RADIO
Who Should I Start for Week 8? Fantasy Football outlooks for De'Von Achane, James Cook, Calvin Ridley, Christian McCaffrey, Isaiah Davis, Malik Washington, Rashod Bateman, Jaylin Noel, Christian Watson, Sean Tucker.
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some of the most common Week 8 fantasy football lineup decisions involve players like De'Von Achane, James Cook, Calvin Ridley, Christian McCaffrey, Isaiah Davis, Malik Washington, Rashod Bateman, Jaylin Noel, Christian Watson, Sean Tucker. However, don't worry, we are here to help you 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.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Fantasy Football Matchup Outlooks
Below are some fantasy football outlooks written by our NFL team here at RotoBaller, bringing you their fantasy football analysis and advice on which players to consider starting in Week 8:
Calvin Ridley, WR, Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley (hamstring) was unable to practice on Wednesday. Ridley continues to deal with a lingering hamstring issue that he suffered during the Week 6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. He sat out in Week 7 and is missing practice to begin the week here. Fantasy managers will need to continue monitoring his status throughout the week.
If Ridley sits again, Elic Ayomanor and Van Jefferson figure to start against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 8. Also, Chimere Dike is a sleeper player to see more work after hauling in four receptions for 70 yards and a touchdown last week.
Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers have been as banged up as any team in the NFL this year, but they can beat any team in the league as long as star running back Christian McCaffrey is healthy. McCaffrey once again dominated offensive touches for San Fran in Sunday night's victory over the visiting Atlanta Falcons in Week 7, touching the football 31 times for 201 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns.
The 29-year-old do-it-all back had a season-high 24 carries for 129 rushing yards (his first 100-yard game of 2025) and added two rushing scores, as an improved Falcons defense had no answers for him. CMC added seven catches on eight targets for 72 receiving yards. McCaffrey has been the Niners' leading receiver this year and has three receiving touchdowns and three rushing TDs as a balanced offensive threat like few others in the league.
Despite another tough test in Week 8 against the Houston Texans' defense, CMC continues to be a must-start, elite RB1 in fantasy football.
Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (knee) said his "goal and my plan is to play this week" when the team takes on the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road on Sunday Night Football in Week 8, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. Watson added that his talks with the team "indicate that's the direction it's headed."
Watson, who hasn't played yet in 2025 after suffering a torn ACL in the Week 18 regular-season finale last year, was limited in practice all of last week before being held out of the Week 7 win over the Arizona Cardinals. All signs are pointing toward the 26-year-old being activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list on Saturday and playing for the first time on Sunday night, as long as he's able to upgrade to a full practice by Friday.
An explosive deep threat when fully healthy, Watson will make Green Bay's offense more dynamic, but he'll be a pretty risky boom/bust WR4/flex play in his season debut on a potentially limited snap count.
Jaylin Noel, WR, Houston Texans
Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel stepped in for Christian Kirk (hamstring) on Monday night in Seattle, and the rookie posted four catches for 77 yards. The 77 receiving yards were the highest total of all of Houston's wide receivers in the game and a new personal best for the third-round pick from Iowa State. He has been getting more work each week, and he should continue to be involved at least while Kirk is out.
Kirk missed the first two weeks of the season with a hamstring injury, and he suffered another hamstring injury Friday in practice, but there's no word on how long he'll be out. Noel brings good upside out of the slot if he gets another start against the 49ers in Week 8, and there could be even more targets available if top receiver Nico Collins (concussion) is limited or out after suffering a concussion on Monday.
Sean Tucker, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker is expected to see an uptick in opportunities in Week 8 with Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder) ruled out. Tampa Bay relied heavily on Rachaad White last week, giving him a massive 90% snap share, but that workload isn't sustainable long term and the team is likely to rotate in a second back more frequently.
Tucker has been used sparingly this season with just 11 carries for 34 yards and one touchdown, but he is the clear favorite to slot into the No. 2 role behind White this week. Still, Tucker remains more of a watch-list name than a priority waiver pickup in fantasy leagues, as White continues to dominate both rushing and receiving work in Tampa Bay's offense.
Managers in deeper formats may consider adding Tucker as a speculative bench stash.
Who Should I Start Tool
You can also see the Who Should I Start tool here.
Week 8 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - De'Von Achane, James Cook, Calvin Ridley, Christian McCaffrey, Isaiah Davis, Malik Washington, Rashod Bateman, Jaylin Noel, Christian Watson, Sean Tucker. 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 name. In the second box, search for the second player 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, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with 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 circle), 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 searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 8 for De'Von Achane, James Cook, Calvin Ridley, Christian McCaffrey, Isaiah Davis, Malik Washington, Rashod Bateman, Jaylin Noel, Christian Watson, Sean Tucker:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
