Fantasy Football Landmines to Avoid for Week 8 - Jonathan Taylor, Luther Burden III, Jameson Williams, more

October 31, 2026

Aidin looks at fantasy football landmines, busts, and avoids for Week 8 of 2026. Given these Week 8 fantasy situations, consider benching these players.

The trade market is getting hot! The likes of Quenton Nelson and Jeffery Simmons are now on new teams, and things are likely to get even crazier. As for action on the field, Thursday Night Football saw the Packers beat the Panthers to prove just how far ahead the NFC North is compared to the NFC South.

In this weekly series, I'll highlight five players who could disappoint due to several factors, such as their matchup, team situation, or whether their current run of form is unsustainable. Benching these star names will be tough, but you have to take risks to win. Last week was another good week, maybe our best so far, as three players bombed while the other two had solid, if unspectacular, performances. Patrick Mahomes and Xavier Worthy were stopped by the "Dark Side", while Baker Mayfield didn't have to do anything in the Buccaneers' demolition of the Panthers. Alvin Kamara and Kyle Pitts put up 13.2 PPR points each, and I'll take it considering how our "exceptions" usually perform. Let's ride this wave and go for some big wins this week!

Without further ado, let's look at five fantasy football landmines you should bench ahead of Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season.

Jonathan Taylor, RB, at Jacksonville Jaguars

Time goes by quickly, and we all get a little more forgetful as it passes. So that's why I feel the need to remind you where the Indianapolis Colts were last year, because it seems like a classic case of "revisionist history".

They weren't a team that got lucky and jumped out to a 7-1 record. They were quite literally a historically dominant offense. Through the first eight weeks, their EPA per play was by far and away the first in the league and on par with legendary offenses like the 2018 Chiefs.

They had a higher EPA per drive than any other offense since 2015 through the first eight weeks of a season. And here's the most absurd statistic: if you took away every single pass attempt, they would have still ranked sixth in EPA per play. Their rushing attack was that good.

The combination of their elite offensive line, led by Quenton Nelson and Tanor Bortolini, created some insane openings, such as this one, which a world-class running back like Jonathan Taylor could easily take advantage of.

Taylor ran for 850 yards and 12 touchdowns with 5.9 yards per carry in the first eight weeks, and their offense was so good that they felt the need to go "all-in" at the 2025 trade deadline, trading two first-round picks for Sauce Gardner.

However, the Colts famously collapsed and got off to a terrible start this season, which has started their fire sale. Nelson is now gone, and Bortolini has been dealing with an ankle injury that has severely affected his performance.

His 88.1 PFF run-blocking grade in 2025 has plummeted to 50.3 so far in 2026, and it's likely to get even worse now that Nelson is no longer there.

Taylor had a good "audition" against the outstanding Vikings defense, as I had predicted in my Week 7 bold predictions article.

He'll go up against a similarly great run defense this week, as the Jaguars have allowed the fewest rushing yards per game (51.5) and the lowest yards per carry (3.2) so far this season.

Against this defense, with a declining O-Line, and with the anxiety of not knowing which team he'll be on in the next few weeks on his mind, Taylor could struggle mightily this week.

Luther Burden III, WR, at Seattle Seahawks

The Caleb Williams to Luther Burden connection is legit. Burden has put up 225 receiving yards and 41.2 PPR points in the last two games since Williams' return, finishing as the PPR WR5 during that span.

He is just 162 yards away from surpassing his rookie year total, and with Tetairoa McMillan and the Panthers' recent decline, he might just finish the year as the best WR from the 2025 class.

Of course, he'll have to be on top of his game for the rest of the season, and they'll have a pretty easy run of games from Week 9 onwards for the offense to reach new heights. Week 8 will be their toughest test, against the best team in the league that just shut down the Chiefs.

After letting teams get off to a bit of a head start, the reigning Super Bowl champions have "locked in" and have allowed just 190.5 net yards per game over their last two outings.

Burden will have an especially tough time getting past Devon Witherspoon, who has allowed just 0.19 fantasy points per route run so far this season.

Patrick Mahomes, QB, at Denver Broncos

The return of "MVP Mahomes" was fun while it lasted, but it looks like we're once again starting to see the 2023-2025 version of Mahomes. The all-time great has put up no touchdowns and two interceptions over his last two games.

Ty Okada intercepts Mahomes 👀

KCvsSEA on NBC/Peacock
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/9J1V9y9Fes

— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2026

Of course, the injuries to Tyquan Thornton and Rashee Rice have not helped, and the Chiefs have one of the most barren and empty WR rooms in the league right now. This won't bode well against the Broncos, who have fixed their defense in recent weeks.

Over their last three games, the Broncos have "found ways to win" with a bottom-five offense due to their elite defense. They have allowed just 16.7 points per game and have allowed just 13.6 fantasy points per game to opposing QBs during that span.

In Week 1, the Chiefs dominated the Broncos off the back of a dominant performance from Kenneth Walker III, so even if they win this game, Mahomes won't be the one to win it for them.

Don't worry too much, though, as a WR trade can help Mahomes take advantage of a relatively easy stretch after this game until the end of November.

Jameson Williams, WR, vs. Minnesota Vikings

Speaking of wide receivers, Jameson Williams has come alive in recent weeks and is looking to prove himself as a consistent WR, rather than the guy we saw last season who would either give you a 20-point game or lay a "goose egg".

Williams has put up 61.0 PPR points in his last three games, with at least 16.2 PPR points in each outing. However, his next task against the Minnesota Vikings will be extremely difficult.

Brian Flores' defense has allowed the fourth-fewest PPR points per game (25.3) to opposing WRs so far this season, and Williams has struggled against them.

In his last four games against Minnesota, Williams has averaged just 33.2 yards per game and has scored just one touchdown. Since Week 1, no WR has managed even 70 receiving yards against their defense.

Pat Freiermuth, TE, vs. Cleveland Browns

We'll end this article with the man affectionately known as "Muth", who is currently the PPR TE11. Freiermuth has already matched his 2025 touchdown total with four touchdowns so far in 2026, but he has been fairly quiet over the last two games.

"Phone booth 'Muth!"

Call his number, and @Pat_Fry5 will answer ☎️ @Steelers https://t.co/R1eT4QXCLs

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) October 12, 2026

That quiet spell could continue this week against the Browns. In Week 4, Freiermuth only had 17 yards against Cleveland, with the only saving grace of his performance being a game-tying touchdown grab in an eventual loss.

The Browns have done an exceptional job of containing TEs so far this season, as Darren Waller's 51-yard performance has been the only time that an opposing tight end has surpassed 50 yards against them.

You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.

Week 8 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players -- Jonathan Taylor, Luther Burden III, Patrick Mahomes, Jameson Williams, and Pat Freiermuth. 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, player 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 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 (2026)? 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 7 for Jonathan Taylor, Luther Burden III, Patrick Mahomes, Jameson Williams, and Pat Freiermuth: