A quick-hit recap of what really mattered from Thursday through Sunday. We skip the obvious studs and instead focus on usage trends, injuries, and key shifts that actually impact your lineup decisions.

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Daily Dose newsletter, our “Fantasy Fallout” day. In this article, you will get a quick rundown of the relevant things we learned from the week’s games from Thursday through Sunday. 

We won’t talk about every single player and we usually won’t spend time on studs who go nuts (no one needs to be told to start Bijan Robinson right now!), but rather, the idea is to update you on usage trends, injuries, and other relevant things to help your decisions with your teams for the coming week and beyond.

STEELERS @ BENGALS

• Joe Flacco passed for a monster 342-3 line with no turnovers and brought the Cincy offense back to life. The grizzled veteran threw 23 passes to Ja’Marr Chase (16-161-1) and 10 passes to Tee Higgins (6-96-1). RB Chase Brown joined in the fun with a season-best 100 scrimmage yards.
• Aaron Rodgers passed for 249-4-2 and completed passes to eight different players. Pat Freiermuth led the Steelers with a 5-111-2 line on six targets; he was one of three Pittsburgh TEs with 5+ targets.
• Jaylen Warren was afforded 21 of the Steelers’ 26 RB opportunities and racked up 158 scrimmage yards in the back-and-forth game script. Kenneth Gainwell had five touches for 15 scrimmage yards. Warren and DK Metcalf (3-50) are the only Steelers who should be priority starters in fantasy leagues for now.

RAMS @ JAGUARS

• Matthew Stafford threw for 182 yards and 5 TDs in London, tossing three of them to Davante Adams (5-35-3) and leading the Rams to an easy victory without superstar WR Puka Nacua.
• Kyren Williams and Blake Corum split the RB work with 12 carries each. Williams had three of the team’s four RB targets and finished with 65 scrimmage yards, while Corum had 43. Kyren’s managers should not be alarmed, Corum handled six of the team’s final seven RB carries in a lopsided win.
• Trevor Lawrence completed less than half of his 48 passing attempts for an uninspiring 296-1 line, he didn’t lead the Jags to a scoring drive until they were down 28 points with nine minutes left in the game. Travis Hunter was a fantasy bright spot for Jacksonville, breaking out with an 8-101-1 stat line on a whopping 14 targets (29% target share).
• Both of these teams head to their bye weeks in Week 8 off of their trip overseas.

SAINTS @ BEARS

• Saints QB Spencer Rattler turned the ball over four times as the Saints lost an ugly game in Chicago. New Orleans is now 1-6 with games against the Bucs and Rams on deck, it wouldn’t be surprising to see 2025 second-round draft pick Tyler Shough get an opportunity to start in the near future.
• Chris Olave finally turned his massive volume into a smash game with five receptions for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Olave now has 98 receiving yards in consecutive games and should continue seeing massive volume as the Saints struggle to be competitive.
• New Orleans RB Kendre Miller had seen his role grow in recent weeks, but he suffered a first-quarter knee injury, which afforded Alvin Kamara a season-high snap rate. 
• Chicago had a run-heavy game plan due to the weather and jumping out to an early lead. Don’t panic on Caleb Williams or Rome Odunze. DJ Moore could be a good trade target as he is playing well, and in different game scripts he’s sure to pop off for a big game or two in the coming weeks.
• D’Andre Swift played great again and rookie RB Kyle Monangai had his best game of the season. This will be a productive backfield under head coach Ben Johnson, especially in juicy matchups like this one.

DOLPHINS @ BROWNS

• The Dolphins are a train wreck in general, but they are also probably the NFL team worst equipped to deal with the tough weather conditions they faced in Cleveland. Next week they get to play in a dome but have to deal with the Falcons’ elite defense. Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane are the only guys you can start from Miami. Waddle and Darren Waller left the game early, the former due to the score being out of hand the latter because of a pectoral injury that will bear monitoring this week.
• Quinshon Judkins did what workhorse running backs do to the Dolphins and posted 26 fantasy points thanks to three touchdown runs. Back to reality next week against the Patriots for Judkins, but the thing we should be focused on here is that the Dolphins’ run defense gets to escort the Falcons’ running backs to the end zone in Week 8.
• No real takeaways for the Browns passing game, as they only threw the ball 18 times due to game script.

