Week 8 Fantasy Rankings: QB

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Last week saw several top fantasy quarterbacks have their bye weeks. This week, they all return. Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlsiberger, and Russell Wilson are the notable players back in action, and they all slot into the top 11 of our rankings. They are partially helped by a couple of other notable QBs that are absent from the Week 8 fantasy QB rankings, as Matt Ryan (Falcons) and Philip Rivers (Chargers) are on bye. There are always a few good streaming QBs floating around the waiver wire, so there will be plenty of options available to replace either of those guys.

For Week 8, we really like Mitchell Trubisky in a favorable matchup against the Jets. Trubisky didn't throw the ball particularly well last week, but he still notched 35.4 fantasy points, largely thanks to the 81 yards and TD he had on the ground. Plus, the Jets have a banged-up secondary and were just shredded by the Vikings. Elsewhere, Baker Mayfield (@ Steelers) and Case Keenum (@ Chiefs) both play poor passing defenses, so they could be good options this week. The only concern is that both will play in tougher road environments.

Week 8 Rankings:
Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker

One player who we're lower than normal on this week is Carson Wentz. The Eagles star gets a matchup with a Jaguars defense that hasn't been good lately but will look to bounce-back against the struggling Eagles. Additionally, the game is in London, so that could make it a bit more difficult for the Eagles offense to move the ball, as London tends to be a pro-Jaguars crowd (given that the team plays a game there every year).

Reminder: These rankings will be adjusted throughout week, so check back often for the latest updates and analysis! For even more fantasy insight, check out "How Your Fantasy Team Will Lose in Week 8" and our Week 8 preview podcast!

WEEK 8 PPR RANKINGS: Running backWide receiverTight end

Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings: QBs

These rankings are for standard leagues with 6-point passing TDs.

