Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings: Projections for Players with Matchups We Love

There are a thousand dating sites on the Internet and a thousand other ways that people try to find love. Blind dates and speed dating have been replaced—or at least supplemented—by everything from the usual suspects (OkCupid, Tinder) to the extremely niche (did you know that there is actually a site called FarmersOnly.com?).

It isn't always easy to find the perfect match. But people have more resources than ever to give it a shot. 

Fantasy football is no different. Ultimately, you want to start the best players who have the best matchups on a weekly basis. Finding the perfect match isn't easy, but luckily you've stumbled upon a guide to do just that this week. 

I may not be able to help farmers find love but, darn it, I sure can help you win your matchup this week!

Schedule

Sunday, Oct. 26	Time (ET)
Monday, Oct. 27	Time (ET)
Detroit at Atlanta	9:30 a.m.
St. Louis at Kansas City	1 p.m.
Houston at Tennessee	1 p.m.
Minnesota at Tampa Bay	1 p.m.
Seattle at Carolina	1 p.m.
Baltimore at Cincinnati	1 p.m.
Miami at Jacksonville	1 p.m.
Chicago at New England	1 p.m.
Buffalo at NY Jets	1 p.m.
Philadelphia at Arizona	4:05 p.m.
Oakland at Cleveland	4:25 p.m.
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh	4:25 p.m.
Green Bay at New Orleans	8:30 p.m.
Washington at Dallas	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Aaron Rodgers	25
2	Russell Wilson	20
3	Andrew Luck	19
4	Tony Romo	18
5	Drew Brees	18
6	Tom Brady	17
7	Cam Newton	16
8	Matt Stafford	16
9	Nick Foles	15
10	Joe Flacco	15
11	Carson Palmer	14
12	Alex Smith	14
13	Jay Cutler	13
14	Matt Ryan	13
15	Ryan Tannehill	13

Russell Wilson has always been a pretty consistent fantasy performer, and his 17 points in five of six games this season backs up that assessment. Of late, however, he's also become an explosive performer, with 34 or more fantasy points in two of his last three contests. 

Because in fantasy football, there ain't no party like a mobile quarterback party. In those two games, Wilson has rushed a total of 18 times for 228 yards and two scores. 

Now, he faces a Carolina defense giving up 18.4 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks per week, 27th in the NFL, and a defense that has surrendered 20 or more fantasy points to the position in three of their last four games. Expect Wilson to run and pass his way to another big afternoon.

And then there's Tony Romo. Forgotten about amid DeMarco Murray's legendary season, Romo has quietly scored 15 or more points in five straight weeks and snuck back into the bottom end of the QB1 rankings, where he always seems to end up for fantasy owners. 

Two factors suggest that Romo could explode this week. The first is that, at some point, the Dallas Cowboys have to scale back Murray's usage lest they run him into the ground halfway through the season. Murray's career high in rushing attempts is 217, set last season. He's already run the ball 187 times through seven games this year. That's an unrealistic burden to place on a player with a history of injury issues.

And so, the second factor suggesting that Romo could blow up this week is that the Cowboys won't have many better opportunities to lean on the passing game and offer Murray a break than a matchup against Washington's horrid pass defense. While Washington doesn't give up a ton of passing yards (218.6 per game, eighth in the NFL), they do give up a ton of passing touchdowns (15, tied for 29th in the league). 

Expect Dallas to take plenty of shots down the field against this defense, and more importantly, expect Romo to have a big Monday night against a Washington defense allowing 20.9 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks per week, tied for worst in the NFL.

Bombs away!

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Marshawn Lynch	22
2	Matt Forte	20
3	Arian Foster	19
4	Le'Veon Bell	18
5	DeMarco Murray	17
6	Jamaal Charles	16
7	Joique Bell	15
8	Andre Ellington	15
9	Eddie Lacy	14
10	Ben Tate	14
11	Jerick McKinnon	13
12	Ahmad Bradshaw	13
13	Lamar Miller	12
14	LeSean McCoy	12
15	Giovani Bernard	11
16	Doug Martin	10
17	Alfred Morris	10
18	Justin Forsett	10
19	Darren McFadden	10
20	Reggie Bush	9
21	Trent Richardson	9
22	Shane Vereen	9
23	Bishop Sankey	8
24	Bryce Brown	8
25	Darren Sproles*	7
26	Chris Ivory	7
27	Mark Ingram	7
28	Denard Robinson	6
29	Tre Mason	6
30	Anthony Dixon	6

It's not hard to see why I love Ben Tate, Jerick McKinnon, Doug Martin and Darren McFadden this week. The quartet face the 31st, 28th, 26th and 29th-ranked defenses in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs per week, respectively.

It should probably come as little surprise that the Cleveland Browns are playing the Oakland Raiders, or that the Minnesota Vikings are taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Talk about two games with major implications for the running back position. 

Any concerns you may have about Tate should be about his injury history, not his play on the field. Since returning from injury in Week 5 he has 36 fantasy points and has produced two double-digit performances. The Browns may go three-deep at running back, but the main man in Cleveland is clearly Tate.

Ditto for McKinnon in Minnesota. It was only a matter of time before he seized the starting role from the less talented Matt Asiata and, boy, has he run with his opportunity. Since becoming the starter two weeks ago, McKinnon has accounted for 183 yards from scrimmage on 38 touches. This is his job now, and this week could be his coming out party.  

