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John's fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 8 of 2025. Are the breakout performances from Oronde Gadsden, Kyle Monangai, Xavier Legette legit or flukes?
There are a lot of players who have big games seemingly out of nowhere in the course of a season. For players that aren't heavily rostered, though, it's essential to identify whether these games were indicative of breakouts or were fluke games.
Sometimes, huge games out of nowhere are followed by more consistent and higher production. Yet other times, players have big games only to regress to their previous production. An interesting wrinkle is that they often seem to lead nowhere, but then the player ends up having solid games moving forward.
Breakouts are complicated things. They can be the result of a wonky game script, a player finally coming into their own, or sometimes both. So let's break down the big games of three players from Week 7 and examine their fantasy outlooks for Week 8 and moving forward after that!
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Was Oronde Gadsden's Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
Gadsden had an absolutely monstrous performance in Week 7. He was targeted nine times and caught seven passes for a ridiculous 164 yards and one touchdown, totaling 29.4 PPR fantasy points. It was the best tight end performance of the week and tied with Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride for the highest of the season.
The Chargers lost a shootout game against the Indianapolis Colts, which featured quarterback Justin Herbert throwing the ball a season-high 55 times, completing 37 passes for 420 yards and three touchdowns. The offense was one of the most productive in terms of yardage of the week.
oronde gadsden.
📺 | @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/zRyZnhEqsv
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 19, 2025
Gadsden was one of the more overlooked prospects coming out of college. He had a pretty crazy receiving profile in college -- he was essentially used as a slot receiver. He racked up an impressive yards per route run average that rivaled even some of the best receivers in college football.
It appears that he's getting a ton of playing time for how well he can run routes, catch the football, and pick up yards after the catch. Many smaller tight ends struggle to get playing time because they can't block well in-line, where a lot of tight ends typically line up, but that doesn't seem to matter here.
He has a tough matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8, and we've seen a lot of TEs have big games and follow them up with stinkers, but if you don't already have an excellent option starting at tight end on your roster, you should probably snag Gadsden and start him. The game against the Vikings could be another shootout.
Week 8 Outlook: Start in All Leagues
Was Kyle Monangai's Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
Monangai rushed 13 times for 81 yards and a touchdown in Week 7. He also caught two of his three targets for 13 yards. It was easily his best performance of the season, though it came in a game against the New Orleans Saints that was never competitive.
Still, the fact that he got a decent workload is intriguing. The team's starting RB, D'Andre Swift, had a groin injury entering the game, so it's worth questioning if Monangai's increased workload was the result of a load management plan for Swift.
Kyle Monangai scores his first NFL TD!
NOvsCHI on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/tlabBDz5Mb
— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025
However, Swift played around the same percentage of snaps as he did usually (just over 50 percent) and handled 20 touches (19 rushes and one catch), so it seems like he wasn't restricted. The Bears just had the luxury of running the ball very heavily against a struggling opponent.
Monangai taking on a David Montgomery role in this offense, while Swift plays the Jahmyr Gibbs role, would make both backs pretty valuable for fantasy. The Bears' schedule does toughen up a bit, but head coach Ben Johnson's excellent schemes and the strength of the offensive line should help mitigate that.
Week 8 Outlook: Start in 14+ Team Leagues
Was Xavier Legette's Performance Legit Or A Fluke?
Through six weeks, Legette looked like possibly the most disappointing receiver from the 2024 NFL Draft class. Despite high draft capital -- he was a first-round selection -- he finally cracked 20 PPR fantasy points by catching nine passes for 92 yards and a touchdown.
Panthers starting quarterback Bryce Young (ankle) suffered an injury late in the game and was replaced by veteran Andy Dalton. Dalton threw for 60 passing yards... all of which were caught by Legette. Young was diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain, meaning Dalton is trending toward starting in Week 8.
Every Xavier Legette Week 7 catch vs the #Jets pic.twitter.com/90CwQvuX42
— IAmWestsideFetti 💙🖤🤟🏾 (@4MR_Fetti) October 20, 2025
Legette is a massively talented athlete -- his combination of size, strength, and acceleration is among the best WRs in the league. He's still raw as a route-runner and might take more time to develop, but the physical tools are certainly there. It appears that he's been held back greatly by Young's incompetence.
The latter part of Young's rookie season was seen as a breakout by many in the fantasy community, but he played against a lot of soft defenses and had quite a few rushing touchdowns. This season, he's been inconsistent at times. While there's been a lot of criticism of his situation, Young has yet to take the next step in his development.
Legette's future outlook depends heavily on whether Young is benched for Dalton moving forward and if Dalton can play competent football. It's hard to project, but it's probably best to remain on the conservative side and not put too much faith into what looks like a bad passing offense, no matter what happens.
Week 8 Outlook: Start in 14+ Team Leagues
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 8 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Oronde Gadsden, Kyle Monangai, Xavier Legette. 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. Need a replacement? Today's focus is on specific players - Oronde Gadsden, Kyle Monangai, Xavier Legette. 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.
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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
Need a replacement? Below are some popular Week 8 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Oronde Gadsden, Kyle Monangai, Xavier Legette compared to others:
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