:
Lamar Jackson was expected to be back in Week 8, but that didn’t come to fruition after their bye week, so we got another Tyler Huntley. The Ravens hid him for the most part, as he only threw 22 times and used the run to set up situational passing. Huntley managed the game well with just five incompletions and some efficient passing. He treaded water very well, so the Ravens didn’t have to completely run the table to even sniff the playoffs if they go on a run with Jackson’s likely return in Week 9.
Zay Flowers (7-63, team-high nine targets) dominated utilization from the jump in a game where only seven players caught a pass, and only Mark Andrews (3-34, 56 percent routes) had more than two receptions. Charlie Kolar caught the only touchdown from Huntley, as we all predicted. It was National Tight End Day and everything, you know.
Despite an inefficient line, Derrick Henry (21-71-2) drove the bus here with 71 rushing yards and two scores. Keaton Mitchell (4-43) was the main complement and somehow continues to be underutilized when he runs for 10 yards a carry in the weeks he does earn a carry. It’s like taking Chris Johnson off the field. I don’t understand it, folks!
Bills Notes From Week 8:
The Bills in Week 8 were all about two players: Cook and Khalil Shakir. Both were amazing, consolidated most of the team’s offensive production, and with the Bills at home, they dominated an overwhelmed Carolina Panthers team, 40-9.
Cook was easily the engine of this rushing attack with 216 rushing yards and two scores. The first was a 64-yard run in the second quarter and then a 21-yard score to cap off an 88-yard drive to make it 33-3. Cook now leads all 35 qualified NFL rushers in RYOE per attempt and is second in the NFL behind some guy named Taylor in Rush EPA with +19.3. If it weren’t for Taylor, we would be talking MUCH more about Cook this season.
In the passing game, only Keon Coleman (3-30) and Jackson Hawes (2-19) had more than one catch besides Shakir’s 6-88-1 afternoon. After Kraft’s 128 YAC on Sunday Night, Shakir’s 93 YAC paced the entire league up until the night game. He’s the only wide receiver you can conceivably put into your fantasy lineup and not feel gross about it.
Even Dalton Kincaid (1-23; 48 percent of routes) is a bit iffy, as he was no doubt rested because of an oblique injury that had him on the injury report as a game-time decision leading up to kickoff. The routes are a concern for Kincaid in games where teams don’t blow out the opponent, but in games like this, it’s much less of a concern because all starters were removed in the fourth quarter.
Panthers Notes From Week 8:
On the other side, for the Carolina Panthers, it was the veteran Andy Dalton who got the start for the injured Bryce Young. Dalton was a sitting duck as he was sacked seven times, lost two fumbles, and threw an interception to really hammer home how overmatched the Panthers were in this game.
Tetairoa McMillan (7-99, team-high 10 targets) led everything for the Panthers as he’s been amazingly consistent for the Panthers amidst a lot of changes in his receiving room, not to mention the quarterbacks and running backs too. He’s as clear a building block as it gets for this team. Even Jalen Coker (3-36) ramped up his routes to 77 percent. No shock that after last week’s blowup game for Xavier Legette (2-17) that he would come back down to earth.
Another week for rotating running backs as the Panthers alternated drives for Chuba Hubbard (12-34-1 rushing; one target receiving) and Rico Dowdle (8-54), and another week where Dowdle clearly looked like the much more efficient back.
- Hubbard:
- Dowdle:
At least, it seems as though head coach Dave Canales has realized his two-week error and all but anointed Dowdle as the back that should be getting the most touches on this team.
Dave Canales: Chuba Hubbard has meant a lot to this team. Wanted to give him an opportunity following his calf injury.
Canales then adds: "We cannot ignore the fact that Rico (Dowdle) has been exceptional."
— Joe Person (@josephperson) October 27, 2025
Whether that actually happens is another thing, but we’ll certainly see when they travel north to play the Green Bay Packers in Week 9.
Bears Notes From Week 8:
The story of the Chicago Bears was not converting drives into touchdowns. They kicked two field goals in the first quarter and then Caleb Williams threw a horrible interception that led to an immediate red-zone possession and a Ravens’ touchdown to extend the Ravens’ lead to 10 points, which they never relinquished.
Williams was just simply fine, and he got the ball out to Rome Odunze, DJ Moore, and Olamide Zaccheaus, who drove most of the passing volume on the afternoon. The trio took 68 percent of Chicago’s targets, with Odunze (7-114) having a nice bounce-back game after two games following their Week 5 bye, where Odunze combined for four receptions and 63 yards.
Moore (4-73) was solid as the clear second receiver, and Zaccheaus (7-33) still runs a ton of routes. Colston Loveland (3-38, career-high five targets) ran a season-high 81 percent of routes with Cole Kmet out, but couldn’t parlay that time on the field to anything meaningful.
Look, at this point, I don’t blame you all if you want to drop Luther Burden III (1-(-1)) after he picked up a concussion and left the game, because it really doesn’t look like things are going to turn here for Burden without an injury to somebody else in this offense.
Remember, this is the same Burden that had some issues in training camp and then walked off the field at one point. Perhaps it’s been a much harder road for Burden to get further integrated into the offense, but there’s been no real ramp-up or even a sign of things to come.
The backfield saw Kyle Monangai (7-24) get the first carry on the opening drive, then D'Andre Swift (11-45-1 rushing; 2-26 receiving) took a few carries, then Monangai came back in. Both backs operated in a virtually clean split, but Swift had a 13:7 edge on total opportunities and scored a fourth-quarter touchdown.
I’m still starting Swift universally, but I consider Monangai a less-stable “Zach Charbonnet” with more juice, but more week-to-week volatility in terms of his weekly role. With byes, I guess Monangai isn’t a terrible start, but you have very little confidence in him even getting over 5.0 fantasy points when you start him.
Bengals Notes From Week 8:
With Sauce Gardner out for the Jets in Week 8, you knew it was going to be a nice day for one of the best wide receivers in the league, Ja'Marr Chase. His three-game run of target earning has been one of the best stretches we’ve ever seen.
Many are saying Chase is a pretty good receiver. I tend to agree! He 'only' earned 56 percent of the team’s targets against the Jets with Gardner out. Is that good?
Outside of Chase, it was barren for the Bengals’ receivers. Tee Higgins (1-44-1) caught just one pass, but it was a 44-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Noah Fant (4-31) and Chase Brown (12-73-1 rushing; 3-32-1 receiving) were the only other pass-catchers to catch more than one pass.
Brown has been able to get a ton of space on the ground with Joe Flacco able to pose a significant threat through the air, and Brown has been excellent in the past two weeks as he’s averaged 7.9 yards per carry.
Samaje Perine (9-94-1 rushing; 1-6 receiving) has also been very much in the mix for the Bengals as he’s carved out a consistent role, taking occasional rushes, receiving work, and working in pass protection. I’d even argue that during bye weeks, Perine is a dart-throw flex option because of some of the receiving upside Flacco provides in the offense.
Browns Notes From Week 8:
While Drake Maye continued his assault on opposing defenses, like the Cleveland Browns’ defense in this game, Dillon Gabriel continued his assault on targeting tight ends with little-to-no disregard for the wide receiver position. Gabriel completed just 2-of-9 targets to the wide receivers, but completed 10-of-12 targets and tossed a touchdown to both Harold Fannin Jr. and David Njoku.
For the first time this season, Fannin (6-62-1) ran more routes than Njoku (4-37-1) when both played a full game, so you can expect this to be normal going forward. There’s always the chance that Njoku gets traded, as he’s on a contract year heading into 2026, and it’s clear that the Browns are prioritizing youth and getting them on the field right now.
As we mentioned before, wide receiver is a wasteland, even with an imminent return of Cedric Tillman, but Jerry Jeudy (three targets, zero catches, 87 percent of routes) is a drop for fantasy teams right now if he hasn’t already been discarded. Jeudy runs a ton of routes, but Gabriel has a tough time targeting wide receivers with any sort of consistency.
Judkins (9-19 rushing; 3-(-2) receiving) left Week 8’s game with a shoulder injury, but we’ll see if that’s going to knock out Judkins for Week 10 with Cleveland’s bye this week. If Judkins can’t go, expect the backfield to revert to where we were in the first couple of weeks of the season.
That means Dylan Sampson (3-0 rushing; 5-29 receiving) is relevant again as a low-efficiency rusher, but he buoys that with solid work catching the ball. Jerome Ford 1-(-1) receiving) remains a routes and snaps eater that just isn’t relevant at all for fantasy.
