Fantasy Football Recap Week 8: 23 Things You Need To Know

The dreaded Byemagadden for Week 8 of the 2025 season is almost over. Are you going to survive it? Six of 32 NFL teams are on bye week right now, including some massive fantasy football names. Rosters this week might look a little bit gross compared to the rest of the season.

For fantasy managers who were forced to throw a dart at players like Sean Tucker, Samaje Perine, and Isaiah Davis, congratulations! However, for those who settled on Kyle Monangai, Justice Hill, and Jaylen Wright, well, there’s always next week.

Before we get to the Week 8 Monday Night Football game with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Washington Commanders, let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the injured from a wild Week 8 in the NFL.

Stud Players

Which players put up the best performances in Week 8?

Drake Maye led all quarterbacks in fantasy points heading into Sunday Night Football (he would eventually be passed by Jordan Love), and left the field to MVP chants on Sunday after blowing out the Cleveland Browns. Maye passed for 282 yards, threw three touchdowns, and added 50 yards with his legs. He has scored fewer than 23 fantasy points once in the last five weeks.

Bo Nix didn’t have to wait until the fourth quarter to dominate against Dallas on Sunday afternoon. He produced 247 passing yards and four passing touchdowns to three different players on Sunday, taking advantage of a weak Cowboys’ secondary. After three inconsistent starts, Nix now has back-to-back games with four total touchdowns.

Jonathan Taylor now has four games this season with at least three total touchdowns and is up to 14 touchdowns through less than half of the 2025 NFL season. He piled up another 174 total yards and three scores on Sunday, this time on just 14 total touches, for an average of 12.4 yards per play. He is having an absolutely ridiculous season and would be the clear 1.1 if we were to draft the 2025 season all over again.

James Cook didn’t quite reach the fantasy points Jonathan Taylor produced, but Cook dominated his game as well. He rushed 19 times for 216 yards and a pair of touchdowns, amassing 33.6 fantasy points without catching a single pass. This was a much-needed reset for Cook after back-to-back games with fewer than 10 fantasy points.

Breece Hall has been through the ringer this year and hasn’t scored more than 15 fantasy points in any game in 2025, while his team watched their season go down the toilet. On Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Hall put the team on his back and led them to a 39-38 victory for their first win of the season. He rushed for 133 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also threw a touchdown to tight end Mason Taylor in the fourth quarter. When given the opportunity, Hall can still be one of the more dynamic players in the game.

Troy Franklin was the preferred target for Bo Nix on Sunday and pulled in six of eight targets for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Franklin’s 23.9 Half-PPR points were more than his last three weeks combined, but he did have 19 targets in those games. The usage has been there, and against Dallas, Franklin finally put it all together.

Jaylen Waddle took advantage of a rejuvenated Tua Tagovailoa and managed to catch five of six targets for 99 yards and a touchdown. In a day where only one wide receiver hit 100 receiving yards, Waddle’s performance stood out, especially for a team that was ineffective on offense the last three weeks.

Dallas Goedert now has seven touchdowns in his last six games, as Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles have apparently decided to evolve into a passing team lately. Goedert’s day is a little fluky, as he only had three targets on the day, with two of them going for touchdowns, but he is Hurts’ favorite red zone weapon this season.

Tucker Kraft bullied his way to seven catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns against Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football. After some time missed, he is working his way back to the production he had the first few weeks of the season when it looked like Kraft was going to be the clear TE1 this season. A full 25% of Jordan Love’s targets on Sunday night went to Kraft.

Dud Players

Which players disappointed fantasy managers the most in Week 8?

Bijan Robinson had what appeared to be the dream matchup against a Miami Dolphins defense that has been absolutely destroyed by opposing running backs. Because football can be a cruel game sometimes, Robinson finished the game with just 25 rushing yards, 23 receiving yards, and a lost fumble. A game like this, you have to just chalk it up as an outlier and hope he regresses back to his normal elite production next week.