1 Kirk Cousins, Vikings vs. Saints. The Saints have struggled to contain passing attacks all season, and they are allowing an average of 29.46 fantasy points per game (FPPG) to quarterbacks. Cousins has posted multiple passing TDs in four of seven games this season, and in a game that could turn into an offensive shootout, he figures to put up another multi-TD game and pad his passing stats.
2 Jared Goff, Rams vs. Packers. Goff has taken a bit of a backseat to Todd Gurley in recent weeks, only accounting for three TDs in the past three games, but in a potential shootout with the Packers, we like him to get closer to his early-season production (11 TDs in the first four games). 
3 Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers vs. Browns
4 Patrick Mahomes II, Chiefs vs. Broncos
5 Andy Dalton, Bengals vs. Buccaneers. Yes, Dalton just laid an egg on Sunday night, but that was prime-time Andy. He's much better at home (23.57 FPPG), and the Buccaneers give up the most FPPG to QBs (34.8). That should make this a solid matchup for Dalton -- especially with the Bengals looking to atone for their terrible performance from Sunday night.
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6 Andrew Luck, Colts @ Raiders. In the past four games, Luck has thrown the ball 187 times and has put up at least 28.6 fantasy points in every outing. He has thrown for 15 TDs in that four-game span, as well. Considering that the Raiders have given up the 11th-most FPPG to the QB position, Luck should have a good chance to continue to thrive as a top fantasy option.
7 Tom Brady, Patriots @ Bills
8 Aaron Rodgers, Packers @ Rams
9 Jameis Winston, Buccaneers @ Bengals. The Buccaneers have no defense, no running game, and will have to throw the ball a lot to keep the Bucs in the game. Plus, Winston can do damage with his legs, as evidenced by his 55 rushing yards and score from last week. The Bengals just have allowed the eighth-most FPPG to QBs this year, and they just let Patrick Mahomes score 40.82 against them. Winston won't find that kind of success, but he could still put up good numbers in a favorable matchup where the game script should favor the Bucs passing game.
10 Drew Brees, Saints @ Vikings. Brees has a tougher matchup with the Vikings this week. On paper, the Vikings give up the ninth-most FPPG to QBs, but that number is skewed a bit by the 49-plus that Jared Goff dropped on them when some of their top defensive backs were hurt. The Saints appear to be relying a bit more on their run game with Mark Ingram back from suspension, so Brees' upside may be capped a bit more than normal.
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11 Russell Wilson, Seahawks @ Lions. Prior to his bye week, Wilson put up a couple of three-TD games while leading a steady and balanced Seattle offense. He gets a nice matchup against a Lions defense that has allowed four 20-plus point scorers at QB in six games this year. Last week, Brock Osweiler put up 21.76 fantasy points on them, so Wilson should at least match that number -- unless a run-heavy game script against the weak Lions run defense derails his scoring efforts.
12 Mitchell Trubisky, Bears vs. Jets. Trubisky is starting to become a real fantasy threat, as he is taking advantage of his scrambling ability. He has at leats 47 rushing yards in three straight weeks, and he totaled a season-high 81 yards and a TD on the ground last week. Facing a banged-up Jets defense that has allowed five 20-plus point scorers at QB in seven games this year, he should have a chance to continue his success. And that matchup moves him into low-end QB1 range for this week.
13 Cam Newton, Panthers vs. Ravens. Newton has scored multiple TDs in every game since the start of Week 2, but the Ravens defense will be tough for him to beat. The Ravens allow the least FPPG to QBs, and they did well against the other mobile QB they faced this year, surrendering just 7.18 points to Marcus Mariota in Week 6. Newton can still be started, but he might not do quite as much as his owners expect this week.
14 Matthew Stafford, Lions vs. Seahawks. The Seahawks have allowed just 15 FPPG to QBs this year, good for second best in the NFL. They haven't allowed a 20-plus point scorer since Week 1, and they even limited Jared Goff to just 16.34 fantasy points. Stafford has scored multiple TDs every week since the start of Week 2, but this may prove to be a difficult matchup -- especially since the Seahawks have forced nine picks on the year.
15 Carson Wentz, Eagles @ Jaguars (in London). Wentz is another guy who's usually a QB1 but gets downgraded because of a tough matchup. The Jaguars defense hasn't been great in recent weeks, but they still have only allowed multiple passing TDs twice in seven games this season. Wentz may struggle to move the ball a bit more than usual -- especially if the Eagles are forced to become predictable, one-dimensional, and rely too much on the pass game to move the ball.
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16 Deshaun Watson, Texans vs. Dolphins. Watson is dealing with some injury issues right now, and he has only scored one TD in each of the past three games. That's enough for us to try and avoid him against the Dolphins, who give up the eighth-fewest FPPG to the position this year.
17 Baker Mayfield, Browns @ Steelers. The Steelers have given up the fourth-most FPPG to QBs this year. Mayfield has had some issues with sacks and turnovers in his rookie season, but he should have a chance to pass for a lot of yards and put up another multi-score game. It's hard to trust a rookie QB on the road, but Mayfield still has one of the better matchups of the week.
18 Case Keenum, Broncos @ Chiefs. Before holding Andy Dalton to under 10 points last week, the Chiefs had allowed all but one QB they had faced to score at least 22.3 points. The one QB they held to less than that was Case Keenum. Keenum may be out to prove that he can beat up on the soft Chiefs coverage, and if they get down early, they will certainly throw a lot. That makes Keenum a solid streamer -- even in the tough road environment of Arrowhead Stadium.
19 Alex Smith, Redskins @ Giants
20 Derek Carr, Raiders vs. Colts. Carr has only one multi-score game this season and doesn't generate enough yardage to be a consistent fantasy threat. He won't be able to do much despite a solid matchup with the Colts (who allow the 10th-most FPPG to QBs), and it doesn't help that Amari Cooper is gone.
21 Joe Flacco, Ravens @ Panthers
22 Eli Manning, Giants vs. Redskins
23 Brock Osweiler, Dolphins @ Texans
24 Blake Bortles, Jaguars vs. Eagles (in London). Bortles was benched last week, so even though the Eagles secondary can be beaten, Bortles can't be trusted.
25 Josh Rosen, Cardinals vs. 49ers. Rosen has a solid matchup and a new offensive coordinator in Byron Leftwich. Still, before we can trust him, we have to see him put up a solid performance.
26 C.J. Beathard, 49ers @ Cardinals
27 Sam Darnold, Jets @ Bears
28 Derek Anderson, Bills vs. Patriots. Anderson threw three picks last week and scored negative points. Don't even think about it.
Author(s)
Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker is a senior content producer at The Sporting News.