Cowboys Notes From Week 8:
It’s never easy to go into Denver and try and brute force your offensive game plan, but not helping matters was Dak Prescott choosing this game to have his worst outing of the season. Just 188 yards passing and two interceptions for Prescott as he found himself down 27-10 at halftime, where the wheels fell off after a Javonte Williams rushing score closed the lead to 27-17. Denver then scored 17 unanswered points to extend their lead to 44-17 in the fourth quarter.
Despite the meager passing totals, CeeDee Lamb (7-74 receiving; 1-2 rushing) and George Pickens (7-78) both had passable games. The only touchdown was not even thrown by Prescott, but by Joe Milton III as he got into the game in garbage time and threw a touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert (2-47-1) for a score with under five minutes remaining.
It was Jake Ferguson (one target, zero catches) who was left out in the cold with one of his lowest snap shares of the season at 60 percent. Typically, there’s enough volume for all three of the top pass-catchers here, but it was not to be here. The backup tight ends both combined for four targets, three receptions, and 34 yards, so there was clearly some production. Oh well, a blip on the radar for Ferguson, so we shouldn’t be worried here.
There wasn’t a ton of opportunity on the ground for the Cowboys, but Williams (13-41-2 rushing; 1-8 receiving) did punch in a couple of one-yard touchdown runs to salvage his day. Jaydon Blue (8-29) saw a few more carries in the blowout as the clear backup to Williams.
Broncos Notes From Week 8:
Bo Nix has been a top-six fantasy quarterback the last two weeks after a very slow start, and his QB6 performance in Week 8 against the Cowboys was punctuated by four touchdown passes. Two of those scores went to Troy Franklin, who, along with Courtland Sutton, carried a lot of heavy lifting for the Broncos in their 44-24 win.
Franklin (6-89-2) has seen 18 targets combined in the past two weeks, and he put that 6-89-2 lineup on a team-leading eight targets. Not only that, but he’s run almost 80 percent of the team’s routes this season as Denver’s consistent second option. Sutton (4-67) didn’t score, but his consistent volume-earning presence is more often than not a factor in anything Denver does through the air.
It’s hard to parse RJ Harvey’s three-touchdown day (7-46-2 rushing; 1-5-1 receiving) as anything but circumstantial, as he scored three times on just eight opportunities, in 17 total snaps. His role really hasn’t grown this season, and as long as the Broncos still use a bit of Tyler Badie (1-6 rushing), Harvey won’t find any shred of fantasy relevance alongside J.K. Dobbins. Dobbins (15-111 rushing; 2-10 receiving) has been awesome this season, and there’s no reason to supplant him and what he’s doing.
The Detroit Lions were on bye in Week 8.
Packers Notes From Week 8:
The Green Bay Packers remain the only team that former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has yet to defeat in his career, and that will likely stand barring a move to another team in the next couple of seasons. The Steelers had them in the first half, up 16-7. The Packers scored 28 points in the second half to get out in front and maintain their lead for the win.
The huge story here was undoubtedly Kraft (7-143-2, team-high eight targets), who was fantasy’s TE1 on the week. Not only that, Kraft racked up a 2025 single-game high of 128 YAC. He made everything work after the catch and just looks like a freakazoid right now. He’s tied with Trey McBride for TE1 in fantasy points per game with 16.2 PPG and has been an awesome mid-round pick for anybody who drafted him.
He still has some boom-or-bust tendencies, and that goes hand in hand with the Packers’ pass rate and unconcentrated target tree, which makes Kraft a bit volatile in terms of the hope of consistent production. He’s just 11th of 42 tight ends with 100 or more routes in targets per route run, earning a target on nearly one of every five routes run – 19.4 percent. But Kraft’s per-route metrics are fantastic.
Despite being 12th out of qualifying tight ends in total targets, Kraft is third in receiving yards (469), tied for second in touchdowns (6), comfortably first in YAC (339), and second in yards per route run (2.46), just behind Dalton Kincaid. Kraft has been an efficiency monster this season, and if we get ANY sort of concentration in targets within this Packers’ offense, or even just some focus on Kraft and maximizing his skills, Kraft will be TE1 this season.
Outside of Kraft, Christian Watson made his season debut (4-85) and 65 percent of routes per dropback, just shy of 11 months after tearing his ACL in Week 18 last season. Watson immediately getting that many routes and earning production isn’t a great sign for Matthew Golden (3-4), who has been underutilized and forgotten about at times within this offense. Golden has just two games of five or more targets and has been a top-24 fantasy wide receiver just once through seven games.
