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Should I start Sterling Shepard, Deebo Samuel Sr., Marquise Brown for Week 8? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Sterling Shepard, San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel (heel), and Kansas City Chiefs wideout Marquise Brown are all playing football this week. That's more than can be said for a lot of receivers, who might have their bye weeks in Week 8 or be injured and unable to play.
While some are locked-in starters, depending on league size, for others, it's important to try to start them when they're set to have big weeks and bench them in their bad games. That's much easier said than done, and it's impossible to predict everything accurately.
But trying to lean into upside when you identify it is important. So what's the upside of these three players, and should you start them in Week 8?
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Should I Start Sterling Shepard for Fantasy Football?
Shepard's role as his team's WR3 has been supplanted by two rookie draft picks, WRs Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson. And though Buccaneers WR1 Mike Evans (collarbone, concussion) and WR2 Chris Godwin (fibula) are both set to miss Week 8 with their injuries, it doesn't seem like Shepard is a great start.
Egbuka and Johnson's play has made it clear that they are the two best healthy wideouts on Tampa Bay's roster right now, and it would serve the team well to make sure they both get the ball as much as possible. And Shepard, at 32 years old, could be on his way out of the league. Tight end Cade Otton has played better so far.
TEZMANIA with the hurdle & TD 🙌
📺: #TBvsDET on ESPN pic.twitter.com/ylCAU8SLdR
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 21, 2025
Johnson now has touchdowns two weeks in a row, and was already a severely underrated WR prospect coming out of college. His diminutive size was the main barrier to him getting higher draft capital, but that simply doesn't matter now -- the kid can play, and he can play well.
I wouldn't be starting Shepard outside of deep dynasty leagues this week. I expect Egbuka, Johnson, and Otton to lead the way for TB's pass-catchers, and Shepard likely will need touchdown luck to make it worth starting him.
Should I Start Deebo Samuel Sr. for Fantasy Football?
Samuel played in Week 6 when he probably shouldn't have. He was on the injury report that week with a heel issue, and though he was able to suit up, looked pretty terrible. He seemed sluggish and didn't make much of an impact at all.
So it was a good thing when the Commanders held him out of last week's contest with the issue. He was still on the injury report earlier this week, but logged a full practice and was removed from the report in advance of the game. He should be start-worthy, though he might have lower upside than usual.
Daniels to Deebo for the TD!
WASvsLAC on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/wqC4pxRgVx
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025
I expect him to at least be slightly hampered by his current injury, but his starting quarterback Jayden Daniels (hamstring), is out of Week 8's contest with hamstring issue. Still, I'd start Samuel in all leagues. Daniels' backup, QB Marcus Mariota, has proven competent in relief of the second-year QB.
Should I Start Marquise Brown for Fantasy Football?
I probably wouldn't. It might be hard to predict how the Chiefs pass-catchers will do outside of Rashee Rice having a huge day, running back Brashard Smith having a few designed targets, and tight end Travis Kelce getting a few catches here and there.
Brown is the third receiver on the team's depth chart, after Rice and Xavier Worthy, and had just four targets last week. He caught two of them for 14 yards and a touchdown. Without another score this week, it's hard seeing him be fantasy relevant.
Mahomes HEAVES it on 4th and 7 and finds Hollywood Brown!
KCvsLAC on YouTube https://t.co/JVXS9sMZhB pic.twitter.com/CjTzI4tffq
— NFL (@NFL) September 6, 2025
Brown has made some nice plays, but he's even been overshadowed by Chiefs WR4 Tyquan Thornton at times. And in his only game with over 50 receiving yards this season, neither Rice or Worthy were healthy. Brown is tough to start this week, though the matchup is nice, so in deeper leagues, he has flex appeal.
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 Sterling Shepard, Deebo Samuel Sr., Marquise Brown. 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 - Sterling Shepard, Deebo Samuel Sr., Marquise Brown. 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 Sterling Shepard, Deebo Samuel Sr., Marquise Brown compared to others:
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