Cliff McBride/Getty Images

Martin undoubtedly presents risk. In his three games back from injury his high in rushing yards is 45 yards and he has just one score. Of the bunch, he's probably the biggest boom-or-bust play, but the matchup is tasty and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off of a much-needed bye. It's now or never for Martin.

And then there's McFadden, who has very quietly scored seven or more fantasy points in four of his last five games. Maurice Jones-Drew is nothing more than an afterthought in Oakland at this point. Run DMC probably isn't going to blow up for you and reach 20 points anytime soon, but this week he's a really safe flex option with strong upside. 

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Jordy Nelson	20
2	Randall Cobb	18
3	A.J. Green*	17
4	Dez Bryant	16
5	Jeremy Maclin	15
6	Mike Wallace	15
7	Julio Jones	14
8	Vincent Jackson	14
9	Antonio Brown	13
10	Golden Tate	13
11	Andre Johnson	13
12	Brandon Marshall	12
13	T.Y. Hilton	12
14	Calvin Johnson*	12
15	DeAndre Hopkins	11
16	Steve Smith	11
17	DeSean Jackson	11
18	Kelvin Benjamin	10
19	Alshon Jeffery	10
20	Michael Floyd	10
21	Terrance Williams	9
22	Mohamed Sanu	9
23	Larry Fitzgerald	9
24	Julian Edelman	8
25	Pierre Garcon	8
26	Doug Baldwin	7
27	Mike Evans	7
28	Sammy Watkins	7
29	Eric Decker	7
30	Marques Colston	6
31	James Jones	6
32	Percy Harvin	6
33	Brandon LaFell	5
34	Torrey Smith	5
35	Roddy White	5

At wide receiver, I'd like to focus on two pairs of receivers. There's the obvious, must-start pair—Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb—and then the disappointing pair of Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald.

You're starting Nelson and Cobb every week, sure, but they reach the top of the rankings this week given a matchup against New Orleans' poor pass defense, which is giving up 27 points to opposing wideouts per week, 31st in the NFL. 

Add in the fact that Aaron Rodgers is the hottest quarterback in the NFL at the moment and you have the recipe for an epic showing from both of these players.

USA TODAY Sports

And then there is the Arizona Cardinals duo. Floyd has run hot and cold all season, though having Carson Palmer under center helps him, as the incumbent has a bigger arm and appears to have earned a nice rapport with his downfield threat this season.

Fitzgerald, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be a priority in the game plan any longer. While he has more receptions than Floyd (23 to 19) and the same amount of targets (39), he actually has less fantasy points than both Floyd and John Brown, if you can believe that. Once the focal point of this offense, Fitzgerald now has become a supplementary piece. 

Still, if he can't produce against a Philadelphia defense giving up 24.5 fantasy points to opposing wide receivers per game, 26th in the NFL, he probably isn't going to produce for fantasy owners at all this season. This is a put up or shut up game for Floyd and Fitzgerald. I'm guessing they'll do the former.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Greg Olsen	16
2	Rob Gronkowski	15
3	Jimmy Graham	13
4	Zach Ertz	12
5	Martellus Bennett	12
6	Jordan Reed	11
7	Owen Daniels	10
8	Dwayne Allen	10
9	Travis Kelce	9
10	Jordan Cameron	8
11	Jason Witten	7
12	Coby Fleener	6

The good: Owen Daniels has seven or more fantasy points in two of his last three games.

The great: The Cincinnati Bengals are giving up 14.5 fantasy points to opposing tight ends per week, worst in the NFL.

The amazing: In their last three games, the Bengals have given up a total of 26 receptions, 399 yards and four touchdowns to opposing tight ends.

The verdict: Daniels is going to blow up this week. Get him in those starting lineups.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Defense	Projected Points
1	Buffalo Bills	13
2	Miami Dolphins	12
3	Houston Texans	11
4	Philadelphia Eagles	10
5	Kansas City Chiefs	10
6	Detroit Lions	9
7	New England Patriots	9
8	Cleveland Browns	8
9	Dallas Cowboys	8
10	St. Louis Rams	7

The Jacksonville Jaguars have given up eight or more fantasy points to opposing defenses in every game this season. They've given up double-digit points in every game but one. They've allowed opposing D/ST units to score three touchdowns. They've given up 29 sacks, worst in the NFL. They've thrown 11 interceptions, tied for most in the NFL.

Do I need to go on? This week, the Jaguars play the Miami Dolphins, already fantasy's No. 7 defense this year. So yes, the Dolphins are about as easy a recommendation as it gets.

Kickers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Stephen Gostkowski	14
2	Adam Vinatieri	14
3	Dan Bailey	13
4	Cody Parkey	13
5	Justin Tucker	11
6	Chandler Catanzaro	11
7	Randy Bullock	10
8	Blair Walsh	10
9	Mason Crosby	9
10	Dan Carpenter	8

Stephen Gostkowski is currently the top scoring kicker in fantasy football, and this week he plays a Chicago Bears team giving up 24.4 points per game (22nd in the NFL) and 10.1 fantasy points per week to opposing kickers (28th).

Sometimes, it's just best to not overthink things.

All point totals and points-against statistics via ESPN standard scoring leagues. Hit me up on Twitter—I'll answer your fantasy questions and make some corny jokes, too. It's more fun than trying to keep a straight face while offering Percy Harvin for Julius Thomas in a trade.