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Should I start Kimani Vidal, Oronde Gadsden II, Justin Herbert for Week 8? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
The Los Angeles Chargers will take on the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8 on Thursday Night Football. Given how both teams have had multiple start-worthy fantasy players, this week's installment of TNF will be very important for fantasy leagues.
The Chargers are coming off a loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 7, but it's not like their offense struggled. Excluding sacks, they totaled 474 yards of offense in the pass and run game, and scored three touchdowns.
Multiple players on their team had big fantasy days, like wide receivers Ladd McConkey and Keenan Allen. But should you start running back Kimani Vidal, tight end Oronde Gadsden II, and quarterback Justin Herbert in Week 8 for TNF? Let's dive in.
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Should I Start Kimani Vidal for Fantasy Football?
After a huge Week 6, Vidal's Week 7 was much tamer. He rushed 18 times for 124 yards and caught three passes for 14 yards and a touchdown in Week 6 against the very weak Miami Dolphins defense, but managed just 20 yards on nine carries in Week 7. That averages 2.2 yards per rush. He added 15 yards on four catches.
All of Kimani Vidal’s 138 All purpose yards and 1 TD. Enjoy👍 pic.twitter.com/sCNKvaVo7E
— La-dee-dee Mc-Con-kay⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ (@SunnySideUp211) October 13, 2025
It looks like his backup, RB Hassan Haskins (hamstring), won't be available to play in the game, so we should expect Vidal to handle most of the backfield work. The opposing Vikings are a below-average rush defense, but teams have tended to throw to their running backs less against them.
It could be another shootout with how terribly the Chargers defense is playing, so we might not see much Vidal rush volume. He's a risky flex start, but fine in deeper leagues.
Should I Start Oronde Gadsden II for Fantasy Football?
Gadsden had a monster breakout in Week 7, racking up a ridiculous 164 receiving yards by catching seven of the nine passes thrown his way. He also scored a touchdown. The matchup with the porous Colts defense allowed multiple pass-catchers to absolutely run wild.
While Gadsden has a tougher matchup this week, as the Vikings haven't allowed many fantasy points to tight ends this year, he actually has a pretty positive matchup if you consider his production against different coverage shells. Of course, the game against the Colts is likely an outlier.
oronde gadsden.
📺 | @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/zRyZnhEqsv
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 19, 2025
He basically is a big slot receiver playing a big slot receiver role in a high-volume passing offense on a team with a terrible defense. At the TE position, scoring nearly 30 points is so ridiculously valuable that unless you have an elite tight end to start, you should probably put Gadsden in your lineups.
Should I Start Justin Herbert for Fantasy Football?
Herbert is currently the QB7 in fantasy football, and though there are teams that have had bye weeks, Herbert's ceiling is undeniable. It's a bit iffy in leagues that have different scoring settings for interceptions -- he's thrown six picks so far this year.
In normal Sleeper leagues, though, INTs only dock a QB for one point, meaning Herbert is a solid start moving forward. As long as their defense continues to play so poorly, they could easily continue getting into shootouts. And the Vikings have a good offense.
Justin Herbert has been hit 62 times this season, most in the league. Only one other QB (Cam Ward) has been hit more than 44 times this season. pic.twitter.com/27yPy9meHv
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) October 21, 2025
The offensive line hasn't been playing well, but it's because they've been decimated by injuries. Herbert has taken a beating, constantly being under duress, because L.A. is down to their second and third-string offensive tackles weren't performing well.
#Chargers Joe Alt in weeks 1-3
- 3 pressures allowed on 134 pass blocking reps (5th fewest)
- 98.4 pass blocking efficiency rating (7th best)
- 95% pass block win rate (ESPN, 6th best)Since he got injured, the left tackle spot behind him has allowed 22 pressures, 4 sacks, and 9… pic.twitter.com/sHb6xmv7S9
— Steven Haglund (@StevenIHaglund) October 22, 2025
It looks like their best offensive lineman, Joe Alt (ankle), will return to play tonight. He said so himself. Even if he's not 100 percent, and he's likely not, he should be a very nice upgrade. I'd start Herbert tonight, though he's prone to turnovers when he's throwing a million passes and playing from behind.
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 Kimani Vidal, Oronde Gadsden II, Justin Herbert. 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. Today's focus is on specific players - Kimani Vidal, Oronde Gadsden II, Justin Herbert. 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.
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, enhanced search results with data to compare, and 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 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
Below are some popular Week 8 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Kimani Vidal, Oronde Gadsden II, Justin Herbert compared to others:
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