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Should I start Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen, Ladd McConkey for Week 8? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
This week's Thursday Night Football game will have the Los Angeles Chargers square off with the Minnesota Vikings. Both teams feature competent offenses that can put up fireworks if needed.
Los Angeles' top-3 wide receivers this season are Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen, and Ladd McConkey. All three have had their share of big games this season, and all three are top-25 in PPR fantasy points through seven weeks at the WR position.
But naturally, it's hard for all three to have big games unless their quarterback, Justin Herbert, throws for a ton of passing yards, and at least a touchdown or two. And with L.A.'s best tight end, Oronde Gadsden II, having such a big day in Week 7, it's asking -- should you start Johnston, Allen, and McConkey?
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Should I Start Quentin Johnston for Fantasy Football?
After a red-hot start to the season, Johnston has cooled off quite considerably. Through four weeks, he was targeted 37 times and caught 22 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns. He was the fourth-highest scoring wide receiver in PPR leagues over that stretch.
Since then, he's caught just six passes for 70 yards and a touchdown in two games combined -- he missed one contest with a hamstring injury. Last week, Allen and McConkey both had over double the targets Johnston had, and both were far more productive.
QUENTIN JOHNSTON, THIS CATCH 🔥🔥🔥
📺: #LACvsLV on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/NxC5E6RHoA— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2025
The biggest driver to Johnston's success is the team's continuing heavy use of him and his ability to actually catch the ball this season. He's a big-bodied target with a very nice catch radius. I would start him at flex in 12-team leagues, but there's considerable risk.
The Chargers have simply preferred to target Allen and McConkey more in recent weeks, and the coverage matchup isn't favorable -- the Vikings run a high rate of Cover 2 and Cover 6 defensive shells, and Johnston is inefficient against those looks, especially against Cover 6.
Should I Start Keenan Allen for Fantasy Football?
Of this group of wideouts, Allen is my favorite start to make. Unlike Johnston, Allen is excellent against Cover 2, which the Vikings run at the highest rate in the league. He averages 0.49 fantasy points per route run against Cover 2 defensive shells, over four times the rate of Johnston.
Last time the Chargers played the Vikings
Justin Herbert
— 40/47
— 450 yards
— 0 interceptions
— 3 touchdownsKeenan Allen
— 18 receptions
— 215 yards
— 1 49 yard touchdown pic.twitter.com/ZGwr75DQmT— ChargersMuse (@ChargersMuse) October 22, 2025
Allen also has quite the history of success against the Vikings. He blasted them for 44.46 PPR fantasy points in Week 3 of 2023, and we could be in for another great showing from him. It will probably drag his ceiling down at least a bit that there's so much target competition in L.A. now.
But in a game that could easily be a shootout, I'm locking Allen in starting lineups in all the leagues I have him in. He's been the most consistent and reliable WR the Chargers have this season, and clearly has a massive ceiling.
Should I Start Ladd McConkey for Fantasy Football?
It wouldn't make much sense to bench McConkey after a 15.7 PPR fantasy point game last week. He hauled in nine of his team-high 15 targets for 67 yards last week. And the week before, he had seven receptions on nine targets for 100 yards and a touchdown.
McConkey is no longer this team's clear WR1, which is frustrating, but his target volume the last two weeks has been massive. It's unlikely that Herbert throws 55 passes and 420 passing yards again, but the Chargers run game was pretty miserable last week -- and they face a competent defense this week, not the Miami Dolphins.
Ladd McConkey is an excellent route runner and separator, but his raw speed and acceleration are also impressive. I hope the Chargers get him in space more this season. pic.twitter.com/P8vRZMxdlw
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) August 25, 2025
There have been at least a few plays in which the Chargers have taken advantage of his speed. He's a fantastic route-runner, but there's a lot left on the table when L.A. doesn't get him in space to work after the catch, because he's a fantastic athlete.
He's a WR2 play for me as long as the Chargers lack a run game. Gadsden's presence muddies things up a bit, but he should at least score double-digit PPR fantasy points and be start-worthy.
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 Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen, Ladd McConkey. 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 - Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen, Ladd McConkey. 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 Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen, Ladd McConkey compared to others:
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