Do you have tough lineup decisions to make on Sunday? We’ve got you covered. Welcome to your one-stop shop for Week 8 fantasy football start/sit advice. In this article, Jeff Pratt and Dan Johnson highlight one pick from each of their positional start ’em, sit ’em articles for this week’s slate. Check out each article for a deeper dive into that position!
Quarterback
Start ‘Em: Bo Nix (Broncos) vs. Cowboys
Nix’s best bet to points is clean pockets, quick rhythm, and poised verticals. He’s at 1,556 yards, 11 TDs, four INTs with a 2.56s time to throw and a microscopic 2.86% sack rate—proof the ball’s out on schedule. His profile carries an ADOT 7.3, 41.1% success rate, and 0.06 EPA/play, while Denver leans into 30.1% play-action, 4.1 deep attempts per game, and 4.9 red-zone attempts per game—volume with teeth. Dallas is the perfect accelerant: the Cowboys allow 25.5 QB fantasy points per game (most) and rank second-worst in passing and rushing yards allowed to QBs. Expect snaps, too: DEN 28.5 s/play (9th) and DAL 28.8 (11th) keep the game moving.
Sink your teeth into the trenches and leverage splits. Denver owns the No. 1 pass-block win rate (73%), while Dallas’ pass rush sits 21st (37%)—a mismatch that insulates intermediate and deep concepts. Team-level finish matters: the Broncos convert drives with a 68.2% red-zone TD rate (sixth). And when teams throw at Dallas, efficiency spikes: opponents carry an 8.1 YPA and a 110.6 rating on 238 attempts—softness that pairs with Nix’s on-schedule triggers. With both sides playing fast and Dallas hemorrhaging QB production, Nix’s attempts should land in the low-to-mid 30s with layered shots off glance, dagger, and double-moves once the Cowboys sit on slants. Projection: 260–285 yards, 2–3 TDs, plus 15–25 rushing yards—a sturdy top-10 outcome if one deep shot to Mims or Franklin hits.
Check out all of Dan’s start/sit Week 8 QBs here!
Running Back
Sit ‘Em: Tony Pollard (Titans) at Colts
Pollard was one of my sits of the week at RB last Sunday, and while he eclipsed the double-digit fantasy point mark, I don’t expect the receiving volume that got him there to be sustainable.
With Tyjae Spears back in the equation, Pollard’s snap share remained under 60% for the second straight outing. On the ground, he was wildly inefficient on minimal carries, rushing six times for 18 yards. The veteran’s six catches for 43 yards were season-highs, which certainly will not be a recurring theme with Spears playing a significant role in the passing game as well.
As a result, a lot of signs are pointing down for Pollard heading into Tennessee’s Week 8 clash with the Colts. Indy boasts one of the best run defenses in the league, surrendering the fourth-fewest fantasy points to RBs and sixth-fewest rushing yards per game. It’s best to play it safe with Pollard and pivot to an option with a more favorable matchup.
Check out the rest of Jeff’s Week 8 RB start/sit picks here!
Wide Receiver
Start ‘Em: Romeo Doubs (Packers) at Steelers
Emerging as Jordan Love’s top receiver due to a myriad of injuries, Doubs has quietly turned into one of the steadiest receivers in the NFL this year. The 25-year-old has received an 85% snap share or higher in three straight outings, seeing at least eight targets in all of those games.
Over that stretch, we’ve seen Doubs’ ceiling and floor, as he racked up three touchdowns in Week 4 and 10.5 fantasy points on five catches for 55 yards. That steady volume with obvious upside puts Doubs firmly in high-end fantasy WR2 territory.
This week, Green Bay draws a favorable matchup against the Steelers, who have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to receivers so far in 2025. Doubs should be fired up confidently in starting lineups across all leagues.
Check out the rest of Jeff’s Week 8 start/sit WR picks here!
Tight End
George Kittle (49ers) vs. Texans
This spot squeezes his volume and his airspace. Brock Purdy is out again and Mac Jones draws the start, a shift that’s already clipped San Francisco’s pass ambition and condensed the route tree. Houston is a buzzsaw: No. 1 in EPA/play allowed, top-four in yards allowed, and No. 1 in points allowed, with edges that win on time. Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter headline a rush that forces the lowest opponent time-to-throw (2.62s)—bad news for deeper developing tight end routes.
The trenches push Kittle into helper mode. The 49ers are down C Jake Brendel (out) and juggling the interior, a setup that historically spikes Kittle’s inline snaps and pass-pro reps. His usage post-return remains capped: across two 2025 games he’s at 54% route participation, 54.3% snap share, 17.6% target rate, and just 12% slot rate—numbers that read blocker-tilt, not featured Y-iso. Houston’s TE containment has traveled, too: they’re holding the position to 37.3 yards and 8.3 standard fantasy points per game, and their red-zone stinginess suppresses cheap sixes. Layer in a Texans -1.5 / total ~43.5 environment and you’re staring at muted snap volume and field-goal finishes.
Plan on Jones prioritizing rhythm throws to the perimeter and Christian McCaffrey outlets while Kittle chips rushers and releases late. That script bleeds targets and crushes yards-after-catch chances against a defense tackling clean. You’re not fading the player; you’re fading the role, the quarterback downgrade, and a defense built to erase middle-of-field explosives.
Check out all of Dan’s start/sit tight ends for Week 8 here!
Those are my start ’em, sit ’em Week 8 fantasy football picks! Stay tuned for more fantasy advice next week.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
