Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings: Top Players, Sleepers and Positional Guide

Coming off a weekend in which the top five at different positions saw Kirk Cousins, Darren McFadden, Nate Washington and others crash the party, positional rankings going into Week 8 are more important than ever.

It's important for owners to refer to rankings, which take such outbursts into account while also looking at matchups, usage, weather and much, much more to put together a guide. Such a positional guide naturally covers both the top players and sleepers of the week

Let's do so below with Thursday Night Football right around the corner.

Week 8 Schedule

Thursday, Oct. 29	Time (ET)
Sunday, Nov. 01	Time (ET)
Monday, Nov. 02	Time (ET)
Miami at New England	8:25 pm
Detroit at Kansas City	9:30 am
Minnesota at Chicago	1:00 pm
Arizona at Cleveland	1:00 pm
San Diego at Baltimore	1:00 pm
Tampa Bay at Atlanta	1:00 pm
N.Y. Giants at New Orleans	1:00 pm
Tennessee at Houston	1:00 pm
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh	1:00 pm
San Francisco at St. Louis	1:00 pm
N.Y. Jets at Oakland	4:05 pm
Seattle at Dallas	4:25 pm
Green Bay at Denver	8:30 pm
Indianapolis at Carolina	8:30 pm

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player
1	Tom Brady
2	Philip Rivers
3	Cam Newton
4	Carson Palmer
5	Andy Dalton
6	Aaron Rodgers
7	Eli Manning
8	Andrew Luck
9	Teddy Bridgewater
10	Matthew Stafford*
11	Drew Brees
12	Matt Ryan
13	Peyton Manning
14	Alex Smith
15	Joe Flacco

Quarterback might be the easiest position to project on a week-to-week basis.

It's not hard to figure out that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will perform against the Miami Dolphins, a divisional foe he's accustomed to torching.

There's also the really obvious matchup plays like San Diego Chargers leader Philip Rivers, who gets the Baltimore Ravens, owners of a defense that is allowing the most fantasy points to quarterbacks.

Dual-threat players such as Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers will always rank highly, too. He's scored 15 or more points four times already despite turnover woes and gets to engage in a shootout against the Indianapolis Colts next.

When it comes to sleepers, owners don't have to look past Teddy Bridgewater of the Minnesota Vikings. He's scored 18 points twice this season against the Detroit Lions, a divisional foe, and next gets another one in the form of the Chicago Bears, the defense allowing the fourth-most points to the position and four touchdown throws last week alone.

By now, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith qualifies as a sleeper too with Jamaal Charles out of the picture. He's only gone for more than 20 points once, but a matchup against Detroit should work wonders; the Lions allow the seventh-most points to gunslingers and have let up multiple scoring tosses in a game four times already.

Running Backs

Rank	Player
1	Devonta Freeman
2	Adrian Peterson
3	Le'Veon Bell
4	Todd Gurley
5	Matt Forte
6	Chris Ivory*
7	Doug Martin
8	Justin Forsett
9	Mark Ingram
10	Chris Johnson
11	Marshawn Lynch
12	LeGarrette Blount
13	Lamar Miller
14	Carlos Hyde
15	Darren McFadden
16	Ronnie Hillman
17	Antonio Andrews
18	Jonathan Stewart
19	Dion Lewis*
20	Charcandrick West
21	Jeremy Hill
22	Frank Gore
23	Latavius Murray
24	Giovani Bernard
25	Alfred Blue
26	Danny Woodhead
27	Eddie Lacy
28	Shane Vereen
29	Dexter McCluster
30	Melvin Gordon

Opportunities equal production at running back, so owners shouldn't freak out over Bridgewater's lead back, Adrian Peterson.

Peterson has mustered just 16 points over the course of his last two games, but the weak Chicago defense won't have an answer for his bulldozing ways, nor will he have an issue being the first back to score on the unit in three weeks after a cupcake schedule.

It's a similar story for Atlanta Falcons lead man Devonta Freeman, who only managed 12 points last week. He'll have a turnaround against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a defense that is yet to play an elite rushing attack.

One guy making the most of his opportunities? Todd Gurley of the St. Louis Rams. He's scored 15 or more points in three straight since taking over, and he's done so in tough matchups.

Sleepers are guys who make the most of these touches, like the aforementioned McFadden for the Dallas Cowboys. He posted 22 points last week, and there's little doubt he's the new starter, so a large amount of touches should offset the fact he has to go against the Seattle Seahawks. 