RAIDERS @ CHIEFS

• The Raiders only ran 30 offensive plays in this game. There are no words that can accurately describe that level of ineptitude. WR Jakobi Meyers and TE Brock Bowers were both out for this game but should be back after the Raiders’ Week 8 bye.
• Rashee Rice got right back in the swing of things with seven receptions for 42 yards and two touchdowns, almost all of which came in the first half. Haters will point to the lack of yardage, but Rice was immediately the engine of the offense and will have some massive games in the coming weeks.
• Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt was injured in the first quarter and did return but played less than rookie Brashard Smith for the first time this season. Smith is explosive and dynamic, and he should be rostered in all leagues.

EAGLES @ VIKINGS

Your weekly roadmap to the wire. Each Tuesday, Tony Kneepkens highlights the top adds across positions — complete with FAAB recommendations and context to help you prioritize based on your league size and format.

These are the top players to consider adding from waivers this week. Unless otherwise noted, all players below are available in greater than 50% of Yahoo leagues (as of Sunday evening). Priorities and FAAB recommendations are meant to differentiate between some of the options available and are assuming 12-team, single-QB, fantasy formats.

Week 8 teams on bye: Cardinals, Jaguars, Lions, Raiders, Rams, Seahawks

Fantasy managers will be digging deep into the waiver wire this week with six NFL teams on bye. This week, there are medium or higher priority options available at each position. Beyond some of the suggested long-term additions, I’ve also given some ideas for managers to consider for Week 8 spot starts.

QB Pickups

Jaxson Dart, NYG, Week 8 at PHI

• Dart had his first-career three-TD passing day in the Giants’ wacky loss in Denver last week. He passed for 283 yards and added a rushing TD on the ground, his third rushing TD in four starts.
• Medium-priority add. Dart has back-to-back solid fantasy finishes against tough Eagles and Broncos defenses. His rushing floor makes him a solid weekly starting option. Despite six teams on bye, QB is admittedly not the hardest-hit position but I think Dart is roster-worthy in all 12 team single-QB formats anyway.
• 5 – 15% of FAAB.

Michael Penix Jr., ATL, Week 8 vs MIA

• Penix underwhelmed in a loss to the 49ers, throwing 38 passes for a modest 241-1 passing line and losing a costly fumble in primetime on SNF. He’s day-to-day with a bruised foot, but he should have a great opportunity for a bounce-back game home against the generous Miami defense this week.
• Low-priority add. While the Dolphins are admittedly worse against the run than the pass, they’ve only held one opponent, the lowly Jets, under 27 points and I don’t see the Falcons becoming the second. Penix is my favorite spot-starting option this week among the widely available pocket passers on the waiver wire.
• 3% or less of FAAB.

RB Pickups

Kyle Monangai, CHI, Week 8 at BAL

• Monangai, a seventh-round rookie RB, was afforded 16 of the team’s 37 RB opportunities (43%) in their comfortable win over the Saints. He had performed admirably with his added opportunity, racking up 93 scrimmage yards and a rushing TD.
• Medium-to-high priority add. Monangai is roster-worthy for simply being a primary backup RB on a good offense. If he keeps anything close to a 40% split with Swift, he’s going to be even more fantasy relevant than that with some potential standalone Flex value along with his contingent upside.
• 15 – 30% of FAAB.

Tyrone Tracy, NYG, Week 8 at PHI

• Tracy handled a third of the Giants’ RB carries last week, rushing nine times for 46 yards highlighted by a 31-yard TD scamper in their loss to the Broncos. Tracy’s rushing role has been ascending the past two games, but he didn’t receive a target in the passing game either week.
• Medium-priority add. This is a longer-term hold than a recommendation for an immediate spot start. Skattebo has been solid and is certainly the preferred back at the moment, but Tracy showed just last year (1,100 scrimmage yards, 38 receptions) he has the skill set to thrive in a more featured RB role when called upon.
• 5 – 15% of FAAB.

Some additional RB adds to consider for Week 8 spot starts ::

• Tyler Allgeier (ATL, home vs MIA) – There seems likely to be enough RB production to go around for two Falcons RBs this week against a Dolphins team allowing over 150 rushing yards per game at over 5.0 yards per carry.
• Tyjae Spears (TEN, at IND) – Has 90 scrimmage yards over the past two weeks and had four targets each game. I like him as a spot starter in PPR formats.
• Kenneth Gainwell (PIT, home vs GB) – A similar play to Spears, a less exciting player on a more exciting offense, he has reasonable PPR floor if you need him.

