Week 8 Fantasy Football Sneaky Starts & Sleepers

Oct 28, 2026

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

All but the luckiest fantasy owners at some point need to find the proverbial diamond in the rough, a waiver wire or bench player capable of putting up some points in a pinch. This weekly feature is dedicated to that part of fantasy football. It’s not pretty, but it’s part of the game.

Since Week 4, we’ve been using 2026 data only for our signature strength-of-schedule metric, adjusted fantasy points allowed (aFPA). The higher, the better the matchup.

Quarterbacks

Jacoby Brissett, Cardinals (@ DAL, 27)

Jacoby Brissett is averaging 40.3 pass attempts and 229 passing yards per game, and he’s attempted 47 or more passes in three of seven starts. Two of those were his best games of the season: 280 yards and two scores (plus a rushing touchdown) at San Francisco in Week 3 and 292 yards and three touchdowns against Detroit in Week 5. The Cowboys have been generous, allowing an average of 235 passing yards, 1.7 passing touchdowns, and 32 rushing yards per game to enemy quarterbacks, with 7.7 YPA allowed. He's a low-end, volume-based QB1 in a short week.

Sam Darnold, Seahawks (vs. CHI, 28)

Sam Darnold has been up and down, but he’s coming off one of his more efficient games, completing 20 of 28 passes for 257 yards (9.2 YPA) and a touchdown against a stingy Chiefs defense. His ceiling showed up at Washington in Week 3, when he threw for 379 yards and four touchdowns. The interceptions are still a problem, but the matchup helps. The Bears have allowed 8.7 YPA to opposing quarterbacks, along with an average of 241 passing yards and 1.6 touchdowns per game. Drake Maye threw for 321 yards and two scores (and ran for another) against them last week, and Jordan Love threw for 367 yards in Week 5. He’s a solid QB2 at home.