Fantasy Football Week 8 WR Rankings and Picks feat. A.J. Brown, George Pickens, and more
Even the most experienced fantasy football managers have been tested by the state of the wide receiver landscape this season. Nico Collins, Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, A.J. Brown, and Malik Nabers have missed significant time this season, while Rashee Rice, Chris Godwin, and Brandon Aiyuk will miss the rest of the season.
With all the injuries to the position, sharp fantasy managers pivot to viable matchups each week to maximize their weekly point totals. At Sportskeeda, we'll take you through the wide receiver rankings for Week 8, broken down into three categories, and highlight the best matchups for your lineup decisions.
Fantasy Football WR Rankings for Week 8
Fantasy Football Best WR Matchups for Week 8
1] A.J. Brown vs. Cincinnati Bengals
If I had told you before Week 7 that Jalen Hurts would only attempt 14 passes against the Giants, you probably would've thought that A.J. Brown would be in trouble. However, Brown received a target on a third of those throws and finished with 89 receiving yards and a touchdown on the afternoon.
New York was awful again and failed to give the Eagles a competitive game. Still, the fantasy star receiver finished as the overall WR7 in half-PPR leagues and has been his usual dominant self since returning from a three-game absence in Week 6. Brown has scored a touchdown in each game and comes into Week 8 with the best matchups among our WR1s listed above.
Cincinnati is a pass defense to target in fantasy football, with the seventh-most receptions (158), the fifth-most touchdowns to wideouts (11), and the eighth-most receptions per game (22.6). Brown will face a trio of Cincinnati cornerbacks this weekend: Cam Taylor-Britt, Mike Hilton, and DJ Turner II.
Through Brown's 86 routes run this season, 41% of the offensive plays he had lined up on the right side of the formation. That would leave him matched up with Taylor-Britt for most of the game as he operates that part of the field 91% of his 277 defensive snaps for Cincinnati. Taylor-Britt owns the highest yards per route covered in the Bengals secondary (1.28) and eight-most AirYards per target in the entire league at 14.2%.
The Bengals got a break last week with one of the best matchups for fantasy defenses (as predicted in our defense article): the Cleveland anemic offense. Cincinnati will have a much tougher test this weekend with Brown, who leads the league in yards per route run (3.78!), second in receiving yards per game (108), and fourth in yards per reception (20.3).
Plus, the Bengals' defensive front has put this secondary in a tough spot this season. Even with an excellent performance in Week 7 against the Browns, the Bengals still rank 27th in pressure rate (23.8%), 20th in QB hit rate (14.2%), and will face one of the most elusive quarterbacks in the league in Hurts.
With an over/under point total of 48 points this week, we're hoping for fantasy football fireworks in the Queen City, with both offenses potentially lighting up the scoreboard and giving Brown a solid chance to soar into the overall WR1 slot in Week 8 with this enticing matchup.
2] George Pickens vs. New York Giants
Coming off his best fantasy performance of the season, George Pickens will highlight our most viable WR2 play against the Giants in Week 8. Playing with veteran Russell Wilson for the first time in his career, Pickens turned nine targets into five catches, 111 receiving yards, and a touchdown.
Even with dual-threat quarterback Justin Fields, Pickens has led or tied all Steelers pass catchers in targets in each game this season and has received at least seven targets in each contest except one in Week 3. Pickens could tap into even more fantasy potential in Pittsburgh with a more traditional quarterback feeding him targets.
As mentioned earlier, the Eagles torched the New York defense last week and eventually released the proverbial gas early to preserve the win. The New York defense is coming off two straight weeks of multiple score losses, and the passing statistics could've been much worse overall.
Pickens will get a trio of Deonte Banks, Andru Phillips, and Cor'Dale Flott on Monday night. Pickens has run 49.4% of his 189 routes on the offense's left side and should see Banks for most of the game. Banks has covered 55.2% on the right side of the formation of his 259 defensive snaps.
We're hoping Pittsburgh can scheme Pickens against Banks, who owns the eighth-highest yards per route covered in the league (1.43). Pickens will enter this matchup as the fourth-best yards per route run (2.51).
Still, this game will have the lowest point total of the week at a meager 36.5 over/under. It should keep Pickens in the range of WR2s, but he should be viewed as a hammer to your fantasy scores by the time we get to primetime on Monday night.
3] Ladd McConkey vs. New Orleans Saints
Before we turn the calendar to November, we typically see rookies emerge in a fantasy season. First-year players are adjusting to life in the NFL, and sharp fantasy managers should be on the lookout for blossoming talent, much like how all-world wideout Justin Jefferson did in his rookie season.
Ladd McConkey is far from Jefferson's style of play but could emerge as a fantasy asset starting in this matchup with a banged-up Saints squad that has allowed the fourth-most receiving yards to wideouts (1,829), the sixth-most yards per reception (11.5), and the sixth-most yards per game to receivers (261.3).
McConkey has led the Chargers receivers in offensive snaps for the second consecutive week and played a career-high 88% last Monday. Despite little practice during Week 7 preparations, McConkey was involved in Los Angeles' game plan early and often throughout the game. With second-year receiver Quentin Johnston out, McConkey led the team with five receptions and now has at least four receptions in the previous three games for the Chargers.
McConkey now has played 70.7% of his snaps in the slot for the Chargers and will get the Saints' corner Alontae Taylor this weekend. Taylor has played 90% of his snaps in the slot this season and has allowed the 10th most yards per route covered in the league (1.39).
He is the best matchup in the secondary as the Saints should get Marshon Lattimore back this week, but he should stay on the boundaries. Lattimore has played 94.8% of his defensive snaps outside, while Kool-Aid McKinstry takes the left-side corner position.
McConkey should be monitored throughout the week, as his hip injury has kept him out of practice. Still, we believe he'll continue to impress fantasy managers and emerge as the top target in Los Angeles with his crisp route running and his knack for finding opening spaces in the defense.
Also read: Week 8 Buy Low Sell High Trade Targets feat. Jaylen Waddle and Travis Kelce