Romeo Doubs (3-44) had a bit of a muted game, but the night was clearly about the connection between Kraft and quarterback Jordan Love.
Making his weekly appearance on the team’s injury report and playing through it is Josh Jacobs (13-33-1 rushing; 3-12 receiving), who still gets his weekly touchdown. Since he’s been banged up, Emanuel Wilson (11-61 rushing; 3-26 receiving) has seen his utilization spike a bit, but he’s merely just helping to manage Jacobs, so he doesn’t have to take every single carry while Jacobs is nursing his calf injury. Jacobs isn’t in danger of losing his role; it’s just load management of a sort.
Texans Notes From Week 8:
The Houston Texans kept the ball for an insane length of time in the first half, with 24:31 of a possible 30:00 of possession to just 5:29 for the 49ers. Even at a 16-7 halftime lead, it felt like 46-7 the way Houston dominated on defense and played keep-away on offense.
C.J. Stroud passed for a season-high 318 yards and, even without Nico Collins, still completed 30-of-39 passes. He spread the ball around to 10 different players who earned a target, and all but one caught a ball. Xavier Hutchinson (5-69-1) and Jayden Higgins (4-34-1) were very good, with Higgins earning a team-high seven targets and getting a season-high 81 percent of routes per dropback.
Jaylin Noel (5-63) and Braxton Berrios (5-38) rotated in the slot, thus keeping the time-honored Texans’ tradition of giving routes to olds that keep younger, more athletic players down in routes.
Woody Marks (11-62 rushing; 4-49 receiving) and Nick Chubb (17-56 rushing; 2-13 receiving) split this backfield up almost evenly, with Chubb having the edge in total opportunities, but Marks seeing the bulk of the work in pass-catching situations. You’re starting Marks slightly over Chubb for fantasy, but to open up that can of worms again about Marks, he just doesn’t feel like he has the upside to be a league winner with how this offense operates.
Colts Notes From Week 8:
Another week, another three total touchdowns for Taylor. YAWN. I’m very much kidding, as Taylor put up 174 total yards from scrimmage in their 38-14 shellacking of the Tennessee Titans.
Greatness can be summed up in just a few words: Taylor is transcendent.
This generational Colts’ offense keeps on generating, with three more Daniel Jones touchdown passes on the afternoon. Michael Pittman Jr. (8-95-1) has a touchdown reception in every game but two this season as he’s been incredibly consistent.
Josh Downs (3-39-1) caught the other in his typical slot-only role. Tyler Warren (4-53) didn’t hit paydirt but had a solid, yet a bit muted, game. No touchdown for Alec Pierce (2-69), but he was second among all pass-catchers in air yards (136), if you’re into that.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were on bye in Week 8.
Chiefs Notes From Week 8:
The Kansas City Chiefs are getting back to their status quo of dominating the teams they should be, and Monday night in Week 8 was no different as the Chiefs dominated the Commanders, 28-7.
While Isiah Pacheco has looked a bit better in recent weeks with the full complement of wide receivers back to round out the offense, he’s still capped in terms of his utilization. He’s the technical “lead” in the backfield, but Kareem Hunt (9-40-1 rushing; 1-2-1 receiving) had two touchdowns, and Brashard Smith (3-8) usually sees more involvement than he did against Washington.
Pacheco is likely to miss Week 9’s showdown in Buffalo with an MCL sprain suffered in this game. The Chiefs have their bye in Week 10, so look for Hunt to take the bulk of the early-down work and Smith to take a little more rushing work while being a complement to Hunt in the receiving game.
Both Rashee Rice (9-93-1) and Xavier Worthy (5-53) combined for over 50 percent of the team’s total targets, with Travis Kelce (6-99-1) being a solid complement to those two dynamic receivers.
Kelce shouldn’t be the focal point of the offense at his age and current athleticism, but he’s an excellent additional piece to an offense that adds layers to the overall scheme. With those receivers back and producing, it obviously stretches defensive attention even further. I might go as far as to say that Kelce is a buy for the fantasy home stretch to the playoffs.
The Las Vegas Raiders were on bye in Week 8.
Chargers Notes From Week 8:
The Chargers got a lot of their passing out of the way early with a very focused effort to get the ball into Oronde Gadsden II’s hands, with three of his five targets coming in the game’s first drive, including the eight-yard touchdown reception. He’s so good.