Some additional lower-priority RB handcuffs to consider stashing ::

• Brian Robinson (SF) – Tied a season high with nine carries last week, rushing for 36 yards. One of the best handcuff RBs in fantasy football.
• Jaydon Blue (DAL) – Primary backup RB in Dallas. Saw the most work of his career last week (eight touches for 34 yards) playing at the end of the Cowboys’ lopsided victory.
• Emanuel Wilson (GB) – Top handcuff for Josh Jacobs who was added to last week’s injury report with a calf issue that he eventually played through.

WR Pickups

Each week, Juan Carlos Blanco spotlights 4–5 under-the-radar plays who combine DFS tournament upside with season-long streaming value. These matchup-driven picks are usually available in most leagues.

Each week, Streaming Sleepers will highlight at least five non-QB skill-position players and one team defense that currently have start or roster rates of 20% or less in season-long leagues but may be prudent options this week due to matchups and other circumstances, particularly in deeper formats. 

Additionally, the plays suggested here could be viable DFS large-field tournament options for the coming slate and are likely to carry modest ownership rates in that format as well.

Oronde Gadsden II, LAC vs. MIN – 4% start rate                    

We lead off with a TNF player this week, as the quality of Gadsden’s Week 7 isn’t in any way reflected in his paltry start rate. The rookie therefore makes the move up from our “Also Consider” section in Week 6 after posting a 7-164-1 line on nine targets against the Colts, Gadsden’s second straight seven-catch tally.

There’s no question the 2025 fifth-round pick – who often seems to channel his wide-receiver lineage in his fluidity, routes and usage – has taken the No. 1 tight-end job from Will Dissly. Thursday, he’ll face a Vikings defense that is going to undoubtedly permeate the Chargers’ makeshift offensive line frequently and force Justin Herbert to frequently get the ball out quickly. Minnesota has also conceded a 34-262-3 line on 45 targets to tight ends, furthering Gadsden’s already strong case.

Dalton Kincaid, BUF at CAR – 17% start rate

Kincaid is another athletic tight end in our sights this week, assuming the third-year pro is healthy enough to play through the oblique injury that sidelined him in Week 6. Kincaid had the Week 7 bye to heal up, and if he’s available for a normal workload, he’ll have a good chance to thrive as the Bills’ offense looks to send a message and get itself right with a date with the Chiefs looming in Week 9.

The Panthers’ defense has been playing much better in recent weeks after a rough start to the season, but Carolina has allowed a 40-475-4 receiving line to tight ends and 80% catch rate to the position. When Kincaid was last on the field in Week 5 against the Patriots, he brought in all six targets for 108 yards and now boasts a career-high 83.3% catch rate, 9.2-yard aDOT and 2.76 yards per route run.

Tyler Allgeier, ATL vs. MIA – 11% start rate

Xandamere breaks down the Thursday Night Football matchup with leverage angles and roster construction tips — the perfect way for fantasy players to start learning DFS through Showdown.

XANDAMERE’S SHOWDOWN SLANT

Week 8 and we’re just about halfway through the season already. We have the Vikings visiting the Chargers for a 44.5 total game with Los Angeles favored by 3. J.J. McCarthy will still be out for the Vikings, leaving Carson Wentz as the quarterback, while Aaron Jones may make his return from injured reserve to reinforce the Minnesota backfield…and so we’ll start there.

MINNESOTA

Assuming Jones returns, that removes Jordan Mason from bell cow status and should return the two backs to some sort of timeshare – probably close to an even split. This is an unfortunate development for DFS because the Chargers have been getting trampled by opposing running backs lately, allowing big performances to Jonathan Taylor, De’Von Achane, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and Cam Skattebo in four consecutive weeks. Assuming the Vikings keep things close, it’s very plausible one of their running backs has a big game, and Mason is a bit priced down into territory where he’s still in play as a contrarian tournament piece even if it’s a timeshare. I’d sooner play Mason than Jones, as it’s possible Jones gets eased back in a bit, but both are viable. They’re volatile options, but I expect ownership will be low, and so it’ll be easy to be overweight the field should you desire it. I wouldn’t pair them together. If Jones doesn’t play, Mason is in a much stronger bell cow role and at $8.6k would project extremely well, while RB2 Zavier Scott would be viable as a tourney punt assuming he’s in, and Cam Akers would fill that role should Scott miss. 

