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Dan's fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 8 of 2025. He looks at potential warning signals from Tetairoa McMillan, Matthew Golden, Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson, and Zach Ertz
A new week of fantasy football is upon us, and the Bye-pocalypse is here. Six teams (Cardinals, Lions, Jaguars, Raiders, Rams, and Seahawks) get the week off, making setting fantasy football lineups an even dicier affair than usual. Even under this crunch, managers can’t afford to ignore the Warning Signals from active players that should be avoided.
It’s “Oops! All Rookies!” Week (well, almost) in this edition of my Warning Signals column. This time around, I’m wary about Tetairoa McMillan, Matthew Golden, and Quinshon Judkins, while TreVeyon Henderson is looking like a lost cause. Lastly, I’m picking on Zach Ertz for the second time this season. No, he doesn’t fit the rookie theme (quite the opposite!), but I’m betting he will suffer a similar result as the last time Jayden Daniels (hamstring) missed a game.
As usual, the causes for my concern for these players involve injuries (or a now healthy teammate’s return), downward trends in usage, poor matchups, or some combination of the three. Six teams being out on bye subtracts a lot of talent from the player pool, but I still want to dodge what I anticipate to be down games. Read on for what sours me on these players in my Warning Signals for Week 8.
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Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Carolina Panthers
McMillan has performed as well as one could realistically hope for, given his situation. Mired in the Panthers' woebegone offense, McMillan has 30 receptions for 413 yards and two touchdowns. He is one catch and one target shy of Emeka Egbuka’s lead among rookies in those categories.
The future looked bright for the former Arizona Wildcat after his six-catch, 100-yard game in Week 2, but since then, he has averaged 3.8 receptions and 49 yards per game. Two trips to the end zone in Week 6 salvaged a three-catch, 29-yard game, and he followed that up with three catches for 33 yards against the Jets in Week 7.
In Week 8, McMillan might be playing with a new quarterback as Bryce Young (ankle) is dealing with a high ankle sprain. Andy Dalton would be the replacement. Will we see the Dalton from Week 3 of 2024 who put up 319 yards and three touchdowns in Young’s stead? Or the Dalton that averaged 167.5 passing yards and threw four touchdowns to six interceptions over the subsequent four games?
#Panthers coach Dave Canales says that QB Andy Dalton took all the reps with the 1s today with Bryce Young not practicing. But Young, officially, is still day-to-day. More from him: pic.twitter.com/OJn36FRjjR
— Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) October 22, 2025
I’m betting against McMillan rebounding, given the uncertainty at quarterback and going against a Bills secondary that has allowed the fifth fewest receptions and fourth fewest yards to opposing wide receivers in 2025. Logic dictates that the Panthers will have to throw to keep up with the Bills, who are 7.5-point favorites. However, Carolina might be better served by allowing Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard to take advantage of Buffalo's soft run defense, which has given up a league-worst 5.44 yards per carry in 2025.
Matthew Golden, WR, Green Bay Packers
If Golden is a reliable fantasy football asset, it may be a while before we can tell. The Packers operate one of the most run-heavy offenses in the league, undercutting the production of Green Bay’s wide receivers. Quarterback Jordan Love’s 176 pass attempts are the second-fewest in the league among quarterbacks who have started all of their team’s games this season.
In recent years, Green Bay has had a propensity to spread the ball around, and 2025 is no different. Golden has finished with the second-most targets on the team in three weeks, but on each occasion, he tied or had several teammates in close contention. In Week 3, he was one of three receivers with four targets. When he had his season-high six targets in Week 4, Tucker Kraft had five, two teammates had four, and two others had three. And in Week 6, Golden and Josh Jacobs each had five targets apiece.
Golden is averaging 3.8 targets per game. He ranks 62nd among wide receivers in fantasy points per game (7.9) in PPR format, placing him just outside WR5 range. Dontayvion Wicks’ (calf) reduced role (be it when healthy in Week 6, or due to injury sustained during Week 7) has had little impact on Golden’s involvement, his snap and target shares not deviating from their norms. Wicks did not practice to open the week, but Christian Watson (knee) claims to be ready to make his season debut. The return of either receiver would be a threat to Golden’s playing time and his productivity.