Ladd McConkey (6-88-1) was also a big focal point, and Keenan Allen (4-44) was behind him in more of a background role. If Allen was in the background, Quentin Johnston was the production assistant buying everybody coffee at Starbucks, because Johnston ran routes on 79 percent dropbacks and was getting as much cardio as he could without earning a single target.
Johnston falling to zero feel is a real danger despite the extremely positive offensive environment for the Chargers, where there’s only one football and a lot of excellent players vying for opportunity. Johnston was likely running incredibly hot with touchdowns and targets at the beginning of the season, but Week 8 was clearly a low point. He’ll find some middle ground and be at least useful for fantasy this season in an excellent offense, but not a league-winning player by any means.
Kimani Vidal (23-117-1 rushing; 1-10 receiving) took a lot of carries once the Chargers built their lead, and with the team going heavy with the run, that allowed Jaret Patterson (11-30) to get some run with Hassan Haskins inactive with a hamstring injury. Omarion Hampton is nearing a return as he’s eligible to come off injured reserve in Week 10, but he may not be immediately activated. That’s something to keep an eye on if you’re rostering Vidal.
The Los Angeles Rams were on bye in Week 8.
Dolphins Notes From Week 8:
With some factors out of the Dolphins’ control that really swung the pendulum in their favor with injuries to Penix and the late injury scratch to London, the defense was able to coast as the Dolphins’ offense turned it up and had a quality day.
Four Tua Tagovailoa touchdowns through the air in this game as Miami scored 17 points in both halves and only allowed a late score to Tyler Allgeier. Jaylen Waddle (5-99-1) and De'Von Achane (18-67 rushing; 5-24-1 receiving) both co-led the Dolphins with six targets, plus scores from Malik Washington (4-36-1) and Ollie Gordon II (10-46 rushing; 1-20-1 receiving) contributed.
We (mostly me) were hoping we’d get something out of Greg Dulcich (zero targets, 38 percent routes – led Miami tight ends) and the tight ends, but the entire position remains uninteresting and not worth investing in for fantasy purposes.
It was about as easy a road game as it will get for Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins, but this win doesn’t really take him off the hot seat.
Vikings Notes From Week 8:
It was a very lean game for the Minnesota Vikings from an offensive standpoint, and it turns out Carson Wentz has been playing hurt for weeks with a left shoulder dislocation and torn labrum that he will have to have season-ending surgery on to repair. He ended up leaving the game with just under two minutes to play for Max Brosmer. Wentz left with just 144 passing yards, a touchdown, an interception, and having taken five sacks at the hands of the Chargers’ defense.
J.J. McCarthy will play his first game since Week 2 against Atlanta after suffering a high ankle sprain. We can only assume just how high this ankle sprain was if he missed five full games because of it. Or was it part of a deeper conspiracy? Who’s to say?
Anyway, the Vikings were pretty bad against the Los Angeles Lightning Bolts. Justin Jefferson (7-74, team-high 11 targets) got his, and Jordan Addison (3-26-1) scored a touchdown, but outside of that, no pass-catcher caught more than two receptions. Only Aaron Jones Sr. (5-15 rushing; 2-15 receiving) earned more than two targets after Jefferson and Addison. It was not great!
The run game was even worse, with just 11 total rushing attempts and just 34 yards to show for it. It’s hard to part the backfield with Jones returning because it wasn’t really a normal game flow. I would love to say it’s a split where Mason gets more early down work and Jones gets some early-down work but more receiving work, but that’s not feasible to predict that given how that game went.
Patriots Notes From Week 8:
The MVP dream season of one Drake Maye rolls on, as he continues his assault on opposing defenses with 282 yards passing, three touchdown passes, and 50 yards rushing on the ground. When you look up the phrase “a rising tide lifts all boats”, you’ll see a picture of Maye right next to it. He’s easily a front-runner for league MVP right now with Patrick Mahomes.
The Patriots’ receiving corps has been a bit of an enigma each week, but Kayshon Boutte has run hot on touchdowns and working downfield, as evidenced by his 39-yard touchdown in the third quarter to help build out the team’s lead over the Cleveland Browns.
Boutte has four touchdowns in his past three games, but the target-earning side of things for Boutte hasn’t been great. But if Maye – who is also running hot on efficiency – is going to keep performing at this MVP-caliber level, he’ll need to bring other pass-catchers along for the ride. With two weeks of 20 percent or better target shares in the past three weeks, it’s possible that Boutte, who has run 76 percent of the team’s routes this season, can turn a corner.