Showdown Ownership Projections!

Ownership updates automatically

In the air, Justin Jefferson is $11.8k, his most expensive Showdown price of the season, despite only having two games over 20 DK points on the year so far. Jefferson is immensely talented, but the matchup isn’t ideal, and neither is his quarterback situation. He’s a tricky play here because the ceiling is awesome, but the floor is pretty scary for his price, and yet his brand name means we’re almost never going to get an ownership discount on him in a Showdown. I’m probably a terrified-but-underweight position here. WR2 Jordan Addison, though, has actually outscored Jefferson on a points-per-game basis, which is admittedly a tiny sample size, but Addison is also very talented, and as Pulse has pointed out in our Discord, Addison actually has more 30+ DK point games in the last two years than Jefferson. Odd, isn’t it? At $7,400, Addison sure looks tempting, and since he’s priced right around all the Chargers wideouts, his ownership will likely be kept in check a bit. The WR3 is Jalen Nailor, who is in roughly a half-time role that has still earned him 3-5 targets every game; that’s a totally fair price at $3,600, and while he isn’t an exciting play, he’s a reasonable value option, and if he finds paydirt he is also getting enough volume that he probably finds his way into the optimal lineup. Worth noting: this could just be fluky, but Nailor currently leads the team in red zone targets with 8, and while I’d be stunned if that continues throughout the year, he does at least have some trust when in the red zone, and that’s valuable. Adam Thielen has been mostly removed from the offense now that Addison is back and can be viewed as a tourney dart throw at best.

At tight end, I’ve written several times already this year about how Carson Wentz has one of the highest TE target rates of any quarterback in the league going back for several years…except he hasn’t been targeting Hockenson at those rates. Is it Hockenson? Is it because he has two elite wideouts to throw to? Is it something else? I don’t know, but Hock did finally see 9 targets last week, his most of the year. I generally tend to trust years-long trends over just a few games, so I think if Wentz keeps starting for Minnesota that we’ll see some more games of 8+ targets for Hock, and $4,800 is just far too cheap if he ends up seeing that kind of volume. I’m in. TE2 Josh Oliver plays just under half the snaps and can be considered as a tourney punt option. I prefer Nailor to Oliver as he’s consistently earned more targets (25 for Nailor vs. just 7 for Oliver on the year).

LOS ANGELES

Mike Johnson (@mjohnson86) offers his rankings at each position for the remainder of the 2025 regular season.

As we approach the real-life NFL trade deadline and the mid-point of the regular season for most fantasy leagues, many teams are likely either scrambling to stay in playoff contention or trying to improve their potential playoff lineup. With that in mind, this is the perfect time for updated rankings for the rest of the season ::

QB :: 

1. Lamar Jackson
2. Josh Allen
3. Patrick Mahomes
4. Jalen Hurts
5. Dak Prescott
6. Justin Herbert
7. Drake Maye
8. Jayden Daniels (knee)
9. Baker Mayfield
10. Daniel Jones
11. Bo Nix
12. Caleb Williams
13. Jaxson Dart
14. Matthew Stafford
15. Jordan Love
16. Jared Goff
17. Trevor Lawrence
18. Joe Flacco
19. Brock Purdy (toe)
20. Sam Darnold

RB ::

1. Bijan Robinson
2. Christian McCaffrey
3. Jonathan Taylor
4. Jahmyr Gibbs
5. Saquon Barkley
6. Josh Jacobs
7. De’Von Achane
8. Derrick Henry
9. James Cook
10. Kyren Williams
11. Javonte Williams
12. Ashton Jeanty
13. D’Andre Swift
14. Bucky Irving
15. Quinshon Judkins
16. Omarion Hampton
17. Chase Brown
18. Cam Skattebo
19. Breece Hall
20. Jaylen Warren
21. Rico Dowdle
22. Jacory Croskey-Merritt
23. Travis Etienne
24. Rhamondre Stevenson
25. Alvin Kamara
26. J.K. Dobbins
27. Kenneth Walker III
28. Isiah Pacheco
29. Woody Marks
30. David Montgomery
31. Kimani Vidal
32. Trey Benson
33. Zach Charbonnet
34. Chuba Hubbard
35. Rachaad White
36. Aaron Jones
37. RJ Harvey
38. Kyle Monangai
39. TreVeyon Henderson
40. Jordan Mason

WR ::

Every Saturday, MJohnson86 posts full positional rankings (QB, RB, WR, TE, DEF) to get you ready for Sunday’s slate. Built for 12-team, full-PPR formats — with insights that translate across most league settings.

The weekend is here and it’s time to get our lineups set before Sunday’s full slate of games. Each week, the Saturday edition of the Daily Dose will feature my rankings for all players who have yet to play a game this week. Obviously this will not include the Thursday games, but always feel free to hit me up in Discord or on X/Twitter if you have some tough decisions around guys who play on Thursday. 

Most of the leagues I play in are full-PPR, 12-team leagues and these rankings are designed for those settings – you may need to make some slight adjustments based on your own league settings.

QB :: 

1. Patrick Mahomes
2. Lamar Jackson
3. Josh Allen
4. Jalen Hurts
5. Bo Nix
6. Daniel Jones
7. Dak Prescott
8. Baker Mayfield
9. Drake Maye
10. Caleb Williams
11. Jordan Love
12. Jaxson Dart
13. Joe Flacco
14. Marcus Mariota
15. Michael Penix Jr.
16. Aaron Rodgers
17. Spencer Rattler
18. C.J. Stroud
19. Andy Dalton
20. Mac Jones
21. Cam Ward
22. Tyrod Taylor

RB ::

1. Jonathan Taylor
2. Christian McCaffrey
3. Bijan Robinson
4. Saquon Barkley
5. Josh Jacobs
6. De’Von Achane
7. Derrick Henry
8. Rachaad White
9. James Cook 
10. Javonte Williams
11. Jaylen Warren
12. Chase Brown
13. Alvin Kamara
14. J.K. Dobbins
15. Quinshon Judkins
16. Breece Hall
17. D’Andre Swift
18. Rico Dowdle
19. Isiah Pacheco
20. Cam Skattebo
21. Rhamondre Stevenson
22. Tyler Allgeier
23. Woody Marks
24. Brashard Smith
25. Tyjae Spears
26. Jacory Croskey-Merritt
27. Tyrone Tracy Jr.
28. Kyle Monangai
29. Tony Pollard
30. Chuba Hubbard
31. Nick Chubb
32. RJ Harvey
33. Isaiah Davis
34. Jeremy McNichols
35. TreVeyon Henderson
36. Justice Hill
37. Kenneth Gainwell
38. Samaje Perine

WR :: 

Mike Johnson (MJohnson86) has racked up over $500,000 in DFS profit as an NFL tournament player with success in all styles of contests.

Welcome back to my (Mjohnson86) Player Grid. The format will vary slightly from JM’s Player Grid, as we each see things slightly differently and play in slightly different contests, but should complement his thoughts and content very well for those looking to build their lineups for the week. The format of this article will vary slightly from my FanDuel Player Grid, which will be more direct in terms of which players I like. Enjoy!!

The Core ::

This is a list of players that stand out to me at each position from using my “Checking the Boxes” criteria outlined in my course you can find in our Marketplace. This list is a starting point, from which I build out lineups using game theory and roster construction concepts (which we will also touch on) with the mindset being to find the best plays with big ceilings. Low ownership is a bonus, but not a must. This section will focus primarily on three positions – running back, tight end, and defense – as the other two positions (quarterback and wide receiver) tend to have more dependent tendencies which I try to attack from other angles (which we will get into in the other sections). I like all of these plays on all sites unless otherwise noted:

Running Back ::

• Bijan Robinson – The biggest concern for Bijan is the game environment might keep his usual high pass-game involvement in check, while also putting him at risk of losing playing time in the second half. The matchup can’t be any better, though.
• Jonathan Taylor – He’s got a fever, and the only prescription is more touchdowns.
• Christian McCaffrey – CMC has 22+ DK points in all seven games this season, with 42.1 last week against a good Falcons defense. The matchup doesn’t matter.
• Derrick Henry – Henry is laughably priced for a strong matchup in a game where Lamar Jackson is likely back on the field (Update: Lamar is now ruled out) but may hold back on how often he runs the ball.
• Saquon Barkley – An elite tournament option, Barkley’s salary is significantly lower than the top options but his ceiling is the same.
• Alvin Kamara – The Saints are likely going to be passing at a very high rate against a pass-funnel Bucs defense and Kendre Miller’s injury likely leaves Kamara on the field in a workhorse role. He should be heavily involved as a receiver with touchdown upside in a sneaky good game environment.

Tight End ::