Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers - Week 8 (2025)

October 22, 2025

John Johnson's fantasy football risers, fallers, sleepers, and busts heading into Week 8 of the 2025 season. He identifies players with rising and falling fantasy values.

The NFL is hardly a static entity. Players sometimes have breakouts, sure, but their streaks of good games can come to a screeching halt almost instantly and without warning.

And it's of great consequence to fantasy teams. Must-start studs that look like they're on pace to finish top-10 at their position can inexplicably see huge dips in production, while previously irrelevant players can quickly rise to prominence.

We'll talk about both of these types of players, and more, in this week's edition of Risers and Fallers, so let's get to it!

Week 8 Fantasy Football Risers

Travis Hunter, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

Hunter finally had the huge game fantasy managers were hoping for, scoring 24.1 PPR fantasy points by catching eight of his 14 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown. It was the first time he had double-digit fantasy points in a game this season.

Hunter played quite a bit of cornerback to start the season, and his snap share on offense was heavily restricted. But he's played a ton more on offense the last few weeks -- 78 percent of the offensive snaps in Week 6 and 87 percent in Week 7.

He could have had an even bigger day as well. If he and Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence can get more on the same page after the bye week, when we usually see rookies get a bump in usage and production, he could have a monster second half of the year.

Wan'Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants

In the absence of WR Malik Nabers (knee), it appears that Robinson will take over the WR1 duties for the Giants. He's scored 20.4 and 15.5 PPR fantasy points in his last two games, despite facing tough pass defenses. The wizardry of rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart is largely to credit here.

#Giants QB Jaxson Dart has found a lot of comfort in finding Wan'Dale Robinson outside the numbers on Sail concepts and when he's scrambling around in the backfield in the intermediate areas of the field.

Hit a couple of big plays doing so over the middle as well recently. pic.twitter.com/9wtYMEuZCR

— Devin Jackson (@RealD_Jackson) October 22, 2025

Good quarterback play can unlock the upside of some receivers and elevate them to levels far beyond what they were able to reach before. Robinson has been thriving, but WR Darius Slayton (hamstring) has missed the last two games, and he could play well on his return and siphon targets away from Robinson.

Still, he's worth a flex start as long as Slayton doesn't play, and at worst is a bench stash.

Oronde Gadsden, TE, Los Angeles Chargers 

Gadsden had an absolutely monster game in Week 7, breaking out with seven catches on nine targets for 164 yards and one touchdown. It was easily his biggest game of the season, and more than twice his previous career-high. Typically, tight ends take time to acclimate to playing in the NFL.

But Gadsden profiles nearly as a big slot receiver, which makes him a nice mismatch weapon against linebackers -- he's fast enough to outrun them -- and cornerbacks, who are smaller and can struggle to compete with the play strength of big pass-catchers.

rook gets his first nfl td

📺 | @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/XMA5gdtDdI

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 19, 2025

While this game was massive, his overall production seems pretty sustainable, at least to some degree, as long as the Chargers continue struggling on defense. A lot of games they play are turning into shootouts, forcing a ton of passing, which benefits pass-catchers. He's a priority waiver add.

Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears

Monangai got extended work in the Bears' blowout win over the New Orleans Saints. He carried the ball 13 times for 81 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 13 receiving yards. Most weeks, he probably won't get quite this much work, but Bears head coach Ben Johnson is known for running committee backfields.

Kyle Monangai scores his first NFL TD!

NOvsCHI on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/tlabBDz5Mb

— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025

Notably, he got some goal-line work before the second half, so it's possible he could take more short-yardage and goal-line touches moving forward, which would be great for his fantasy value. He's a priority waiver pickup as well, but Chicago's schedule toughens up significantly later in the season.

Brashard Smith, RB, Kansas City Chiefs 

Smith caught all five of his targets for 42 receiving yards in Week 7. He also rushed 14 times for 39 yards, finishing with 13.1 PPR fantasy points. While most of his rushing work came late in a blowout victory, his receiving role seems pretty well entrenched, as he's now been targeted 16 times in the last four games.

All of Brashard Smith's 19 Touches for 81 Rushing + Receiving Yards in the Chiefs Destruction of the Raiders.

Receptions first, as most of the rushing work came after the game was put away with the backup OL pic.twitter.com/jaC43QNbTp

— DMac Wake (@DMacWake316) October 20, 2025

What's especially exciting for Smith is that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and the offensive staff are designing looks specifically for him. The targets he gets are easy catches, often on short passes like screens and dump-offs, meaning the PPR point boost he gets from his receptions is very sustainable.

He's also an elite athlete -- he ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Combine, so he has serious speed. He's also a converted WR who could become a PPR cheat code in short order and should be added in all leagues.

Other Fantasy Football Risers:

• Rhamondre Stevenson (sorry if you drafted TreVeyon Henderson, but he is struggling to break tackles)
• Jaylen Warren (finally, a Steelers RB is getting a workhorse role?)
• DeVonta Smith
• Tee Higgins (maybe Joe Flacco really is still elite)
• Zach Charbonnet (is it over for Kenneth Walker III?)

Week 8 Fantasy Football Fallers

Rome Odunze, WR, Chicago Bears

After a dominant first four weeks, in which he caught 20 passes for 296 yards and five touchdowns, Odunze's fantasy production has come crashing down to earth. He has just four receptions for 63 yards combined in his last two games, and scored 5.2 and 5.1 PPR fantasy points in Week 6 and Week 7.

