October 29, 2016

Ben Ruppert's 2016 Week 8 wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings analysis and tiered ranks. His rankings and start/sit advice for your Week 8 wide receiver matchups.

Below you will find our Week 8 wide receiver rankings, to help determine your WR starts/sits for this week, brought to you by Bill Dubiel (@Roto_Dubs), Nick Mariano (@NMariano53) and Ben Ruppert (@Ben_Ruppert_21).

Featured writer Ben Ruppert also highlights some WR rankings and matchups analysis for Week 8, and draws some matchup conclusions. He tells you who he likes, who he doesn't, and most importantly who he thinks you should be starting in Week 8. You can also check out RotoBaller's overall player rankings here.

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive our full season NFL (or NBA) Premium Pass for free, a $59.99 value. Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium pass.

Week 8 Wide Receiver - Rankings & Matchups Analysis

The Lions top CB Darius Slay has been declared out for their game on Sunday, meaning DeAndre Hopkins will have all the space he needs to get open for Brock Osweiler.  Hopkins has been disappointing all season through no fault of his own; he only has two drops on 69 total targets this season. The problem is Osweiler, who struggles with his accuracy. This game presents a big opportunity for both players. The Lions have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing QBs this season, and the 10^th most to WRs. If this pair can’t break through against this Lions defense, they will struggle to do so against any opponent they face. The situation can’t be much better for a breakout performance.

This could be the week Stefon Diggs finds his groove also. After a hot start to the season, Diggs had a couple of mediocre games before injuring himself and missing a game. He played last week against a tough Eagles defense, catching two passes for 18 yards. This week the Vikings take on the Bears Monday night. Chicago has given up the most points to opposing WRs this season, after being shellacked by the Packers WRs last week. He offers a big variance this week, with a high ceiling and a floor like what we saw last week.

The Saints at home are a nearly unbeatable force. With Drew Brees able to spread the ball around to so many different targets, no defense has it easy against them. The Seahawks come into town this week, and as if things weren’t going to be hard enough already they will be without defensive standouts Michael Bennett and Kam Chancellor. It is difficult to predict who in the offense will get the ball, but these two players being out means you have to like Brandin Cooks and Michael Thomas a bit more in this matchup. Thomas has been excellent lately, catching a ton of passes as he quickly develops into Brees’ go-to guy. Cooks has big-play potential whenever he touches the ball, but showed last week he can even get the short ones, scoring on a nine-yard TD. Fire up these two Saints WRs this week, even against this stout Seattle defense. No one stops the Saints offense at home.

One player you should definitely sit this week is Alshon Jeffery. Those who drafted him with WR1 dreams have been severely disappointed this season; he has yet to catch a TD this season. Jay Cutler returning to the starting QB spot certainly helps his outlook for the rest of the season, but this week against Minnesota is not the week to expect success. Xavier Rhodes, the Vikings top CB is allowing only 24.3 yards per game to WRs this season. He has successfully shut down Kelvin Benjamin, O’Dell Beckham Jr., and DeAndre Hopkins already this season. The Vikings defense as a whole has been the second strongest in the league at defending WRs behind the Denver Broncos. Jeffery has a great season outlook, but wait to start him until after the bye week.

Donte Moncrief has started practicing this week with the Colts, and is expected to play against the Chiefs. In the absence of Moncrief this season, T.Y. Hilton has developed into an elite fantasy option, leading the league in total targets averaging 10.9 per game in one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the league. The Chiefs have given up the second most fantasy points to the WR position this season. Moncrief may be on a snap count this week, but even if he is he will have plenty of opportunities against a soft defense to make an impact. He is the 56^th rated receiver in our rankings; far too low compared to what his actual fantasy value will be this week. Hilton is a top-five play this week.

Over the past two weeks, Golden Tate has proven to be a vital part of the Lions offense. In those games, Tate has caught 14-of-22 targets for 258 yards and a TD. After seven weeks, it is Tate who leads the team in targets over Marvin Jones (53-to-52). Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said Tate will remain a focal point of the offense moving forward, even with Eric Ebron and other returning from injury. Those who waited patiently with Tate have been pleasantly rewarded over these past two weeks, and it sounds like things will be similar moving forward.

Looking towards the deeper part of our rankings, it looks as if Justin Hunter will play a big role in th Bills offense this week. The Bills are missing a ton of offensive weapons, including Sammy Watkins, LeSean McCoy, Robert Woods, and Marquise Goodwin. That leaves Justin Hunter as the de facto WR1 for the Bills this week. Buffalo normally is a run first offense, but with Brady likely racking up the points and Shady unavailable in the backfield Taylor will need to pass to keep up. With targets available for the taking, Hunter makes for a great deep league flyer.

Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings - Wide Receiver