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Should I start Rico Dowdle, Woody Marks, Kyle Monangai for Week 8? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
Hunting the waiver wire for running backs to fill in for bye weeks and injured players, and subsequently having to make start or sit decisions for the RBs you picked up, are constant issues fantasy football managers face. There is a lack of viable talent at the running back position every year.
Must-start stud RBs are a dime a dozen, and often, many fantasy teams are left in serious trouble when one of their starting backs goes down with an injury. Such is life for people who drafted Arizona Cardinals RB James Conner (ankle), who's out for the season.
Carolina Panthers RB Rico Dowdle, Houston Texans tailback Woody Marks, and Chicago Bears running back Kyle Monangai were all on waivers at some point in most leagues, and are more heavily rostered now. But should you start Dowdle, Marks, and Monangai for fantasy football in Week 8?
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Should I Start Rico Dowdle for Fantasy Football?
I would say it's a good idea. Unfortunately for Dowdle managers, his epic two-game run, scoring over 30 PPR fantasy points in each, is over for now, since the team's lead back, Chuba Hubbard, returned from a two-game absence due to a calf injury.
But the film, surface-level stats, and advanced analytics all point toward one theory -- that Dowdle is simply the better running back. In Week 7, we got to see what a committee backfield split between the two looked like. And it was massively in favor of Dowdle.
NFL Running Backs by EPA per rush:
1. Rico Dowdle (0.15)
T-2. James Cook, Rachaad White (0.09)
T-4. Quinshon Judkins, Javonte Williams, Jonathan Taylor (0.07)
...
16. Chuba Hubbard (-0.02)
...
35. Bucky Irving (-0.30)— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 20, 2025
Dowdle leads the entire NFL in Expected Points Added per Rush. That means that on plays in which he's rushed the ball, he's been the most valuable running back in the NFL in terms of statistically putting his team in a position to win.
Chuba Hubbard failed to force a missed tackle in Week 7. He remains the only running back in the NFL with 50 or more attempts that hasn't forced a single missed tackle on the season, per @FantasyPtsData
Rico Dowdle forced 2 missed tackles on his 17 carries.
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 20, 2025
And there are some alarming red flags for Hubbard. He averaged just 2.2 yards per carry last week in a game where Dowdle averaged just under 4.7. And they both faced similar rates of stacked boxes, too, so that's not an excuse for Hubbard's poor play.
The Panthers offense has only looked good this season when Dowdle has been the workhorse back. He helps the team sustain drives and unlocks their potential. Hubbard simply has been along for the ride -- he hasn't forced a single missed tackle this year.
Against a Buffalo defense that's soft against the run, Dowdle is a starter, with major upside if Panthers head coach Dave Canales understands that he's hurting his team if he continues feeding Hubbard. Even if he has some big gains here and there, the data and film all point to Dowdle being the better back.
Should I Start Woody Marks for Fantasy Football?
The Texans offense is a dumpster fire, and that's unlikely to change any time soon. New offensive coordinator Nick Caley has been criticized heavily for his poor decision-making with personnel and play design, the offensive line is one of the worst in the league, and their best receiver will miss Week 8.
Nico Collins (concussion) won't play, meaning the potential for the entire offense to sustain drives will be dragged down. Not like they were doing a great job of it anyway. And though they'll play at home, where quarterback C.J. Stroud performs much better, they're facing a tough defense.
Woody Marks punches it in for 6.
📺: @espnnfl pic.twitter.com/RWAxfqB7VK
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 21, 2025
It took a garbage time touchdown to save Marks' fantasy value against the Detroit Lions in Week 7. For the vast majority of the game, even before Collins got hurt, the Texans offense looked completely lost. They don't even know how to use the personnel on their team properly.
I have zero faith in Caley. He's doing everything in his power to keep two talented rookie wide receivers, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, off the field in favor of what seems to be a washed and injured Christian Kirk (hamstring), and Xavier Hutchinson and even Braxton Berrios, neither of whom are good receivers.
Marks is only worth starting as a desperation flex in deep leagues. He'll rely on pass-catching volume and garbage time production yet again.
Should I Start Kyle Monangai for Fantasy Football?
Monangai is an interesting player this week. While he's not the starter for his team, he got a decent workload last week against the New Orleans Saints, rushing 13 times for 81 yards and a touchdown and catching two passes for 13 yards.
Bears RB1 D'Andre Swift (groin) is set to play again, despite being on the injury report with a groin issue. He'll have to face a Ravens defense that's a bit healthier than it's been in the last two weeks, and that's especially relevant for the Bears run game.
I'm actually not excited about starting Kyle Monangai this week, I know the Ravens have a horrible defense but Roquan Smith, their best run defender, is back from injury this week, and they were clearly much worse against the run in his absence (significant YPC allowed boost)
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) October 25, 2025
Monangai was a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft because there are a lot of holes in his game. It was a deep class at RB, but I'm not rushing to put him in starting lineups. As a deep league flex option or a fill in for fantasy teams struggling with bye weeks and injuries, he's not the worst option, but his floor is extremely low.
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 Rico Dowdle, Woody Marks, Kyle Monangai. 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 - Rico Dowdle, Woody Marks, Kyle Monangai. 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 Rico Dowdle, Woody Marks, Kyle Monangai compared to others:
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