This is exactly one of the plays I was referring too! Rome Odunze if you want to take that next step as a go to WR you have to make this catch consistently enough! https://t.co/vaaq8tEQRT pic.twitter.com/yDy2RfR6sx

— Nick LaVere (@NickLaVere20) October 19, 2025

The problems here are two-fold. Odunze had quite a few bad drops and often doesn't play well through contact. He was touted as having elite strength as a college prospect, but that's not been evident from his NFL tape. And his quarterback, Caleb Williams, is arguably the second-least accurate passer in the NFL.

Per @FantasyPtsData, of 34 quarterbacks with 100 or more dropbacks, Caleb Williams is:

-QB27 in Comp % Over Expected (-0.1%)
-QB28 in Highly Accurate Throw Rate (51.9%)
-QB31 in Catchable Throw Rate (69.7%)
-QB33 in Off Target Rate (21.6%)

...holding back his offense.

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 22, 2025

Rico Dowdle, RB, Carolina Panthers

Dowdle got shoved into a committee backfield split with his fellow Panthers RB, Chuba Hubbard, who returned in Week 7 from a calf injury. While that's discouraging at first glance, the good news is that Dowdle absolutely crushed Hubbard's efficiency metrics.

Rico Dowdle vs. Chuba Hubbard in Week 7, per @FantasyPtsData:

Rico: 79 rush yards, 4.65 YPC, 2 missed tackles forced
Chuba: 31 rush yards, 2.21 YPC, 0 MTF

And on the season...

Rico: 551 rush yards, 5.62 YPC, 16 MTF
Chuba: 248 rush yards, 3.7 YPC, 0 (!) MTF

— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) October 21, 2025

Dowdle has easily outperformed Hubbard this season, even when both played in the same game against the same defense with the same blockers. Hubbard's inability to force missed tackles is alarming -- he's made zero defenders miss their tackle attempts on him this season.

He's the only running back in the NFL to have done that. That's a horrendous sign for his future volume, and I firmly believe it's only a matter of time before Dowdle takes a commanding lead in this backfield. Hold.

Travis Etienne Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Etienne's first few weeks of the season were among the best in the NFL. He's regressed significantly since then. One way to look at it is that he's fallen off. Another way is that he's not facing cake walk defenses anymore and is struggling against better talent.

Travis Etienne...

Weeks 1-4:
+394 Yds (RB3/49)
+6.06 YPC (RB1)
+7.7% Explosive Rush Rate (RB6)
+0.17 MTF/Att (RB24)

Weeks 5-7:

+3.75 YPC (RB31/41, min. 15 att)
+0 Missed Tackles Forced on 41 carries
+1.34 YACon/Att (RB38)

Extremely inefficient vs any decent defense

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 20, 2025

In addition, while backup Bhayshul Tuten didn't make much of an impact between Week 3 and Week 6, he dealt with a shoulder injury during those weeks and was a constant presence on the injury report. He's now fully healthy and commanded a bigger share of the team's rushing work in Week 7.

% of the Jaguars RB carries, 2025:

Week 1
ETN: 64%
Tuten: 12%

Week 2
ETN: 58%
Tuten: 33% (injured shoulder)

Week 3-6:
ETN: 77%
Tuten: 21%

Week 7 (Tuten off injury report for practices):
ETN: 62%
Tuten: 38%

Etienne YPC in September: 6.1
...October: 3.8

Tuten RB1 Szn loading

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 21, 2025

I strongly believe Tuten has this backfield taken over by the end of the season. The best time to sell Etienne would have been after his first three weeks. He has curiously seen a huge efficiency dip from September to October in his last three years in the NFL.

Xavier Worthy, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

Worthy looks a lot like a wideout playing through a fully torn labrum. That's what he is, after all. With the return of Chiefs WR1 Rashee Rice, Worthy was but an afterthought in an embarrassing (for the other team) decimation of the Las Vegas Raiders. It makes sense that he had a down week -- all the Chiefs' starters were pulled from the game in the 4th quarter.

Defensive holding didn’t stop Xavier Worthy from making a play

LVvsKC on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/a8kPDRif59

— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025

He was only targeted four times, and caught three passes for 35 yards and no touchdowns. Rice had seven catches and two touchdowns. He might hog a large portion of the team's end zone trips from now on, which is bad news for Worthy.

Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

Barkley's lack of production is a bit baffling when you consider how much he produced last season. When you turn on the film, things start to make a lot more sense. He no longer has the best-performing offensive line in the NFL. Maybe we should give Kellen Moore, the Eagles' offensive coordinator last season, more credit.

= Saquon Barkley outside runs vs Vikings =

I’ve been BEGGING for Kevin Patullo to call more runs to the outside, and against the Vikings he finally did so!

➡️ Out of Saquon’s 18 carries, 10 were outside run concepts (outside zone or toss).

➡️ 43 yards (4.3 YPC), 50% success… pic.twitter.com/pP1Bxcwde4

— Charles “Chux” Maranan (@ChuxMaranan) October 21, 2025

As good an athlete as Barkley is, he's never been an elite tackle-breaker -- he's better suited in space, where he can make defenders miss and get good angles to run around them. His forced missed tackle rate is the lowest in the NFL -- a ton of his massive runs last year were plays in which he wasn't contacted.

New Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo simply hasn't done a good job, and the results are showing up heavily in the offensive line play and run game. It might just be time to lower our expectations for Barkley moving forward. He can still have good games, sure, but he's the RB14 in PPR leagues.

It doesn't seem like he'll have another 2,000-yard rushing season. He's not even on pace for half that.

Other Fantasy Football Fallers:

• Kendrick Bourne (even with five broken ribs, two ankle sprains, and a busted shoulder, Jauan Jennings is earning more opportunities)
• Sam Darnold (he only has one elite receiver, which limits his upside)
• Drake London (Darnell Mooney is his kryptonite, unfortunately)
• Breece Hall (team situation significantly hinders his upside)

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