Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings: Projections and Matchups to Love

Exploiting favorable matchups is an underrated part of fantasy football success.

Finding a soft defense could mean elevating a fringe option to a no-doubt starter or making a normally good player a great one.

In Week 7, Arizona Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds carved up a generous New York Giants defense for 150 scrimmage yards and three scores. Jacoby Brissett put 326 passing yards and four touchdowns against a Houston Texans defense that has trouble slowing teams through the air.

Identifying positive matchups like those can make or break your fantasy week. We'll steer you in the right direction below by assembling our top-10 rankings and favorite matchups at the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions.

Quarterback

Week 8 Top 10

1. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons

2. Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders

3. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers at Kansas City Chiefs

4. Tom Brady, New England Patriots vs. Cleveland Browns

5. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills vs. Philadelphia Eagles

6. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants

7. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons vs. Seattle Seahawks

8. Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals

9. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans

10. Teddy Bridgewater, New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals

Matchup We Love: Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders

As expected, Deshaun Watson has delivered some monster outings this season.

He opened the campaign by dropping 268 passing yards and four total touchdowns (one rushing) on the Saints. Two weeks later, it was 351 passing yards, a 73.5 completion percentage and three more scores. In Week 5, he had five touchdowns (and only five incompletions) with 426 passing yards against the Falcons. The next week, he rushed for two scores and threw for another in Kansas City.

Big games, in other words, are nothing new to the third-year passer. But even then, this matchup could be monstrous.

Only the Falcons and Miami Dolphins allow more fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks than the Raiders, per Yahoo Sports. Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers each threw for more than 400 yards and four-plus touchdowns against them. Brissett and Chase Daniel also had multi-score efforts versus this defense.

For all invested Watson owners out there, your quarterback might deliver a fantasy win by himself.

Projection: 323 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, 31 rushing yards

Running Back

Week 8 Top 10

1. Saquon Barkley, New York Giants at Detroit Lions

2. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers at San Francisco 49ers

3. Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals

4. Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New York Jets

5. Le'Veon Bell, New York Jets at Jacksonville Jaguars

6. Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons

7. James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins

8. Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers at Kansas City Chiefs

9. Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals

10. Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots

Matchup We Love: Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The frustration felt by Todd Gurley owners is slowly but surely wearing away.

When you invested a first-round pick in the Rams running back, you obviously expected more than this. He has rushed for 70-plus yards once this season and hasn't cleared 100 scrimmage yards since Week 1.

But stats don't need to be pretty to be effective. He's still scoring at an impressive rate (six touchdowns in six games), and his end-zone trips are becoming more frequent. He scored two touchdowns apiece in Weeks 4 and 5, then found the end zone again in Week 7 after sitting out the previous contest.

On paper, he's almost guaranteed to keep this hot streak going this weekend.

"The Bengals are allowing an NFL-high 5.23 yards per carry this season (including a pitiful 3.85 yards per carry before first contact, 11.3 percent worse than any other defense)," ESPN's Matthew Berry noted. "That makes for an exciting matchup for Gurley and his fantasy managers."

Even if Gurley gets the time-share treatment again, there should be enough stats to go around.

Projection: 86 rushing yards, 34 receiving yards, two touchdowns

Wide Receiver

Week 8 Top 10

1. Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals

2. DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders

3. Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers at Kansas City Chiefs

4. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons vs. Seattle Seahawks

5. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals

6. Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons

7. Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tennessee Titans

8. Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Green Bay Packers

9. Kenny Golladay, Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants

10. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tennessee Titans

Matchup We Love: Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons

Are we all in agreement now that Tyler Lockett is an elite fantasy wide receiver? Because Tyler Lockett is an elite fantasy wide receiver.

He has played seven games this season. In six of them, he has at least 75 receiving yards or a touchdown catch. In all but one, he has four-plus receptions, and he's twice put double digits in the catch column.

He's the favorite target of Russell Wilson, and that connection should keep getting stronger. The second-most targeted Seahawk, rookie DK Metcalf, has only caught 20 of his 40 targets (50 percent).

Lockett, meanwhile, has corralled 40 of the 48 passes thrown his way (83.3 percent), and nine of those have gone for 20-plus yards (tops on the team).

The 27-year-old looks primed to feast on a Falcons defense allowing the fifth-most fantasy points per game to the position, per Yahoo Sports. Seven different receivers have at least one touchdown catch against this defense. Lockett shouldn't have trouble becoming the eighth.

Projection: Seven receptions, 98 receiving yards, two touchdowns