Stefon Diggs (3-14-1) is playing through a chest injury, scored a touchdown on just 65 percent of routes. He’s also now popping up on the team’s injury report with an ankle injury, so it’s a laundry list of things for the veteran receiver. Mack Hollins (7-89, team-high seven targets) saw an uptick to 71 percent of routes per dropback and carried the day in volume and production. Hunter Henry (1-7-1) feels less and less like a featured receiver by the week, but he did get into the end zone on his only target.
Tell me if you’ve heard this: Rhamondre Stevenson (14-34 rushing; 1-15 receiving) is taking the bulk of the work. He did, yet again, but TreVeyon Henderson (10-75) did eat into some opportunity and put forth one of his best games of the season. Henderson rushed for 7.5 yards per carry on the day, and looked incredibly dynamic doing so, but lost a fumble with the game well out of reach on the Patriots’ second-to-last drive before Terrell Jennings got the last two carries before Maye’s three kneels to run out the clock.
Henderson is still a hold on fantasy benches, but it was actually nice to see offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels make a game plan to work in Henderson and get him in space to get some chunk plays. Hopefully, his last carry, which resulted in a lost fumble, doesn’t come back to bite Henderson in Week 9.
Saints Notes From Week 8:
It was the last straw for head coach Kellen Moore, who, after an interception, a fumble, and a 17-3 deficit at home under the direction of Spencer Rattler, turned to “rookie” Tyler Shough to see what he could do. Shough got to throw 30 passes in the fourth quarter and really stretch his arm out, but he could only manage a paltry 4.3 yards per attempt as his day ended with 128 passing yards, 12 rushing yards, and one interception.
Moore has stated that Shough will be the Saints’ starting quarterback for the rest of the season, so we’ll see if he can continue to support Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Juwan Johnson. Both Olave (8-63) and Shaheed (9-75) saw 12 targets each, while Johnson (5-53) saw eight to combine for 65 percent of the team’s total. Only Devaughn Vele (1-10) saw more than three targets amongst the rest of the New Orleans pass-catchers.
Only Alvin Kamara (6-21 rushing; 2-24 receiving) carried the ball for the running backs; every other carry was from a non-running back, but this entire operation is just washed. You can’t trust Kamara anymore in terms of a fantasy asset. I know it feels bad to outright cut him, but I wouldn’t blame you if you did.
Giants Notes From Week 8:
Obviously, the Week 8 story for the Giants is the team (and fantasy managers) losing Cam Skattebo (3-12 rushing; 1-18-1 receiving) for the season with a dislocated ankle. Skattebo was incredibly fun and was really consolidating a ton of rushing work over the last few weeks in this offense, to the point where Skattebo was as close to a must-start option as it gets.
This Giants team in the last few weeks has far outperformed expectations after losing Malik Nabers for the season. They should have been performing far below what the Giants have been with what Jaxson Dart and Skattebo have given them. Think about how fun this team could be next season with Dart, Skattebo, and Nabers. There’s something there.
Dart spread the ball out here with not much fantasy goodness outside of Skattebo’s touchdown. The receivers are just a collection of guys, with Wan'Dale Robinson (3-48) at the top of the heap. Robinson has his games where he blends into the background, but he feels like he’s going to have to put together some games where he’s compiling in that “PPR scam” kind of way to pay off any fantasy value.
Without Skattebo, we’re looking at a rehash of Tyrone Tracy Jr. being the full-time starting running back and Devin Singletary backing him up. Singletary is an adept pass protector, so he’s going to play a bunch of snaps still, which Tracy is taking some early down work and some third down work, plus long down and distance, where his receiving skills can shine. It’s a clear downgrade in talent, but the Giants have lost so much over the last little bit with Nabers and now, Skattebo, to truly be competitive this season.
Jets Notes From Week 8:
Once in a while, the planets and stars align, and everything just goes right. It was 38-24 Bengals after a Brown rushing touchdown, and that should have been the final nail in the coffin for the Jets. They were at a 3.5 percent probability to win this game, per ESPN Analytics, with just over 10 minutes left to play. And just like that, the Jets put a touchdown drive together on the next possession, forced a three-and-out, and then drove down to score the game-winning touchdown pass from *checks notes* Breece Hall!?
