Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings: Projections and Matchups to Love

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles leads all fantasy football scorers in Week 8.

So yes, it's going to be a bit of an odd week in the old fake-football world.

Bortles posted a miserable outing on Thursday Night Football in a 36-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Not that it matters, because he threw three meaningless touchdowns that were anything but meaningless in the fantasy realm because they helped him tally 29 points.

It serves as a reminder that no one is perfect in the fantasy realm, and the best one can do is analyze and play the best matchups for stars, sleepers and those who go floating in purgatory between the two categories.

Here's a look at projections for the rest of the week and matchups to love.

Week 8 Schedule

Sunday, October 30	Time (ET)
Monday, October 31
Washington at Cincinnati	9:30 a.m.
N.Y. Jets at Cleveland	1 p.m.
Seattle at New Orleans	1 p.m.
Arizona at Carolina	1 p.m.
New England at Buffalo	1 p.m.
Oakland at Tampa Bay	1 p.m.
Kansas City at Indianapolis	1 p.m.
Detroit at Houston	1 p.m.
San Diego at Denver	4:05 p.m.
Green Bay at Atlanta	4:25 p.m
Philadelphia at Dallas	8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Chicago	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Aaron Rodgers	26
2	Tom Brady	24
3	Matt Ryan	21
4	Jameis Winston	19
5	Cam Newton	19
6	Alex Smith	18
7	Russell Wilson	18
8	Ryan Fitzpatrick	17
9	Andrew Luck	17
10	Carson Palmer	16
11	Drew Brees	14
12	Dak Prescott	12
13	Andy Dalton	12
14	Kirk Cousins	12
15	Derek Carr	12

Tom Brady has those fantasy owners who waited on him grinning like Jack Nicholson.

The New England Patriots quarterback has gone for 29, 27 and 17 points since his return from suspension and now gets to take on the Buffalo Bills in Week 8.

Buffalo ranks well against quarterbacks, but over the past two weeks, it has allowed a minimum of 16 points to opposing signal-callers—Ryan Tannehill and Colin Kaepernick.

Brady isn't either of those guys, and making this even more attractive is the fact this is a revenge matchup of sorts after Buffalo took a Week 4 contest against New England while Brady watched from the sidelines. He's going to send a message over the weekend.

Then there is Matt Ryan, MVP contender.

Ryan led all scorers at the position going into Week 8, and he has the Atlanta Falcons offense and his owners flying high. He's scored 21 or more points four times this year and looks ready to engage in a shootout with the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay also does rather well against opposing quarterbacks, but it has coughed up three touchdowns to a pair of quarterbacks this year. In what should turn into a shootout, Ryan at home is the name to know.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	DeMarco Murray	16
2	Ezekiel Elliott	15
3	Christine Michael	15
4	Spencer Ware	15
5	Devontae Booker	14
6	David Johnson	14
7	Lamar Miller*	13
8	Matt Forte	13
9	Frank Gore	13
10	Devonta Freeman	12
11	Melvin Gordon	12
12	Jacquizz Rodgers	12
13	Chris Thompson	12
14	Isaiah Crowell	11
15	Theo Riddick	11
16	Ty Montgomery	11
17	LeGarrette Blount	10
18	Mark Ingram	10
19	Latavius Murray	10
20	Mike Gillislee*	10
21	James White	9
22	Jonathan Stewart	9
23	Giovani Bernard	8
24	Jerick McKinnon*	8
25	Duke Johnson Jr.	8
26	Bilal Powell*	7
27	Ryan Mathews	7
28	Matt Asiata	7
29	Matt Jones*	6
30	Jeremy Hill	6

Week 8 places an emphasis on replacements at running back.

The first notable is Spencer Ware of the Kansas City Chiefs. Continuing to fill in for Jamaal Charles, Ware has made it almost impossible for the Chiefs to ignore him when the starter does return to form.

Ditto for owners, who have now received 18 or more points in three games thanks to Ware's versatility. With Charles only receiving a single carry in Week 7 because the injury is still an issue, it's Ware's backfield in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts.

It's as good as it sounds—the Colts allow the fourth-most points to running backs on average and have even allowed three opposing backfields to tally 22 or more points, including a high of 45.

While an even lesser-known name, Devontae Booker of the Denver Broncos sits in the same situation. With starter C.J. Anderson on the shelf, Booker looks like starter material regardless of matchup.

Booker ran 17 times for 83 yards and a score, good for 14 points, against the Houston Texans defense in Week 7. Now it gets easier against the San Diego Chargers, a team close to the Colts in the rankings against backs thanks to allowances of 21 or more points five times.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Mike Evans	17
2	Julio Jones	17
3	Larry Fitzgerald	16
4	A.J. Green	16
5	Brandon Marshall*	16
6	Doug Baldwin	16
7	Michael Crabtree	15
8	T.Y. Hilton	15
9	Emmanuel Sanders	13
10	DeAndre Hopkins	13
11	Jordy Nelson	12
12	Ty Montgomery	11
13	Randall Cobb	11
14	Demaryius Thomas	10
15	Dez Bryant*	10
16	Marvin Jones	10
17	Terrelle Pryor Sr.*	10
18	Julian Edelman	10
19	Amari Cooper	10
20	Alshon Jeffery	9
21	Brandin Cooks	9
22	Will Fuller V	9
23	John Brown*	8
24	Kelvin Benjamin	8
25	Stefon Diggs	8
26	Willie Snead	8
27	Jordan Matthews	8
28	Jeremy Maclin	8
29	Quincy Enunwa	7
30	Golden Tate	7
31	Davante Adams	7
32	Cole Beasley	7
33	Mohamed Sanu	6
34	Cameron Meredith	6
35	DeSean Jackson	6

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans has remained relatively under the radar this year despite sitting fourth in scoring at the position entering Week 8.

Evans, for whatever reason, only sits owned in 81 percent of leagues. For shame, considering he has a touchdown and double-digit output in five of his six games this year.

Expect the train to keep chugging right along, too, because Evans gets to beat up on the Oakland Raiders in Week 8. The unit has allowed 25 or more points to four opposing sets of wideouts this year.

Look for Cincinnati Bengals wideout A.J. Green to finish right up there as well. Green does his damage in major bursts, hence his four trips to single digits this year and three outings of 22 or more points.

It's going to be another big outing for Green in Week 8 against the Washington Redskins, a team that has allowed 28 or more points to three sets of opposing receivers and has Josh Norman coming off a concussion to play in London.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Rob Gronkowski	15
2	Jimmy Graham*	13
3	Kyle Rudolph	12
4	Tyler Eifert	10
5	Travis Kelce	9
6	Jordan Reed*	8
7	Martellus Bennett*	8
8	Cameron Brate	8
9	Greg Olsen	7
10	Jack Doyle	7
11	Gary Barnidge	6
12	Zach Miller	6

Forget the fact Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham gets to play against his former team in Week 8.

A fun storyline, but a defense boasting the numbers the New Orleans Saints do wouldn't have a plan to stop him either way. The Saints have faced a cupcake schedule of tight ends so far (seriously, name the tight ends for the New York Giants, Oakland Raiders and Falcons).

Still, the Saints defense has allowed 12 or more points to opposing tight ends twice. It's a unit that allows an average of 287.0 passing yards and 32.5 points per game, so Graham is in for a major day.

So is Kyle Rudolph of the Minnesota Vikings. Though he has only had a pair of double-digit outings this year, Rudolph seems a lock to add a third thanks to a game against the Chicago Bears.

Those Bears have looked miserable on defense all season, and Rudolph continues to lead the Vikings in targets at 48, the next-closest person coming in 10 off the mark.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Vikings	12
2	Broncos	10
3	Jets	9
4	Cardinals	9
5	Panthers	8
6	Patriots	7
7	Chargers	7
8	Lions	6
9	Chiefs	6
10	Texans	6

The New York Jets have the most upside in Week 8.

Which is what happens when a unit gets to face the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland allows the sixth-most points to opposing units this year, with three defenses going for 10 or more points.

The Jets haven't impressed with only one trip to double digits, but this isn't a pick relying on the team's past reputation as a defensive juggernaut. It's not that anymore, but darn if it won't fool more than a few people while picking apart the Browns.

Kickers

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Adam Vinatieri	12
2	Cairo Santos	10
3	Steven Hauschka	9
4	Matt Bryant	9
5	Dan Bailey	8
6	Mason Crosby	7
7	Stephen Gostkowski	7
8	Nick Novak	6
9	Blair Walsh	6
10	Roberto Aguayo	6

Coming off a 10-point performance in Week 7, Kansas City's Cairo Santos now has a trio of double-digit outings on the year.

A fourth thanks to a game against the Colts seems like one of the surest things of the week.

Long story short, the miserable Colts defense doesn't do its special teams unit any favors, seeing as Indianapolis allows the second-most points to kickers on average. This includes a ridiculous five allowances of double digits over seven games.

So yes, Santos looks like one of the top scorers of the week.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.