Smith's new lead back, Charcandrick West, should also see plenty of chances. The Lions are allowing the eighth-most points to backs this year and have let up multiple touchdowns to backfields three times, so West breaking free wouldn't be a shock.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player
1	Julio Jones
2	DeAndre Hopkins
3	Antonio Brown
4	Demaryius Thomas
5	A.J. Green
6	Odell Beckham Jr.
7	Calvin Johnson
8	Emmanuel Sanders*
9	Alshon Jeffery
10	Jeremy Maclin*
11	John Brown
12	Brandon Marshall
13	Keenan Allen
14	Larry Fitzgerald
15	T.Y. Hilton
16	Julian Edelman
17	Eric Decker
18	Randall Cobb
19	Mike Evans
20	Amari Cooper
21	Michael Crabtree
22	Tavon Austin
23	Donte Moncrief
24	Jarvis Landry
25	Steve Smith Sr.
26	Dez Bryant*
27	Martavis Bryant
28	Ted Ginn
29	Brandin Cooks
30	Brandon LaFell
31	Nate Washington
32	Mike Wallace
33	Rueben Randle
34	Davante Adams*
35	Willie Snead

The usual suspects line the list at wideout.

Falcons wideout Julio Jones once again looks to be in for a major day. He's been iffy on a week-to-week basis thanks to Atlanta's newfound emphasis on the run, but it's impossible to ignore an encounter with a Buccaneers defense allowing the fifth-most points to the spot.

Not shaky by the week? Try the target master also known as Houston Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins. He produces against anyone thanks to his role as the only pass-catching option on the offense, a reassuring situation as he also heads into a divisional matchup.

Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Antonio Brown used to boast a similar stature until an injury to Ben Roethlisberger saw him stumble to just 10 points over three weeks. Who lines up under center against the Cincinnati Bengals won't matter much though, as the defense has had problems stopping No. 1 wideouts all year.

For a sleeper, don't forget about Newton's top target, Ted Ginn. He boasts nine points or more four times already and didn't need a score to do so last week. Now he's headed into a shootout with a Colts defense allowing the seventh-most points to the position.

It's also easy to forget Tavon Austin of the Rams. The coaching staff has seemed to figure out how to use him this year, and he has scored eight or more points three times as a result. The San Francisco 49ers won't figure out a way to stop him, not while still allowing the fourth-most points to the position.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player
1	Rob Gronkowski
2	Tyler Eifert
3	Greg Olsen
4	Travis Kelce
5	Jimmy Graham
6	Delanie Walker
7	Antonio Gates*
8	Martellus Bennett
9	Larry Donnell
10	Gary Barnidge
11	Jason Witten
12	Richard Rodgers

What else needs said about Rob Gronkowski?

At this point it's more interesting to see who winds up right behind him. It's Cincinnati's Tyler Eifert this week thanks to a clash with the Steelers. Pittsburgh coughs up the third-most points to tight ends, and while some of that has to do with four touchdowns allowed to New England's duo this year, if there's one guy who compares well to Gronk, it would be Eifert.

Most interesting at a tough position is sleepers, where Larry Donnell of the New York Giants looks like an elite play as his team engages in a shootout with the New Orleans Saints, the team ranked right behind Pittsburgh in terms of points allowed on average.

Also in a good spot is Crockett Gillmore of the Ravens. He showed in Week 2 what he can do with an elite matchup when he posted 20 points, something he could do again with the Chargers in town, a team that has already allowed four scores to the position. 

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit
1	Rams
2	Cardinals
3	Broncos
4	Panthers
5	Seahawks
6	Patriots
7	Vikings
8	Jets
9	Packers
10	Falcons

What's not to like about the St. Louis Rams this year?

The elite defense has gone for double digits three times with five interceptions, eight fumble recoveries and two touchdowns. An encounter with the 49ers and the struggling Colin Kaepernick speaks for itself.

And while the Texans have been miserable this year, they're the top sleeper at the spot this week thanks to a date with the Tennessee Titans. It's hard to know who the offense will trot out under center, but it won't change the fact the Titans let up the most points on average to opposing defenses.

Kickers

Rank	Player
1	Steven Hauschka
2	Blair Walsh
3	Kai Forbath
4	Phil Dawson
5	Josh Brown
6	Josh Lambo
7	Mason Crosby
8	Matt Bryant
9	Brandon McManus
10	Stephen Gostkowski

It's time for Seattle's Steven Hauschka to once again lead the way.

Hauschka sits as one of fantasy's most reliable options, having scored in double digits five times already. An encounter with the Cowboys suggests he'll have plenty of chances again, and it doesn't hurt that the team allows the fifth-most points to kickers.

When it comes to sleepers, San Diego's Josh Lambo leads the way. He's posted double-digit outings just twice, but the Ravens happen to allow the absolute most points to the position.

If San Diego's offense sputters on the road, it will just mean more chances for Lambo.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of October 28. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com. Buffalo, Philadelphia, Washington, Jacksonville on bye.