No, really.
anyone have this on their bingo card?#NYJvsCIN on CBS | @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/LQCiJ0u0Sh
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 26, 2025
If Hall (18-133-2 rushing; 2-14 receiving; four-yard TD pass) is indeed getting traded, he made a very compelling case for some running back-needy teams out there with his RB4 performance. If traded, that would slot Isaiah Davis (7-65 rushing; 5-44 receiving) as the lead back for the Jets, and while he’s typically been a receiving back, Davis showed some solid efficiency on the ground in addition to through the air. He’s a player you should be adding just in case Hall is dealt.
The Jets built the plane out of Hall, but it helps having Justin Fields at quarterback to provide a threat on the ground, so teams don’t have to stack the box against Hall. Fields was pressed into action because of a knee injury to Tyrod Taylor, but Fields was competent at the very least, with 244 yards passing and a touchdown pass while adding 31 yards on the ground.
Still no Garrett Wilson, so it was still the same group of Mason Taylor and replacement-level players that comprise the Jets’ pass-catchers this week. Taylor (5-34-1) earned a team-high nine targets and caught Hall’s touchdown pass for the game-winning score. The Jets traded Michael Carter II to the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday afternoon, bringing in John Metchie III to their wide receiver room. It remains to be seen whether he’ll have a role, but he likely will, given the state of the receivers to this point.
Eagles Notes From Week 8:
With the Philadelphia Eagles in their sharp “Kelly green” uniforms at home, they got their revenge on the New York Giants for Thursday Night Football. The second play of the game saw a 65-yard rushing touchdown from Barkley, which felt so incredibly scripted.
It was written in the stars that the team to get Barkley right in 2025 – at least for one game – would be his former team in Philadelphia. Barkley (14-150-1 rushing; 4-24-1 receiving) would hurt his groin in the game, but we’ll see if that affects him in Week 10 with the Eagles on bye this week.
Tank Bigsby saw his first extended action as an Eagle and rushed for over 100 yards on just nine carries. If Barkley can’t get off the injury report for Week 10’s Monday Night Football game in Green Bay, Bigsby would be an immediate RB2. He’s probably an add right this second if for reason he’s still out there on waivers.
The passing game was predictably condensed, just like every week. We were back to limited passing volume in a positive game script with just 20 pass attempts for the Eagles and Jalen Hurts. No A.J. Brown in the lineup, so DeVonta Smith (6-84, team-high nine targets) carried the volume, and Dallas Goedert (3-28-2) carried a little volume and scored two touchdowns. Barkley and Jahan Dotson (1-40-1) both chipped in with scores as well, with just five Eagles even earning a target here.
Steelers Notes From Week 8:
Despite a 16-7 halftime lead for the Pittsburgh Steelers, they couldn’t make it stick as the Steelers allowed four touchdowns in the second half to cap a generationally bad two-game stretch for the Steelers’ defense.
leading with offensive concerns after the defense Tomlin said could be 'historic' gave up 66 points and 924 yards in two weeks is a choice https://t.co/V1w4s8wF2g
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) October 28, 2025
Much, much less eventful for the Steelers offensively, as they got their two touchdowns in the passing game with one to DK Metcalf (5-55-1, team-high seven targets) and then a late touchdown over the middle to Roman Wilson (4-74-1) over the middle for the last score of the game. Only Calvin Austin III had more than 17 receiving yards outside of Metcalf and Wilson, with an offensive lineman catching the first ball of the game from Aaron Rodgers. Sheesh.
Jaylen Warren (13-62 rushing; 2-11 receiving) remains in a strong role (62 percent of snaps) with Kenneth Gainwell (5-31 rushing; 2-4 receiving, lost fumble) just a contributing spell at this point for the Steelers; the Dublin game from a month ago is just a distant memory.
49ers Notes From Week 8:
It was Week 8’s widest disparity of plays and an almost historically low time of possession for San Francisco in this game. The 49ers had the ball for a total of 18:39 in the entire game and ran just 44 plays. The league average is 61.1 plays per game per team, so 44 is low. It wasn’t as low as Las Vegas’ season-low 30 plays in Week 7, but 44 is still very low and the fourth-lowest plays run by a team this season.
Because of that play volume, the 49ers had just eight non-quarterback rushing attempts – all from Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey (8-25 rushing; 3-43 receiving) couldn’t even get much in the receiving game as Mac Jones was pressured all day with 22 Texans quarterback pressures on the day.
