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Should I start Zay Flowers, Chris Olave, or Michael Pittman Jr. for Week 8? Fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks and recommendations for the 2025 NFL season.
With six teams on bye, you may just be trying to survive the week.
But for those fantasy managers lucky enough to have a full roster available in Week 8, there are some lineup decisions to be made to take full advantage of a potentially depleted opponent.
Today, we're looking at whether fantasy managers should start Zay Flowers, Chris Olave, or Michael Pittman Jr. this week.
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Should I Start Zay Flowers for Fantasy Football?
Lamar Jackson appears ready to return to the Baltimore lineup, meaning it's all systems go for Zay Flowers.
The Ravens' WR1 caught seven passes in three of Jackson's four starts to begin the year. Things weren't completely catastrophic when Jackson was sidelined (five catches for 72 yards against Houston & six for 46 against the Rams), but that goes to show how Flowers has refined his game as an alpha wide receiver.
This matchup is one of the best of the week. The Chicago Bears are allowing 2.24 (!) PPR fantasy points per target to wide receivers. Flowers is averaging 7.6 targets per game. The math says he's scoring 17 fantasy points this weekend.
The matchup may be even better than what the math tells us. Cornerbacks Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson are both out with injuries. The weak secondary may be even worse on Sunday.
Kyler Gordon, who popped up on the injury report Thursday, has been ruled OUT vs. Ravens. Big blow to the Bears secondary with Tyrique Stevenson also OUT.
Cole Kmet (back), Roschon Johnson (back), Braxton Jones (knee) are OUT.
QUESTIONABLE: D'Andre Swift (groin), Cairo Santos…
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) October 24, 2025
Fire up Zay Flowers as a WR1. That's where RotoBaller has him ranked this week. Even if Jackson, surprisingly, doesn't start on Sunday, Flowers is still startable as a WR2 with Tyler Huntley under center.
Should I Start Chris Olave for Fantasy Football?
Only one wide receiver has earned more targets than Chris Olave this season. Fantasy managers can't sit that kind of volume.
The New Orleans Saints' offense isn't the cream of the crop, but it's not quite as disastrous as anticipated. Spencer Rattler is connecting with Olave and Rashid Shaheed enough to keep them afloat, all while continuing to lose games.
Olave's targets, initially, were all low ADoT. That's changed in the last two weeks. His yards per target jumped from 4.46 in the first five weeks to 17.96.
Rattler to Olave again! @Saints pull within 6.
NOvsCHI on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/7swZmeEWBY
— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2025
It's very difficult to run against the Tampa Bay defense. That may change if nose tackle Vita Vea (foot) can't play, but the Saints haven't been a very successful running team anyway, with the aging Alvin Kamara leading the way. The Tampa Bay secondary, on the other hand, is middle-of-the-pack. Attacking the secondary is the way to beat the defense.
All this to say, Olave can't be benched, especially with six teams on bye and a litany of injuries at the position. RotoBaller ranks Olave inside the top 10 as a WR1 this week.
Should I Start Michael Pittman Jr. for Fantasy Football?
What do you call a matchup between the team with the best record in football versus a 1-6 division opponent without their two best defenders?
The Tennessee Titans, who already have one of the league's worst run defenses, will be without Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. The NFL's leading rusher, Jonathan Taylor, will have a field day. In fact, we've seen it already this season.
Jonathan Taylor vs. the Titans:
🔹 17 att
🔹 102 yards
🔹 6 yards per carry
🔹 3 touchdowns pic.twitter.com/GIMzbBexf2— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) September 21, 2025
But the Titans' top cornerback, L'Jarius Sneed, will also be sidelined, so we'll see a bit of Michael Pittman Jr. mixed in.
Much of Pittman's fantasy football success has come through touchdowns. He's tallied five in seven games. However, in games he didn't score, Pittman was mediocre.
As previously stated, the Colts will have zero issues moving the football, and that will open up plenty of scoring opportunities for Pittman. The return of Josh Downs (concussion) adds another mouth to feed, but Pittman should still see a good share of targets. The hope is that they come early, because the Colts are more than two-touchdown home favorites.
Pittman is ranked as a high-end WR2 in RotoBaller's rankings and should be started across the board.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 8 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Zay Flowers, Chris Olave, Michael Pittman Jr. 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 - Zay Flowers, Chris Olave, Michael Pittman Jr.. 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 Zay Flowers, Chris Olave, Michael Pittman Jr. compared to others:
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