Tee Higgins reminds fantasy managers not to forget about him behind history-making Ja’Marr Chase, Rome Odunze looks to jump start his recent cold play, and Tetairoa McMillan adjusts to life with Andy Dalton under center.
Other positions: Quarterback | Running Back | Tight End/Kickers/Defense
Updated 10/26 at 11:30 AM ET. Updated Jets, Ravens and Falcons receivers following quarterback injury news. Drake London will not play and was removed from the ranks.
Week 8 Receivers
WR Notes: The last man standing of the Bucs’ big three at wideout, Emeka Egbuka gutted through his Week 7 hamstring injury to soak up 12 targets against the Lions. Tampa is still managing the issue ahead of Sunday’s game against the Saints, but Egbuka is locked in as an elite fantasy option. … I was tempted to call Egbuka the “only game in town” for the Bucs’ receiver corps, but that would be inaccurate. Sterling Shepard is providing a PPR-based WR4 floor, and seventh-round rookie Tez Johnson is mixing for a surprising amount of splash plays. Johnson is a justifiable WR4 desperation dart throw with 18.8 percent of the league on bye. … Although Joe Flacco is literally making history with Ja’Marr Chase, he’s also reviving Tee Higgins. Tee has been the WR28 and WR13 in Flacco’s two Bengals appearances. Allowing the league’s fourth worst QB rating against, the Jets are a green-light matchup for Week 8. … A.J. Brown’s reward for his Week 7 good deed of 4/121/2 is a hamstring injury. AJB frequently appears on the injury report before suiting up, but this one will require special attention ahead of Sunday’s A+ Giants matchup.
Rashee Rice is the captain now. That was made abundantly clear when he was targeted on 10-of-19 routes in his snap-counted debut. With his playing time due to skyrocket this week and beyond, Rice is looking like a no-doubt WR1. … Somewhat predictably Xavier Worthy was a no-show in Rice’s debut, though things might have been different had Patrick Mahomes not attempted his third fewest passes of the season against the non-competitive Raiders. Really letting it fly this year as he returns to QB1 overall status, Mahomes is going to have more overall opportunities to target Worthy down the field, as well as higher-quality ones with Rice commanding attention over the middle. Worthy is boom/bust, but the boom should remain. … Chris Olave finally found the end zone and, just like that, he’s the WR16 by average PPR points. Spencer Rattler has supplied Olave with a surprisingly consistent floor, but ceiling figures to remain elusive. He nevertheless gets a low-end WR1 cameo in one of the week’s higher-totaled contests with six teams on bye.
Quentin Johnston bookended his Week 6 absence with his two worst box scores of the year, while Ladd McConkey had his best day in Johnston’s Week 7 return. This has been a receiver corps that’s required projections humility, but maybe the expected targets delineation is finally taking hold. Then again, LT Joe Alt (ankle) seems to be returning, which would buy Justin Herbert more time to throw deep. The bottom line for Week 8: Both are must-start WR2s. … Rome Odunze has somehow posted back-to-back WR64 finishes since the Bears’ Week 8 bye. Not ideal. A Ravens team hemorrhaging pass-game production profiles as a perfect get-right spot, though Baltimore can also be gotten on the ground. Odunze is no longer looking like a slam-dunk WR1 as the Bears go more run heavy and DJ Moore guts through his mysterious injury. … George Pickens was the WR27 in CeeDee Lamb’s Week 7 return, but his 4/82 on six targets was an encouraging statline. Lamb’s absence allowed Pickens to perfect his chemistry with Dak Prescott, and there should be plenty of inside/outside, yin-yang football from Lamb and Pickens in the weeks ahead.
Catching 5-6 weekly passes and scoring more than 50 percent of the time, Michael Pittman appears all the way back as a floor-based WR2. … Romeo Doubs separated from the pack in the Packers’ receiver corps just in time for Christian Watson (knee) to make his 2025 debut. Week 8 opponent Pittsburgh is giving up pass production in bunches, but the Packers’ overall aerial volume isn’t high enough to sustain players like Doubs on such deep, varied target competition. Formerly pushing for WR2 status, Doubs is back to uncertain WR3. … Which brings us to Matthew Golden. The first-round rookie has been mixing in for more big plays of late, but his 14 percent target share is downright disastrous in an offense near the bottom of the pack in weekly pass attempts. There is no case for Golden as anything other than a volatile WR4 with Watson returning. … Jauan Jennings (various) is getting healthier as Ricky Pearsall (knee) continues not to practice. George Kittle won’t air ball again this week, but Jennings might finally be prepared to move ahead of Kendrick Bourne in the rankings.
Darnell Mooney is finally playing football again. He’s a WR4 pushing for WR3 status even with the Falcons’ lack of pass attempts. Ray-Ray McCloud is gone, and there is no one else behind Mooney and Drake London in this receiver corps. … What do you do with players like Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims Jr.? I’m not really sure, other than play them against defenses like the Cowboys. Dallas has the league’s worst pass D, and DAL/DEN has the week’s highest over/under. … 13.6 percent of Xavier Legette’s career receptions came in Week 7. In theory encouraging — he finally had a spiked week — but just as likely an outlier. Especially with Andy Dalton subbing in for Bryce Young, you don’t need to be jamming Legette into lineups unless you are feeling the admittedly very real bye week crunch. … With Nico Collins (concussion) and Christian Kirk (hamstring) both trending toward sidelined, no Texans pass catcher has shown enough to be worth a WR4 flier, especially for a tough matchup with the 49ers. That being said, Jaylin Noel did show more against the Seahawks than fellow rookie Jayden Higgins has all season.