Jauan Jennings (4-45) led everything for the 49ers, but George Kittle (4-43-1) and Jake Tonges (1-2-1) both got in the end zone, as it was reportedly National Tight End Day. Kittle pretty much started the entire National Tight End Day thing, so who am I to say anything? Kittle is a treasure. Hopefully, Brock Purdy and Ricky Pearsall will be back to eventually add some firepower to this offense, because it sorely needs it.
The Seattle Seahawks were on bye in Week 8.
Buccaneers Notes From Week 8:
With the Saints turning the ball over four times, taking five sacks, and giving the Buccaneers an easy defensive touchdown deep in their own territory, Tampa Bay didn’t have to expend a lot of energy on offense as they dispatched the Saints on the road, 23-3.
Just because they didn’t expend much energy doesn’t mean they were that good; they were not whatsoever. Just 24 pass attempts for Baker Mayfield for 152 yards, plus 3.0 yards per carry from the running backs.
Emeka Egbuka (3-35) was very inefficient, Tez Johnson (5-43) kept his run of efficiency going on a big uptick in routes up to 96 percent, and Cade Otton (4-40) was just fine. It was not exactly a banner day here for anybody, really.
Rachaad White (13-35 rushing; 2-26 receiving) did leave the game for a little bit with an injury, but he did get back in the game. That downtime let Sean Tucker (12-42-1) get some run. Tucker ended up getting a one-yard touchdown after what seemed like an eternity, where the Buccaneers spent seven plays at the one-yard line and couldn’t get in the end zone until the eighth play. White kept a semi-solid role, but Week 9 is Tampa Bay’s bye, and they could get Bucky Irving back afterward for Week 10, so stay tuned.
Titans Notes From Week 8:
It’s not exactly a state secret that the Tennessee Titans are a #bad team. We’re not exactly breaking news with that, but at the very least, there could be some interesting pieces here to take note of as the team tries to find something to take away from this season.
Van Jefferson (1-6), Elic Ayomanor (4-52), and Chimere Dike (7-93) all co-led the team in targets with eight apiece. Dike has been on a steady climb in routes from just 29 percent in Week 4 to Week 8’s season high of 91 percent in their 38-14 loss to the Colts. In the past two games, Dike has earned 12 targets combined, with 11 receptions, 163 yards, and a touchdown as Tennessee’s most productive pass-catcher.
The Titans have used Dike with short, manufactured touches as well as on vertical routes, so they’re showing a lot of effort in making him a focal point of the offense. With a runway for touches and a burgeoning opportunity, helped by the mutual release of Tyler Lockett, Dike is a solid end-of-roster add with some upside. Just know that anybody in Tennessee has a rock-bottom floor for fantasy points.
Tyjae Spears (9-59-1 rushing; 3-23 receiving) has outsnapped Tony Pollard (11-44 rushing; 1-9 receiving), and Pollard had just one more opportunity than Spears, so if Pollard does get moved, you’re looking at potentially a massive role for Spears. Because Spears continues to encroach on Pollard’s work and the contingency of Pollard possibly being traded, Spears should be added to all leagues.
Commanders Notes From Week 8:
While the Commanders did get Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel Sr. back after missing last week’s game at Dallas, it truly didn’t matter much as they still didn’t have Jayden Daniels to put everything together as the Chiefs thoroughly handled Washington with ease, 28-7.
McLaurin (3-54-1) looked healthy despite running just 46 percent of routes per dropback. Earning four targets on limited routes and then getting into the end zone on what ended up being a helium ball from Mariota, but it gave McLaurin ample time to get under it and get his feet in bounds. Great play.
After review...
Mariota finds Terry McLaurin for the incredible toe-tap TD!WASvsKC on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/vJMwIneTed— NFL (@NFL) October 28, 2025
The keyword there was “looked” because McLaurin picked up a quad injury and is now OUT for Week 9. YIKES.
Not much else went right for the Commanders, as Zach Ertz (4-16), Deebo Samuel Sr. (3-11), and Jeremy McNichols (5-64) led the team in targets (6) on the evening.
The run game was abysmal all night, with just 3.0 yards per carry on the night as a team. Jacory Croskey-Merritt (9-25) is clearly ahead of everybody else in terms of the strong role, but without Daniels at quarterback, defenses have no respect for the quarterback, so they bring defenders closer to the line of scrimmage to stifle the run.
It’s worked as Croskey-Merritt has just 58 rushing yards on 22 carries in his last two games. Despite that, he’s still at 4.9 yards per carry on the season, so bring back Daniels, and the run game will eat.
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