Week 8 Fantasy WR Rankings: Tyreek Hill, Julio Jones remain high despite injured QBs | Sporting News

What’s worse: When your wide receiver is hurt or when the quarterback of your wide receiver is hurt? You might think the answer is obvious, but at least when your receiver is out, you can just play a sub. When your WR’s QB is out, you don’t know what’s gonna happen (ask JuJu Smith-Schuster owners). Our Week 9 fantasy WR rankings feature a mix of both, as studs like Adam Thielen and Will Fuller are dealing with injuries and even bigger studs Tyreek Hill and Julio Jones might be without their usual signal-callers. Fantasy football owners should already be looking for potential sleepers on the waiver wire, just in case.

The loss of Patrick Mahomes (knee) and potentially Matt Ryan (ankle) isn’t enough to knock Hill and Jones out of the starter tier. For now, we’re projecting Ryan to play, so Jones is still safely in the top five. But, again — just ask Smith-Schuster owners what it’s like when even a WR1 is dealing with a backup. Hill scored on a big play with Matt Moore under center last Thursday, which creates a false sense of security. Smith-Schuster did that in Week 3 only to follow it up with 15 yards in Week 4. He hit another long TD in Week 5, then had seven yards in Week 6. You’re always playing elite talents, but the floors are a lot lower. 

WEEK 8 NON-PPR RANKINGS
Quarterback | Running back | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker

The injured WRs are a mixed bag. Initially, we’ve left Thielen (hamstring) and Fuller (hamstring) out of our rankings, but we’ve put Davante Adams (toe), Tyrell Williams (foot), Josh Gordon (knee), and a few other “questionable” guys in. Obviously, we’ll update as the week goes on, but this should just serve as a reminder that as we get later into the season, there will be more injury uncertainty. 

WEEK 8 DFS: Lineup Builder

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One star who might be getting his regular QB back is Michael Thomas. He’s been just fine with Teddy Bridgewater under center, but with reports indicating Drew Brees (thumb) could be ready to go in Week 8, Thomas would have an even higher ceiling. This is bigger news for secondary Saints receivers like Ted Ginn, who would become a much more interesting boom-or-bust WR3 consideration with Brees back under center.

WEEK 8: Waiver pickups

Regardless of your WR situation, there are several sleepers, some available on the waiver wire, worth considering. Corey Davis and A.J. Brown (vs. Buccaneers) look revitalized with Ryan Tannehill under center, and a favorable matchup could continue to give them life. Kenny Stills (@ Raiders) is in the mix whether Fuller plays or not, but if Fuller is out, Stills is an overqualified WR3. The same goes for Olabisi Johnson (vs. Redskins) if Thielen is out. Cole Beasley (vs. Eagles) and Diontae Johnson (vs. Dolphins) aren’t exactly “high-floor” players, but they have the matchups and upside — Beasley because of volume, Johnson because of big-play ability — to work as WR3s, too.

WEEK 8 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end

Several usual starters are dropping because of worrisome matchups, including Alshon Jeffery (@ Bills), Tyler Boyd and other Bengals (vs. Rams in UK), D.J. Moore (@ 49ers), and Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry (@ Patriots). You’re still playing  OBJ, but consider the rest on the start-or-sit bubble.

Note: We’ll continue to update these rankings all week, so check back for the latest and individual player analysis. 

Week 8 Fantasy WR Rankings

These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues.