Tell your friends (just not your leaguemates until next week)
by Kevin Tompkins
Welcome to Week 8 of Angles & Leverage! As every single fantasy football content creator inserts the term “BYE-MAGEDDON”, we get ready for this week without our Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Parker Washington (and the rest of the Jacksonville Jaguars), and the Las Vegas Raiders, I suppose.
We have some clarity and insight into what these teams are doing, and we’re no longer guessing about player utilization. While the NFL is a true week-to-week league, finding angles in micro- and macro-level decision-making is a massive part of fantasy football in the middle of the season.
In this ongoing series, I will take every game and jot down any fun thoughts he has about each weekly matchup. It’s going to be a bit scattershot, but that’s when the best ideas flow. We got to almost 3,000 words this week, because there’s a LOT to talk about!
NFL Week 8 Fantasy Football Angles & Leverage
Check out our Premium Tools – Use Code “OptimusFall” for 25% OFF 4 Months!
*All odds courtesy of FantasyLabs*
*🔒 = Locked in to your lineup
Buffalo Bills vs. Carolina Panthers (46.5 Over/Under)
Buffalo Bills (-7)
🔒: Josh Allen, James Cook
- Dalton Kincaid is questionable after putting in limited practices all week for the second game in a row. He missed Week 6 before the bye, so it’s concerning that Kincaid’s practice work has stayed stagnant. Kincaid hasn’t run routes above 63% all season, and if he’s active, I’d expect him to be below that. It’s tough with six teams on bye, so Kincaid is probably a low-end starter. However, many are saying you need to be on the field to earn a target—more on this as it develops.
- The Panthers are first in success rate against the run this season, but the Bills likely “square peg, round hole” the run game against them. They’ll pass some, but remember that Carolina is trotting out Andy Dalton.
- This game could easily get away from Carolina, which would push the Bills into a positive game script and running. The Bills are 12th in raw rush rate when leading by four or more points, so when they get their lead, they’ll sit on it.
- The Bills said they didn’t use James Cook effectively before the Week 7 bye. Cook had one of his lowest snap and routes percentages in Week 6, but expect that to get back to where he was as a 65%+ snaps player. He’s one of my favorite DFS plays of the week, and he may not be that highly owned.
Carolina Panthers
🔒: Nobody
- Andy Dalton gets the start for the Panthers, and while that could be solid for pass volume, the quality of said volume is dubious at best. Tetairoa McMillan is your only starter on the passing game side.
- To illustrate how bad Xavier Legette has been before his 9-92-1 blowup game in Week 7, he was at 0.36 yards per route run on the season, and with that game on 33 routes (92%), Legette is STILL under 1.00 YPRR. His spike week seems more like an exception rather than the rule.
- Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard alternated series last week, and you can expect more of the same this week.
- Leave Jalen Coker on the bench with Bills slot corner Taron Johnson expected to match up with Coker.
The Panthers truly when with a drive by drive RB committee in Week 7
But they went back to Rico to close out the game
Snaps by Drive:
1: Hubbard: 92% Rico 0%
2: 14% – 100%
3: 80% – 0%
4: 0% – 75%
5: – 87% – 0%
6: – 0% – 80%
7: – 87% – 0%
8: – 17% – 75%
9: – 75% – 0%
10: – 0% -…— Chris Wecht (@ChrisWechtFF) October 21, 2025
New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles (43.5)
New York Giants
🔒: Cam Skattebo
- We all love Jaxson Dart and the optimism he’s brought to the Giants franchise, but this is a bad spot for him and the Giants in Philadelphia.
- The Eagles return Quinyon Mitchell and Jalen Carter; both didn’t play in the Giants’ upset win a couple of weeks ago.
- Wan’Dale Robinson is probably a solid start, as he can compile in a “PPR scam” way, which boosts his floor a bit.
- The thing we love about Skattebo is that he’s difficult to game-script out, where he can provide some receiving floor as well. A bit lesser in the way that De’Von Achane and Bijan Robinson do, but that path to fantasy points is certainly there for Skattebo.
- Tyrone Tracy has been moderately involved in this offense, as his routes and snaps jumped from up to 38% and 36%, respectively. It’s not enough to take off Skattebo’s plate, but if we get into a negative game script in this game, the disparity between the two backs will likely be more evident.
Philadelphia Eagles (-7.5)
🔒: Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert
- With no A.J. Brown, the production condenses heavily to both Smith and Goedert in the passing game, with some occasional glances to Barkley. Nobody else is relevant here in a game where the Eagles will want to get revenge on the Giants from just a couple of weeks ago.
Cleveland Browns vs. New England Patriots (40.5)
Cleveland Browns
- The Patriots are well below average against tight ends this season, giving up the 12th-most fantasy points to the position. That’s a good spot for Harold Fannin, the only non-Quinshon Judkins player you’re starting from the Browns.
New England Patriots (-7)
🔒: Drake Maye
- It’s hard to recommend a Patriots’ wide receiver with so much production spread through players like Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte. Diggs is a decent flex play, but Boutte is a bit dicier as a play in managed leagues.
- It sucks because we all want the explosive-play ability of TreVeyon Henderson, but we must eat our vegetables with Rhamondre Stevenson. I’d rather not play him against a tough Browns front. He’s strictly a volume play with the hope he gets in the end zone.
New York Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals (44.5)
New York Jets
🔒: Not a soul
- Breece Hall would be my only suggestion here, as the Bengals give up the most fantasy points per game allowed to running backs. It’s still going to be tough sledding for the Jets without Garrett Wilson, however.
- No, we can’t start any Jet. I don’t think any of us hate ourselves enough to do that.
Cincinnati Bengals (-6)
- With Sauce Gardner inactive for the Jets, Ja’Marr Chase becomes even more of an overall-WR1 candidate for this week. Tee Higgins is a fun low-end WR2 as well, with Joe Flacco/Chase/Higgins stacks back on the menu in DFS.
- I don’t hate the Chase Brown play, but the thesis has gotten a bit muddier with Samaje Perine taking on a bigger role on offense. He’s averaged 29 snaps per game over the past three games and is taking a little of the rushing work and a handful of receiving targets. Anything off of Brown’s plate cuts into the overall upside. Maybe not so much in this particular game with the Bengals at home and favored by a touchdown, but it’s certainly worth noting.
Miami Dolphins vs. Atlanta Falcons (44.5)
Miami Dolphins
🔒: De’Von Achane
- Look, as much as I’d love to tell you that you can play Greg Dulcich in DFS, the Falcons are the best defense in the league against tight ends, so I can’t recommend that.
- Jaylen Waddle is likely to play through a hamstring injury on Sunday, so he’s a WR3/flex option at the very least.
Atlanta Falcons (-7.5)
🔒: Bijan Robinson, Drake London
- Michael Penix would have been a nice start and was fully capable of taking advantage of the Miami Dolphins, like most offenses have this season. However, we cannot have nice things, so Kirk Cousins — whose mobility could be described as “frozen in carbonite” at 37 years old — will start for Atlanta. Cousins is a decent streaming QB for Week 8 and should support the weapons for the Falcons for the most part, but the fantasy floor is shockingly low here if you watched Cousins at any point in 2024. What a bad year to have eyes.
- My Kyle Pitts policy is that he’s a decent start each week, and with Miami giving yards to everybody on the field, Pitts will be a good play as long as Cousins can stay upright..
Chicago Bears vs. Baltimore Ravens (49.5)
Chicago Bears
🔒: D’Andre Swift (if active)
- Chicago has lived on the D’Andre Swift volume and is eating well. Swift is questionable, but he’s still likely to play after Wednesday’s DNP and limited practices on Thursday and Friday.
- While the roles remain excellent for Rome Odunze and D.J. Moore, they’re WR3 options with Caleb Williams finding it a bit tougher to move the ball over the last couple of weeks.
- No Cole Kmet this week, so Colston Loveland is likely to expand his routes a bit this week as a nice DFS punt play. I wouldn’t be shocked if we got too much Durham Smythe as the second tight end; however, to not put too much on Loveland’s plate.
Baltimore Ravens (-6.5)
- A very underrated player making his first appearance of the season is fullback Patrick Ricard. He’s going to add so much to the Ravens in terms of getting back to what they want to do in the run game. They have been using tight end/fullback Zaire Mitchell-Paden this season, and the efficiency in the backfield has shot way down; that was before Jackson was injured. This game could be Derrick Henry returning to form as the Ravens are at home, and Chicago allows the eighth-most fantasy points to running backs.
- With Tyler Huntley now starting for Baltimore, I’m downgrading Zay Flowers to a flex play. The floor is too low there to trust.
- The Ravens’ playing the third-highest rate of 12 personnel in the league makes Mark Andrews still viable. I’d hold off on Isaiah Likely entirely as a startable asset, however, given the Huntley stuff.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans (41.5)
San Francisco 49ers
- George Kittle didn’t record a catch on his two targets in his Week 7 return, but don’t let that game deter you from making him an every-week start as long as he’s active. His role was plenty strong at 86% of routes.
- Still no Brock Purdy, still no Ricky Pearsall. Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne are in play, but as low-end WR3 or flex options. The Texans are very tough, allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.
Houston Texans (-1.5)
🔒: Nobody
- Without Nico Collins, you’ll have to excuse me if I retch before recommending Dalton Schultz as a solid top option here. He’s actually a good play here to build off his 9-98 game last Monday night. It’s okay if you don’t remember that game; not many people were awake for it.
- It’s going to be a gross receiver room because I’ll almost bet you anything that Xavier Hutchinson will run the most routes and both Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel will run about 61% of routes each.
- If you’re going to play a back in DFS or even start one as a flex, make it Woody Marks. Marks has outsnapped and run more routes than Nick Chubb, who is doing his best Jordan Howard impression of making it painfully obvious what the offense is doing when Chubb is on the field.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints (46.5)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4.5)
🔒: Baker Mayfield, Emeka Egbuka
- Tez Johnson is a pretty fun DFS play in Baker Mayfield stacks, where the Buccaneers may not be as highly owned with Egbuka and some ambiguity outside of that with rotational wide receivers and Cade Otton.
- Of the rest of this Buccaneers lot, Otton and Johnson should factor into most of the production. However, I still wouldn’t be surprised about players like Kameron Johnson, Ryan Miller, and Sterling Shepard working in for random production spikes in a good matchup.
New Orleans Saints
🔒: Chris Olave
- All I’ve seen this week is that the Buccaneers have allowed the most running back receiving yards this season, so that makes Alvin Kamara a great play. What has Kamara done this season to give you any hope or indication that he can take advantage of that in Week 8? Right now, he’s sporting a 0.67 yards per route run on the season, and his rushing efficiency is somehow worse.
Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts (47.5)
Tennessee Titans
🔒: Nobody
- Okay, fine, since you insist. Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor in DFS as WR punt plays. Tony Pollard is a flex play in managed leagues. Calvin Ridley is still out (hamstring).
Indianapolis Colts (-14.5)
🔒: Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Warren
- Alec Pierce on the outside with L’Jarius Sneed placed on IR actually seems like a good time, along with the rest of your favorite Colts (Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Daniel Jones).
Dallas Cowboys vs. Denver Broncos (50.5)
Dallas Cowboys (-3.5)
🔒: Dak Prescott, Javonte Williams, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson
- Start ’em all, folks.
- People are worried about CeeDee Lamb with Patrick Surtain, but he’s not the one to worry about. That’s George Pickens. With Lamb in the slot in 11 personnel and then as the ‘Z’ receiver, Lamb won’t see a lot of Surtain.
- Pickens has been the one who has stayed as the ‘X’ receiver, and the Cowboys have made that well-known to the media. The team didn’t want to put too much on Pickens’ plate to learn all the wide receiver positions or move him into the slot with Lamb hurt, so they just kept him at ‘X’ and used more Ryan Flournoy.
Denver Broncos
🔒: J.K. Dobbins, Courtland Sutton, Bo Nix
- The Broncos have given up some passing yards on the season:
- Week 2: Daniel Jones, IND – 316 yards
- Week 3: Justin Herbert, LAC – 300 yards
- Week 5: Jalen Hurts, PHI – 280 yards
- Week 6: Jaxson Dart, NYG – 283 yards
- While Patrick Surtain is, of course, awesome, it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Broncos will lock anybody down. It’s a good game environment, but it’s a little shakier footing than we’d like. Denver can crater at times, but less so at home. Okay, well, maybe the 19-0 deficit against the Giants DOES count.
Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (45.5)
Green Bay Packers (-3)
🔒: Josh Jacobs
- The Packers have been quietly consolidating targets between Romeo Doubs and Tucker Kraft with the injuries they’ve had to Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, who will be out with a calf injury. Kraft is close to being an every-week option, but Doubs I’d be fine with as a WR3 going forward.
Pittsburgh Steelers
🔒: D.K. Metcalf
- After D.K. Metcalf, Jaylen Warren represents the last bastion of fantasy goodness on this team. Warren has separated himself from the Kenneth Gainwell Experience™️ in the Dublin, Ireland game, reclaiming a huge role. This game features two slow-paced teams that want nothing more than to run 54 plays each and bring the game to a crawl.
Washington Commanders vs. Kansas City Chiefs (47.5)
Washington Commanders
🔒: Nobody
- Terry McLaurin is expected to play on Monday Night Football. He’s a nice start despite the Commanders trotting out Marcus Mariota for the injured Jayden Daniels.
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt has a tough matchup against the Chiefs, who allow the seventh-fewest fantasy points to running backs. If the game script gets wonky in Kansas City, expect a bit more Jeremy McNichols. I’m not trotting Croskey-Merritt out as anything more than a “get in the end zone plz” flex play.
Kansas City Chiefs (-12.5)
🔒: Patrick Mahomes, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy
- Start your studs.
- Brashard Smith saw most of 10 of his 14 carries in the final three drives for the Chiefs in their blowout against the Raiders. All five receptions were during normal, non-prevent-defense play, so the ‘Jerick McKinnon Emeritus’ role for Smith is alive and well as a sneaky flex play.
- I really like Isiah Pacheco in this new Chiefs environment with everybody back and healthy. The Commanders are right in the middle of fantasy points allowed to backs, but the game script should be favorable for Pacheco. If Kareem Hunt does play, he’ll be banged up. His status is still up in the air after not practicing on Thursday, but he practiced in a limited capacity on Friday.
Kevin Tompkins is a co-owner of Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Kevin on Bluesky @ktompkinsii.bsky.social and right here on Optimus Fantasy!
Welcome to Week 8 of Angles & Leverage! As every single fantasy football content creator inserts the term “BYE-MAGEDDON”, we get ready for this week without our Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Parker Washington (and the rest of the Jacksonville Jaguars), and the Las Vegas Raiders, I suppose.
We have some clarity and insight into what these teams are doing, and we’re no longer guessing about player utilization. While the NFL is a true week-to-week league, finding angles in micro- and macro-level decision-making is a massive part of fantasy football in the middle of the season.
In this ongoing series, I will take every game and jot down any fun thoughts he has about each weekly matchup. It’s going to be a bit scattershot, but that’s when the best ideas flow. We got to almost 3,000 words this week, because there’s a LOT to talk about!
NFL Week 8 Fantasy Football Angles & Leverage
Check out our Premium Tools – Use Code “OptimusFall” for 25% OFF 4 Months!
*All odds courtesy of FantasyLabs*
*🔒 = Locked in to your lineup
Buffalo Bills vs. Carolina Panthers (46.5 Over/Under)
Buffalo Bills (-7)
🔒: Josh Allen, James Cook
- Dalton Kincaid is questionable after putting in limited practices all week for the second game in a row. He missed Week 6 before the bye, so it’s concerning that Kincaid’s practice work has stayed stagnant. Kincaid hasn’t run routes above 63% all season, and if he’s active, I’d expect him to be below that. It’s tough with six teams on bye, so Kincaid is probably a low-end starter. However, many are saying you need to be on the field to earn a target—more on this as it develops.
- The Panthers are first in success rate against the run this season, but the Bills likely “square peg, round hole” the run game against them. They’ll pass some, but remember that Carolina is trotting out Andy Dalton.
- This game could easily get away from Carolina, which would push the Bills into a positive game script and running. The Bills are 12th in raw rush rate when leading by four or more points, so when they get their lead, they’ll sit on it.
- The Bills said they didn’t use James Cook effectively before the Week 7 bye. Cook had one of his lowest snap and routes percentages in Week 6, but expect that to get back to where he was as a 65%+ snaps player. He’s one of my favorite DFS plays of the week, and he may not be that highly owned.
Carolina Panthers
🔒: Nobody
- Andy Dalton gets the start for the Panthers, and while that could be solid for pass volume, the quality of said volume is dubious at best. Tetairoa McMillan is your only starter on the passing game side.
- To illustrate how bad Xavier Legette has been before his 9-92-1 blowup game in Week 7, he was at 0.36 yards per route run on the season, and with that game on 33 routes (92%), Legette is STILL under 1.00 YPRR. His spike week seems more like an exception rather than the rule.
- Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard alternated series last week, and you can expect more of the same this week.
- Leave Jalen Coker on the bench with Bills slot corner Taron Johnson expected to match up with Coker.
The Panthers truly when with a drive by drive RB committee in Week 7
But they went back to Rico to close out the game
Snaps by Drive:
1: Hubbard: 92% Rico 0%
2: 14% – 100%
3: 80% – 0%
4: 0% – 75%
5: – 87% – 0%
6: – 0% – 80%
7: – 87% – 0%
8: – 17% – 75%
9: – 75% – 0%
10: – 0% -…— Chris Wecht (@ChrisWechtFF) October 21, 2025
New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles (43.5)
New York Giants
🔒: Cam Skattebo
- We all love Jaxson Dart and the optimism he’s brought to the Giants franchise, but this is a bad spot for him and the Giants in Philadelphia.
- The Eagles return Quinyon Mitchell and Jalen Carter; both didn’t play in the Giants’ upset win a couple of weeks ago.
- Wan’Dale Robinson is probably a solid start, as he can compile in a “PPR scam” way, which boosts his floor a bit.
- The thing we love about Skattebo is that he’s difficult to game-script out, where he can provide some receiving floor as well. A bit lesser in the way that De’Von Achane and Bijan Robinson do, but that path to fantasy points is certainly there for Skattebo.
- Tyrone Tracy has been moderately involved in this offense, as his routes and snaps jumped from up to 38% and 36%, respectively. It’s not enough to take off Skattebo’s plate, but if we get into a negative game script in this game, the disparity between the two backs will likely be more evident.
Philadelphia Eagles (-7.5)
🔒: Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert
- With no A.J. Brown, the production condenses heavily to both Smith and Goedert in the passing game, with some occasional glances to Barkley. Nobody else is relevant here in a game where the Eagles will want to get revenge on the Giants from just a couple of weeks ago.
Cleveland Browns vs. New England Patriots (40.5)
Cleveland Browns
- The Patriots are well below average against tight ends this season, giving up the 12th-most fantasy points to the position. That’s a good spot for Harold Fannin, the only non-Quinshon Judkins player you’re starting from the Browns.
New England Patriots (-7)
🔒: Drake Maye
- It’s hard to recommend a Patriots’ wide receiver with so much production spread through players like Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte. Diggs is a decent flex play, but Boutte is a bit dicier as a play in managed leagues.
- It sucks because we all want the explosive-play ability of TreVeyon Henderson, but we must eat our vegetables with Rhamondre Stevenson. I’d rather not play him against a tough Browns front. He’s strictly a volume play with the hope he gets in the end zone.
New York Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals (44.5)
New York Jets
🔒: Not a soul
- Breece Hall would be my only suggestion here, as the Bengals give up the most fantasy points per game allowed to running backs. It’s still going to be tough sledding for the Jets without Garrett Wilson, however.
- No, we can’t start any Jet. I don’t think any of us hate ourselves enough to do that.
Cincinnati Bengals (-6)
- With Sauce Gardner inactive for the Jets, Ja’Marr Chase becomes even more of an overall-WR1 candidate for this week. Tee Higgins is a fun low-end WR2 as well, with Joe Flacco/Chase/Higgins stacks back on the menu in DFS.
- I don’t hate the Chase Brown play, but the thesis has gotten a bit muddier with Samaje Perine taking on a bigger role on offense. He’s averaged 29 snaps per game over the past three games and is taking a little of the rushing work and a handful of receiving targets. Anything off of Brown’s plate cuts into the overall upside. Maybe not so much in this particular game with the Bengals at home and favored by a touchdown, but it’s certainly worth noting.
Miami Dolphins vs. Atlanta Falcons (44.5)
Miami Dolphins
🔒: De’Von Achane
- Look, as much as I’d love to tell you that you can play Greg Dulcich in DFS, the Falcons are the best defense in the league against tight ends, so I can’t recommend that.
- Jaylen Waddle is likely to play through a hamstring injury on Sunday, so he’s a WR3/flex option at the very least.
Atlanta Falcons (-7.5)
🔒: Bijan Robinson, Drake London
- Michael Penix would have been a nice start and was fully capable of taking advantage of the Miami Dolphins, like most offenses have this season. However, we cannot have nice things, so Kirk Cousins — whose mobility could be described as “frozen in carbonite” at 37 years old — will start for Atlanta. Cousins is a decent streaming QB for Week 8 and should support the weapons for the Falcons for the most part, but the fantasy floor is shockingly low here if you watched Cousins at any point in 2024. What a bad year to have eyes.
- My Kyle Pitts policy is that he’s a decent start each week, and with Miami giving yards to everybody on the field, Pitts will be a good play as long as Cousins can stay upright..
Chicago Bears vs. Baltimore Ravens (49.5)
Chicago Bears
🔒: D’Andre Swift (if active)
- Chicago has lived on the D’Andre Swift volume and is eating well. Swift is questionable, but he’s still likely to play after Wednesday’s DNP and limited practices on Thursday and Friday.
- While the roles remain excellent for Rome Odunze and D.J. Moore, they’re WR3 options with Caleb Williams finding it a bit tougher to move the ball over the last couple of weeks.
- No Cole Kmet this week, so Colston Loveland is likely to expand his routes a bit this week as a nice DFS punt play. I wouldn’t be shocked if we got too much Durham Smythe as the second tight end; however, to not put too much on Loveland’s plate.
Baltimore Ravens (-6.5)
- A very underrated player making his first appearance of the season is fullback Patrick Ricard. He’s going to add so much to the Ravens in terms of getting back to what they want to do in the run game. They have been using tight end/fullback Zaire Mitchell-Paden this season, and the efficiency in the backfield has shot way down; that was before Jackson was injured. This game could be Derrick Henry returning to form as the Ravens are at home, and Chicago allows the eighth-most fantasy points to running backs.
- With Tyler Huntley now starting for Baltimore, I’m downgrading Zay Flowers to a flex play. The floor is too low there to trust.
- The Ravens’ playing the third-highest rate of 12 personnel in the league makes Mark Andrews still viable. I’d hold off on Isaiah Likely entirely as a startable asset, however, given the Huntley stuff.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans (41.5)
San Francisco 49ers
- George Kittle didn’t record a catch on his two targets in his Week 7 return, but don’t let that game deter you from making him an every-week start as long as he’s active. His role was plenty strong at 86% of routes.
- Still no Brock Purdy, still no Ricky Pearsall. Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne are in play, but as low-end WR3 or flex options. The Texans are very tough, allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.
Houston Texans (-1.5)
🔒: Nobody
- Without Nico Collins, you’ll have to excuse me if I retch before recommending Dalton Schultz as a solid top option here. He’s actually a good play here to build off his 9-98 game last Monday night. It’s okay if you don’t remember that game; not many people were awake for it.
- It’s going to be a gross receiver room because I’ll almost bet you anything that Xavier Hutchinson will run the most routes and both Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel will run about 61% of routes each.
- If you’re going to play a back in DFS or even start one as a flex, make it Woody Marks. Marks has outsnapped and run more routes than Nick Chubb, who is doing his best Jordan Howard impression of making it painfully obvious what the offense is doing when Chubb is on the field.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints (46.5)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4.5)
🔒: Baker Mayfield, Emeka Egbuka
- Tez Johnson is a pretty fun DFS play in Baker Mayfield stacks, where the Buccaneers may not be as highly owned with Egbuka and some ambiguity outside of that with rotational wide receivers and Cade Otton.
- Of the rest of this Buccaneers lot, Otton and Johnson should factor into most of the production. However, I still wouldn’t be surprised about players like Kameron Johnson, Ryan Miller, and Sterling Shepard working in for random production spikes in a good matchup.
New Orleans Saints
🔒: Chris Olave
- All I’ve seen this week is that the Buccaneers have allowed the most running back receiving yards this season, so that makes Alvin Kamara a great play. What has Kamara done this season to give you any hope or indication that he can take advantage of that in Week 8? Right now, he’s sporting a 0.67 yards per route run on the season, and his rushing efficiency is somehow worse.
Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts (47.5)
Tennessee Titans
🔒: Nobody
- Okay, fine, since you insist. Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor in DFS as WR punt plays. Tony Pollard is a flex play in managed leagues. Calvin Ridley is still out (hamstring).
Indianapolis Colts (-14.5)
🔒: Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Warren
- Alec Pierce on the outside with L’Jarius Sneed placed on IR actually seems like a good time, along with the rest of your favorite Colts (Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Daniel Jones).
Dallas Cowboys vs. Denver Broncos (50.5)
Dallas Cowboys (-3.5)
🔒: Dak Prescott, Javonte Williams, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson
- Start ’em all, folks.
- People are worried about CeeDee Lamb with Patrick Surtain, but he’s not the one to worry about. That’s George Pickens. With Lamb in the slot in 11 personnel and then as the ‘Z’ receiver, Lamb won’t see a lot of Surtain.
- Pickens has been the one who has stayed as the ‘X’ receiver, and the Cowboys have made that well-known to the media. The team didn’t want to put too much on Pickens’ plate to learn all the wide receiver positions or move him into the slot with Lamb hurt, so they just kept him at ‘X’ and used more Ryan Flournoy.
Denver Broncos
🔒: J.K. Dobbins, Courtland Sutton, Bo Nix
- The Broncos have given up some passing yards on the season:
- Week 2: Daniel Jones, IND – 316 yards
- Week 3: Justin Herbert, LAC – 300 yards
- Week 5: Jalen Hurts, PHI – 280 yards
- Week 6: Jaxson Dart, NYG – 283 yards
- While Patrick Surtain is, of course, awesome, it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Broncos will lock anybody down. It’s a good game environment, but it’s a little shakier footing than we’d like. Denver can crater at times, but less so at home. Okay, well, maybe the 19-0 deficit against the Giants DOES count.
Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (45.5)
Green Bay Packers (-3)
🔒: Josh Jacobs
- The Packers have been quietly consolidating targets between Romeo Doubs and Tucker Kraft with the injuries they’ve had to Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, who will be out with a calf injury. Kraft is close to being an every-week option, but Doubs I’d be fine with as a WR3 going forward.
Pittsburgh Steelers
🔒: D.K. Metcalf
- After D.K. Metcalf, Jaylen Warren represents the last bastion of fantasy goodness on this team. Warren has separated himself from the Kenneth Gainwell Experience™️ in the Dublin, Ireland game, reclaiming a huge role. This game features two slow-paced teams that want nothing more than to run 54 plays each and bring the game to a crawl.
Washington Commanders vs. Kansas City Chiefs (47.5)
Washington Commanders
🔒: Nobody
- Terry McLaurin is expected to play on Monday Night Football. He’s a nice start despite the Commanders trotting out Marcus Mariota for the injured Jayden Daniels.
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt has a tough matchup against the Chiefs, who allow the seventh-fewest fantasy points to running backs. If the game script gets wonky in Kansas City, expect a bit more Jeremy McNichols. I’m not trotting Croskey-Merritt out as anything more than a “get in the end zone plz” flex play.
Kansas City Chiefs (-12.5)
🔒: Patrick Mahomes, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy
- Start your studs.
- Brashard Smith saw most of 10 of his 14 carries in the final three drives for the Chiefs in their blowout against the Raiders. All five receptions were during normal, non-prevent-defense play, so the ‘Jerick McKinnon Emeritus’ role for Smith is alive and well as a sneaky flex play.
- I really like Isiah Pacheco in this new Chiefs environment with everybody back and healthy. The Commanders are right in the middle of fantasy points allowed to backs, but the game script should be favorable for Pacheco. If Kareem Hunt does play, he’ll be banged up. His status is still up in the air after not practicing on Thursday, but he practiced in a limited capacity on Friday.
Kevin Tompkins is a co-owner of Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Kevin on Bluesky @ktompkinsii.bsky.social and right here on Optimus Fantasy!
Welcome to Week 8 of Angles & Leverage! As every single fantasy football content creator inserts the term “BYE-MAGEDDON”, we get ready for this week without our Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Parker Washington (and the rest of the Jacksonville Jaguars), and the Las Vegas Raiders, I suppose.
We have some clarity and insight into what these teams are doing, and we’re no longer guessing about player utilization. While the NFL is a true week-to-week league, finding angles in micro- and macro-level decision-making is a massive part of fantasy football in the middle of the season.
In this ongoing series, I will take every game and jot down any fun thoughts he has about each weekly matchup. It’s going to be a bit scattershot, but that’s when the best ideas flow. We got to almost 3,000 words this week, because there’s a LOT to talk about!
NFL Week 8 Fantasy Football Angles & Leverage
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*🔒 = Locked in to your lineup
Buffalo Bills vs. Carolina Panthers (46.5 Over/Under)
Buffalo Bills (-7)
🔒: Josh Allen, James Cook
- Dalton Kincaid is questionable after putting in limited practices all week for the second game in a row. He missed Week 6 before the bye, so it’s concerning that Kincaid’s practice work has stayed stagnant. Kincaid hasn’t run routes above 63% all season, and if he’s active, I’d expect him to be below that. It’s tough with six teams on bye, so Kincaid is probably a low-end starter. However, many are saying you need to be on the field to earn a target—more on this as it develops.
- The Panthers are first in success rate against the run this season, but the Bills likely “square peg, round hole” the run game against them. They’ll pass some, but remember that Carolina is trotting out Andy Dalton.
- This game could easily get away from Carolina, which would push the Bills into a positive game script and running. The Bills are 12th in raw rush rate when leading by four or more points, so when they get their lead, they’ll sit on it.
- The Bills said they didn’t use James Cook effectively before the Week 7 bye. Cook had one of his lowest snap and routes percentages in Week 6, but expect that to get back to where he was as a 65%+ snaps player. He’s one of my favorite DFS plays of the week, and he may not be that highly owned.
Carolina Panthers
🔒: Nobody
- Andy Dalton gets the start for the Panthers, and while that could be solid for pass volume, the quality of said volume is dubious at best. Tetairoa McMillan is your only starter on the passing game side.
- To illustrate how bad Xavier Legette has been before his 9-92-1 blowup game in Week 7, he was at 0.36 yards per route run on the season, and with that game on 33 routes (92%), Legette is STILL under 1.00 YPRR. His spike week seems more like an exception rather than the rule.
- Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard alternated series last week, and you can expect more of the same this week.
- Leave Jalen Coker on the bench with Bills slot corner Taron Johnson expected to match up with Coker.
The Panthers truly when with a drive by drive RB committee in Week 7
But they went back to Rico to close out the game
Snaps by Drive:
1: Hubbard: 92% Rico 0%
2: 14% – 100%
3: 80% – 0%
4: 0% – 75%
5: – 87% – 0%
6: – 0% – 80%
7: – 87% – 0%
8: – 17% – 75%
9: – 75% – 0%
10: – 0% -…— Chris Wecht (@ChrisWechtFF) October 21, 2025
New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles (43.5)
New York Giants
🔒: Cam Skattebo
- We all love Jaxson Dart and the optimism he’s brought to the Giants franchise, but this is a bad spot for him and the Giants in Philadelphia.
- The Eagles return Quinyon Mitchell and Jalen Carter; both didn’t play in the Giants’ upset win a couple of weeks ago.
- Wan’Dale Robinson is probably a solid start, as he can compile in a “PPR scam” way, which boosts his floor a bit.
- The thing we love about Skattebo is that he’s difficult to game-script out, where he can provide some receiving floor as well. A bit lesser in the way that De’Von Achane and Bijan Robinson do, but that path to fantasy points is certainly there for Skattebo.
- Tyrone Tracy has been moderately involved in this offense, as his routes and snaps jumped from up to 38% and 36%, respectively. It’s not enough to take off Skattebo’s plate, but if we get into a negative game script in this game, the disparity between the two backs will likely be more evident.
Philadelphia Eagles (-7.5)
🔒: Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert
- With no A.J. Brown, the production condenses heavily to both Smith and Goedert in the passing game, with some occasional glances to Barkley. Nobody else is relevant here in a game where the Eagles will want to get revenge on the Giants from just a couple of weeks ago.
Cleveland Browns vs. New England Patriots (40.5)
Cleveland Browns
- The Patriots are well below average against tight ends this season, giving up the 12th-most fantasy points to the position. That’s a good spot for Harold Fannin, the only non-Quinshon Judkins player you’re starting from the Browns.
New England Patriots (-7)
🔒: Drake Maye
- It’s hard to recommend a Patriots’ wide receiver with so much production spread through players like Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte. Diggs is a decent flex play, but Boutte is a bit dicier as a play in managed leagues.
- It sucks because we all want the explosive-play ability of TreVeyon Henderson, but we must eat our vegetables with Rhamondre Stevenson. I’d rather not play him against a tough Browns front. He’s strictly a volume play with the hope he gets in the end zone.
New York Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals (44.5)
New York Jets
🔒: Not a soul
- Breece Hall would be my only suggestion here, as the Bengals give up the most fantasy points per game allowed to running backs. It’s still going to be tough sledding for the Jets without Garrett Wilson, however.
- No, we can’t start any Jet. I don’t think any of us hate ourselves enough to do that.
Cincinnati Bengals (-6)
- With Sauce Gardner inactive for the Jets, Ja’Marr Chase becomes even more of an overall-WR1 candidate for this week. Tee Higgins is a fun low-end WR2 as well, with Joe Flacco/Chase/Higgins stacks back on the menu in DFS.
- I don’t hate the Chase Brown play, but the thesis has gotten a bit muddier with Samaje Perine taking on a bigger role on offense. He’s averaged 29 snaps per game over the past three games and is taking a little of the rushing work and a handful of receiving targets. Anything off of Brown’s plate cuts into the overall upside. Maybe not so much in this particular game with the Bengals at home and favored by a touchdown, but it’s certainly worth noting.
Miami Dolphins vs. Atlanta Falcons (44.5)
Miami Dolphins
🔒: De’Von Achane
- Look, as much as I’d love to tell you that you can play Greg Dulcich in DFS, the Falcons are the best defense in the league against tight ends, so I can’t recommend that.
- Jaylen Waddle is likely to play through a hamstring injury on Sunday, so he’s a WR3/flex option at the very least.
Atlanta Falcons (-7.5)
🔒: Bijan Robinson, Drake London
- Michael Penix would have been a nice start and was fully capable of taking advantage of the Miami Dolphins, like most offenses have this season. However, we cannot have nice things, so Kirk Cousins — whose mobility could be described as “frozen in carbonite” at 37 years old — will start for Atlanta. Cousins is a decent streaming QB for Week 8 and should support the weapons for the Falcons for the most part, but the fantasy floor is shockingly low here if you watched Cousins at any point in 2024. What a bad year to have eyes.
- My Kyle Pitts policy is that he’s a decent start each week, and with Miami giving yards to everybody on the field, Pitts will be a good play as long as Cousins can stay upright..
Chicago Bears vs. Baltimore Ravens (49.5)
Chicago Bears
🔒: D’Andre Swift (if active)
- Chicago has lived on the D’Andre Swift volume and is eating well. Swift is questionable, but he’s still likely to play after Wednesday’s DNP and limited practices on Thursday and Friday.
- While the roles remain excellent for Rome Odunze and D.J. Moore, they’re WR3 options with Caleb Williams finding it a bit tougher to move the ball over the last couple of weeks.
- No Cole Kmet this week, so Colston Loveland is likely to expand his routes a bit this week as a nice DFS punt play. I wouldn’t be shocked if we got too much Durham Smythe as the second tight end; however, to not put too much on Loveland’s plate.
Baltimore Ravens (-6.5)
- A very underrated player making his first appearance of the season is fullback Patrick Ricard. He’s going to add so much to the Ravens in terms of getting back to what they want to do in the run game. They have been using tight end/fullback Zaire Mitchell-Paden this season, and the efficiency in the backfield has shot way down; that was before Jackson was injured. This game could be Derrick Henry returning to form as the Ravens are at home, and Chicago allows the eighth-most fantasy points to running backs.
- With Tyler Huntley now starting for Baltimore, I’m downgrading Zay Flowers to a flex play. The floor is too low there to trust.
- The Ravens’ playing the third-highest rate of 12 personnel in the league makes Mark Andrews still viable. I’d hold off on Isaiah Likely entirely as a startable asset, however, given the Huntley stuff.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans (41.5)
San Francisco 49ers
- George Kittle didn’t record a catch on his two targets in his Week 7 return, but don’t let that game deter you from making him an every-week start as long as he’s active. His role was plenty strong at 86% of routes.
- Still no Brock Purdy, still no Ricky Pearsall. Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne are in play, but as low-end WR3 or flex options. The Texans are very tough, allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.