Christian Watson Plans to Make his Season Debut in Week 8 https://t.co/1D2DtR3BO9
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) October 22, 2025
Quinshon Judkins, RB, Cleveland Browns
Judkins’ tumultuous offseason sent him spiraling down fantasy draft boards in the late summer. Judkins withheld from signing his rookie contract until September 6, preventing him from participating in training camps and preseason games. In July, Judkins was charged with domestic assault and battery. While those charges were ultimately dropped, the NFL is still conducting its own investigation of the incident.
Judkins made his NFL debut in Week 2, with a modest 10-carry, 61-yard performance. Since then, he has taken over the Browns’ backfield and is now the league’s leading rusher among rookies and ranks eleventh overall, with 467 rushing yards in six games played. His success has the makings of a league-winner, but a closer look at where his fantasy points are coming from has me skeptical he can keep it up against a tough defensive matchup.
Last week, a three-touchdown performance propelled Judkins to an overall RB4 finish. One of those scores was on the heels of an impressive 46-yard run. I’ll leave the touchdown alone, but I can’t ignore the fact that the run made up over half of his total for the day, and without it, he would have had 38 yards on 24 carries. It turns out 35.1% of his yards have come on similar gains of 15 or more yards.
I can’t remove that from Judkins’ game, but if he is a home run hitter, it needs to be known that the Patriots are among the better defenses at preventing explosive runs. New England ranks as the fourth-best in limiting rushes that result in gains of 15 or more yards and has allowed the fourth-fewest yards on such yards. They also rank second in yards before contact allowed and yards per carry allowed. Running backs are tough to replace, so it will be hard to pivot away from Judkins in light of all the byes this week, but fantasy managers should temper expectations at the very least.
TreVeyon Henderson, RB New England Patriots
This probably goes without saying, but Henderson does not belong in your fantasy football lineup in Week 8. This might be obvious based on his performance, but there are still hangers-on who are feeling cornered by all the bye weeks and are talking themselves into letting it ride just once more. Don’t let it ride.
Henderson hit a new low in Week 7 against the Titans, seeing just nine snaps and getting two touches for five yards. Practice squad denizen Terrell Jennings matched Henderson in snaps and saw better production - five carries for 18 yards - and was lauded by head coach Mike Vrabel as the team’s new “five-minute back.” That is, the running back who will be responsible for closing out games by protecting the ball and keeping it in bounds to run down the clock.
Antonio Gibson’s (knee) injury didn’t give Henderson a boost. Rhamondre Stevenson’s ball security issues haven’t motivated the Pats to give more work to their second-round pick. And now the rookie is losing garbage time work to a practice squad player. Bye weeks be damned, I’d rather roll the dice on the waiver wire, as New England’s matchup against the Browns doesn’t make for a promising matchup anyway.
Sounds like RB Terrell Jennings made an impression, as Mike Vrabel says the team has found its “five-minute” back. pic.twitter.com/gWyHE21bUh
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 19, 2025
Zach Ertz, TE, Washington Commanders
Here comes Old Man Ertz to bust up the party. Ertz has actually been a fairly solid option in fantasy football this year. In PPR scoring, he ranks as the overall TE9 and is fourteenth in fantasy points per game. Ertz is a favorite target of Daniels in the end zone, having caught half of the quarterback's eight touchdown passes in 2025.
Unfortunately, Daniels is expected to miss another game in Week 8 while nursing a hamstring injury. That puts Marcus Mariota back under center for the Commanders. With Mariota quarterbacking in Weeks 3 and 4, Ertz totalled five receptions for 59 yards on seven targets.
On top of the downgrade in the passing attack, Washington is going up against Kansas City on Monday night, and they have performed well against tight ends this season. The Chiefs have allowed the third fewest fantasy points and receptions, the fifth fewest yards, and just one touchdown to the position all year. I’ll welcome Ertz back when Daniels can play, but while Mariota is taking snaps, the 14-year vet can stay on the bench.
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