Christian McCaffrey did not touch the ball in the first quarter against the Houston Texans, which is certainly an interesting strategy against a team with one of the best pass defenses in the NFL. He finished the game with just 11 touches for 68 yards, with 38 of those yards coming on two receptions late in the game. His lack of usage in this game was certainly perplexing, considering he has been getting RB1 and WR1 usage combined through the first seven weeks of the season.

Emeka Egbuka hoped to benefit from Chris Godwin and Mike Evans being out of the matchup against New Orleans. But he disappointed us all with just three catches for 25 targets. He did have nine targets to lead the team, so this just looked like a rare day where Baker Mayfield was off target on his throws, leading to a few field goals and only a couple of rushing touchdowns for Tampa Bay.

Darnell Mooney looked like he also would have an incredible opportunity on Sunday after teammate Drake London was ruled out before games started. Instead, Kirk Cousins found a way for Mooney to only get one catch for 11 yards in a game where the Falcons trailed by multiple scores almost the entire game. Mooney was a popular grab-and-stream player on Sunday morning, but did nothing to help fantasy managers.

Mark Andrews wasn’t able to take advantage of backup Tyler Huntley’s 77% completion percentage or 186 yards on Sunday. Andrews finished National Tight End Day with just 34 receiving yards and no touchdowns. He hopes to get Lamar Jackson back next week so those end zone targets can tick back up.

Thud Players

Which players can we shove off our fantasy rosters after Week 8?

Spencer Rattler was benched on Sunday against Tampa Bay in favor of rookie Tyler Shough. Rattler had accumulated three points and two turnovers when New Orleans made the change, even though Shough wasn’t able to do much better. There should be an announcement this week about who will start moving forward, but it shouldn’t matter. None of these guys belong on fantasy football rosters.

Marvin Mims Jr. suffered a concussion on Sunday (more on that below), which means he had more concussions than receptions on Sunday afternoon against one of the worst defenses of the last 10 years in the NFL. That’s now two or fewer receptions in four of his last six games. Troy Franklin and Courtland Sutton have emerged as the top two wide receiver weapons. And with J.K. Dobbins, RJ Harvey, and Evan Engram all secure in their roles, there just is no room for Mims.

Darius Slayton just hasn’t stepped into a bigger role for the Giants ever since Malik Nabers went down with an injury. He did have a long, 68-yard touchdown called back on an offensive pass interference call Sunday, but managed to finish with just two catches for 26 yards. The last time he had more than 44 yards in a game was on September 14.

Isaiah Likely has just had nothing go his way this season. It started with a broken foot that caused him to miss four games. Then, just as he returned, Lamar Jackson went down with an injury. With the backups, Likely has not had more than two receptions in any game this season. I am tempted to give it a week with Lamar Jackson to see if they can create some of their 2024 magic, but Likely just hasn’t proved reliable enough to keep.

Bad Blood Players

Which players’ injuries are worth monitoring after Week 8?

Cam Skattebo suffered a horrific dislocated right ankle on Sunday afternoon against Philadelphia and was already cleared for surgery on Sunday night to try and minimize the damage. He was on his way to another big game (plus a massive rookie season), so this is a devastating blow to Skattebo and the New York Giants. Tyrone Tracy now likely takes the starting role back beginning in Week 9.

Quinshon Judkins suffered a shoulder injury after 12 touches against the New England Patriots in Week 8. He did not return, and perhaps some of that has to do with the fact that the Browns were getting blown out. Cleveland has a bye week in Week 9, so Judkins has two weeks to heal, but we might not hear definitive news on the injury for some time.

Saquon Barkley broke out in a big way with 174 total yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. But he left late in the third quarter with a groin injury and did not return to the game. Barkley seemed to indicate that if the score was ever in doubt, he could have returned. Like the Browns, the Eagles also will have next week off, hopefully increasing the chances that Barkley plays in their next game.

Luther Burden III only caught one pass for negative one yard before leaving the game against Baltimore with a concussion. He did not return and will now need to pass the protocol this week to be able to suit up in Week 9.

Marvin Mims had one target and no receptions, but managed to end up with a concussion in the game against the Dallas Cowboys anyway. He will also need to pass through protocol to be able to play against Houston in Week 9, but he will be a hard player to trust after being shut out in Week 8.