Week 8 Fantasy Football Rankings: Positional Overview, Guide and Advice

Week 8 of the fantasy football season means two things.

For starters, there are four more bothersome bye weeks to work around. The Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans are all out of the equation, so hopefully you have a viable contingency in place.

But this is also the perfect time for reflection and, if needed, reorganizing. Seven weeks are in the books already and playoff spots will be decided before you know it.

The margin for error gets slimmer every week. Use this helpful position-by-position guide to make sure your rosters are ordered correctly.

Quarterbacks

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1. Patrick Mahomes, KC (vs. DEN)

2. Jared Goff, LAR (vs. GB)

3. Tom Brady, NE (at BUF)

4. Aaron Rodgers, GB (at LAR)

5. Kirk Cousins, MIN (vs. NO)

6. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT (vs. CLE)

7. Drew Brees, NO (at MIN)

8. Andy Dalton, CIN (vs. TB)

9. Andrew Luck, IND (at OAK)

10. Cam Newton, CAR (vs. BUF)

Be cautious of anyone predicting Tom Brady's demise.

While Father Time is a constant threat to the 41-year-old, it hasn't harmed his statistics yet. After a relatively sluggish start, he's been cruising at or very near top speed of late. His worst fantasy output of the last four weeks was a 274-yard, three-score effort in Week 4. He's passed for at least 340 yards or three scores in the three games since.

The Bills aren't the easiest matchup. Only two defenses have allowed fewer fantasy points to quarterbacks. That said, they were just on the wrong side of a four-touchdown performance by Andrew Luck, and they opened this season by allowing Joe Flacco and Philip Rivers to throw for three scores in back-to-back weeks.

Brady has solved tougher puzzles before, and he could be looking at a ton of passing attempts if Sony Michel's knee injury keeps him off the field.

Running Backs

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1. Todd Gurley, LAR (vs. GB)

2. Saquon Barkley, NYG (vs. WAS)

3. Kareem Hunt, KC (vs. DEN)

4. Alvin Kamara, NO (at MIN)

5. James Conner, PIT (vs. CLE)

6. James White, NE (at BUF)

7. Christian McCaffrey, CAR (vs. BAL)

8. David Johnson, ARI (vs. SF)

9. Joe Mixon, CIN (vs. TB)

10. Marlon Mack, IND (at OAK)

Apparently, Kareem Hunt is sophomore slump-proof.

One year removed from leading the NFL in rushing yards as a rookie, the Chiefs running back is again on the short list of elites at his position. Throw his Week 1 flop (49 rushing yards, no receptions, no touchdowns) out the window, and he's basically been a high-level option ever since.

He has found the end zone each of the last six weeks, totaling nine scores over that stretch. During the past four weeks, he's tallied 595 yards from scrimmage and six scores.

A Week 8 date with Denver's generous defense should keep things trending up. The Broncos allow the fifth-most points to opposing running backs, a mark that Hunt himself helped put in place. His surge started with a Week 4 trip to Denver, where he gashed his AFC West rivals for 19 carries for 121 yards and a score (plus three receptions for 54 yards).

Wide Receivers

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1. Adam Thielen, MIN (vs. NO)

2. Antonio Brown, PIT (vs. CLE)

3. A.J. Green, CIN (vs. TB)

4. Michael Thomas, NO (at MIN)

5. Mike Evans, TB (at CIN)

6. Odell Beckham Jr., NYG (vs. WAS)

7. DeAndre Hopkins, HOU (vs. MIA)

8. Tyreek Hill, KC (vs. DEN)

9. Stefon Diggs, MIN (vs. NO)

10. T.Y. Hilton, IND (at OAK)

There isn't a hotter receiver in the NFL than Adam Thielen. There isn't a more charitable defense to opposing defenses than the Saints.

This, folks, is a matchup made in fantasy football heaven.

Let's start with Thielen, who tied an NFL record Sunday with his seventh straight 100-yard effort to open a season. He had nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown—and it was his second-worst fantasy performance in the last four weeks.

"He makes every play," Vikings running back Latavius Murray said. "One day, maybe we'll be saying that someone else reminds us of Thielen."

As for the New Orleans defense, it's 28th in passing yards per game (293.7) and tied for 20th in touchdowns (13). In six games this season, it's allowed four different players to reach 100 receiving yards.

Tight Ends

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1. Travis Kelce, KC (vs. DEN)

2. Rob Gronkowski, NE (at BUF)

3. Zach Ertz, PHI (at JAX)

4. George Kittle, SF (at ARI)

5. Trey Burton, CHI (vs. NYJ)

6. Jimmy Graham, GB (at LAR)

7. Eric Ebron, IND (at OAK)

8. David Njoku, CLE (at PIT)

9. Evan Engram, NYG (vs. WAS)

10. O.J. Howard, TB (at CIN)

While the San Francisco 49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo-less passing attack has been forgettable on most fantasy football fronts, George Kittle is the exception to that rule.

He's been one of the most consistent options at tight end all season, and his stock has essentially been in a perpetual climb since C.J. Beathard—Kittle's college teammate—took over. In the four weeks with Beathard under center, Kittle's average output has been four receptions for 84 yards and 0.5 touchdowns.

Defense

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1. Chicago Bears (vs. NYJ)

2. New England Patriots (at BUF)

3. Houston Texans (vs. MIA)

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. CLE)

5. Arizona Cardinals (vs. SF)

6. Philadelphia Eagles (at JAX)

7. Washington Redskins (at NYG)

8. Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. PHI)

9. Carolina Panthers (vs. BAL)

10. Indianapolis Colts (at OAK)

Nothing matters more to fantasy defenses than the opposition's quarterback. Ideally, though, you're getting both an enticing quarterback matchup and a competent unit at this position.

That's how it breaks down this week for the Texans and Bears, at least. They are two of the three most productive defenses in fantasy so far, and each is positioned to boost its scoring this weekend.

The Bears will lock horns with rookie passer Sam Darnold, who's coming off a disastrous start in which he connected on a season-low 40.5 percent of his passes and gave away a season-high three interceptions. The Texas, meanwhile, draw Dolphins backup Brock Osweiler, who's totaled 29 interceptions while making 27 starts since 2015.

Kickers

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1. Greg Zuerlein, LAR (vs. GB)

2. Stephen Gostkowski, NE (at BUF)

3. Justin Tucker, BAL (at CAR)

4. Dan Bailey, MIN (vs. NO)

5. Mason Crosby, GB (at LAR)

6. Harrison Butker, KC (vs. DEN)

7. Wil Lutz, NO (at MIN)

8. Jake Elliott, PHI (at JAX)

9. Chris Boswell, PIT (vs. CLE)

10. Adam Vinatieri, IND (at OAK)

Props to anyone who realized that patience was indeed a virtue in Greg Zuerlein's recovery from a groin injury. Zero rust was evident in his return from a five-game absence, as he went a perfect 3-of-3 on field goals and 4-of-4 on extra points.

The most fortunate among us are those rostering a set-it-and-forget-it option at kicker.

Statistics used courtesy of ESPN.com and NFL.com. Fantasy scoring info via Yahoo Sports.