Houston Texans (-1.5)
🔒: Nobody
- Without Nico Collins, you’ll have to excuse me if I retch before recommending Dalton Schultz as a solid top option here. He’s actually a good play here to build off his 9-98 game last Monday night. It’s okay if you don’t remember that game; not many people were awake for it.
- It’s going to be a gross receiver room because I’ll almost bet you anything that Xavier Hutchinson will run the most routes and both Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel will run about 61% of routes each.
- If you’re going to play a back in DFS or even start one as a flex, make it Woody Marks. Marks has outsnapped and run more routes than Nick Chubb, who is doing his best Jordan Howard impression of making it painfully obvious what the offense is doing when Chubb is on the field.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints (46.5)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4.5)
🔒: Baker Mayfield, Emeka Egbuka
- Tez Johnson is a pretty fun DFS play in Baker Mayfield stacks, where the Buccaneers may not be as highly owned with Egbuka and some ambiguity outside of that with rotational wide receivers and Cade Otton.
- Of the rest of this Buccaneers lot, Otton and Johnson should factor into most of the production. However, I still wouldn’t be surprised about players like Kameron Johnson, Ryan Miller, and Sterling Shepard working in for random production spikes in a good matchup.
New Orleans Saints
🔒: Chris Olave
- All I’ve seen this week is that the Buccaneers have allowed the most running back receiving yards this season, so that makes Alvin Kamara a great play. What has Kamara done this season to give you any hope or indication that he can take advantage of that in Week 8? Right now, he’s sporting a 0.67 yards per route run on the season, and his rushing efficiency is somehow worse.
Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts (47.5)
Tennessee Titans
🔒: Nobody
- Okay, fine, since you insist. Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor in DFS as WR punt plays. Tony Pollard is a flex play in managed leagues. Calvin Ridley is still out (hamstring).
Indianapolis Colts (-14.5)
🔒: Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Warren
- Alec Pierce on the outside with L’Jarius Sneed placed on IR actually seems like a good time, along with the rest of your favorite Colts (Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Daniel Jones).
Dallas Cowboys vs. Denver Broncos (50.5)
Dallas Cowboys (-3.5)
🔒: Dak Prescott, Javonte Williams, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson
- Start ’em all, folks.
- People are worried about CeeDee Lamb with Patrick Surtain, but he’s not the one to worry about. That’s George Pickens. With Lamb in the slot in 11 personnel and then as the ‘Z’ receiver, Lamb won’t see a lot of Surtain.
- Pickens has been the one who has stayed as the ‘X’ receiver, and the Cowboys have made that well-known to the media. The team didn’t want to put too much on Pickens’ plate to learn all the wide receiver positions or move him into the slot with Lamb hurt, so they just kept him at ‘X’ and used more Ryan Flournoy.
Denver Broncos
🔒: J.K. Dobbins, Courtland Sutton, Bo Nix
- The Broncos have given up some passing yards on the season:
- Week 2: Daniel Jones, IND – 316 yards
- Week 3: Justin Herbert, LAC – 300 yards
- Week 5: Jalen Hurts, PHI – 280 yards
- Week 6: Jaxson Dart, NYG – 283 yards
- While Patrick Surtain is, of course, awesome, it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Broncos will lock anybody down. It’s a good game environment, but it’s a little shakier footing than we’d like. Denver can crater at times, but less so at home. Okay, well, maybe the 19-0 deficit against the Giants DOES count.
Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (45.5)
Green Bay Packers (-3)
🔒: Josh Jacobs
- The Packers have been quietly consolidating targets between Romeo Doubs and Tucker Kraft with the injuries they’ve had to Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, who will be out with a calf injury. Kraft is close to being an every-week option, but Doubs I’d be fine with as a WR3 going forward.
Pittsburgh Steelers
🔒: D.K. Metcalf
- After D.K. Metcalf, Jaylen Warren represents the last bastion of fantasy goodness on this team. Warren has separated himself from the Kenneth Gainwell Experience™️ in the Dublin, Ireland game, reclaiming a huge role. This game features two slow-paced teams that want nothing more than to run 54 plays each and bring the game to a crawl.
Washington Commanders vs. Kansas City Chiefs (47.5)
Washington Commanders
🔒: Nobody
- Terry McLaurin is expected to play on Monday Night Football. He’s a nice start despite the Commanders trotting out Marcus Mariota for the injured Jayden Daniels.
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt has a tough matchup against the Chiefs, who allow the seventh-fewest fantasy points to running backs. If the game script gets wonky in Kansas City, expect a bit more Jeremy McNichols. I’m not trotting Croskey-Merritt out as anything more than a “get in the end zone plz” flex play.
Kansas City Chiefs (-12.5)
🔒: Patrick Mahomes, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy
- Start your studs.
- Brashard Smith saw most of 10 of his 14 carries in the final three drives for the Chiefs in their blowout against the Raiders. All five receptions were during normal, non-prevent-defense play, so the ‘Jerick McKinnon Emeritus’ role for Smith is alive and well as a sneaky flex play.
- I really like Isiah Pacheco in this new Chiefs environment with everybody back and healthy. The Commanders are right in the middle of fantasy points allowed to backs, but the game script should be favorable for Pacheco. If Kareem Hunt does play, he’ll be banged up. His status is still up in the air after not practicing on Thursday, but he practiced in a limited capacity on Friday.
Kevin Tompkins is a co-owner of Optimus Fantasy Football. Find more from Kevin on Bluesky @ktompkinsii.bsky.social and right here on Optimus Fantasy!
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