Every week, wide receiver is an extremely volatile position in fantasy football. While there are some big names you can count on regularly, there are also some fantasy football sleepers who pop up and deliver strong performances. Whether you’re looking for one of those sleepers to fill in a spot in your season-long fantasy team or a low-cost slot on your DFS roster, finding available and affordable players in positions to succeed is critical to finding success each week.
In Week 8, all 32 NFL teams are in action, so the wide receiver pool is plenty deep. You should have your regular starters at the position available, but if injuries or roster shuffling has left you thin, there are options sitting on many leagues’ waiver wires.
I stuck to the 13 games on the main Sunday afternoon fantasy football slate this week, which still eaves plenty of options to consider. The options below are ranked well outside my top-25 plays at the position, but they bring value upside if you need an emergency option for your season-long team or a DFS bargain.
Let’s jump right in to my top five sleeper wide receivers for Week 8.
Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($3,700)
Don’t worry—the deep cuts are coming later in this article, but let’s start with a fantasy football value that will be a very popular play this week. Since DraftKings releases salaries for the week before the Monday Night Football games, McMillan is priced as if Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (ankle) are healthy, even though both are out this week.
McMillan, Sterling Shepard ($3,800) and Trey Palmer ($3,500) will all have to take on huge workloads, and of the three, McMillan is the play that I like the most. The rookie third round pick was hampered by an injury of his own for for a few weeks, but he got a season-high eight targets in Week 7 against the Ravens. He finished third on the team in targets while helping to fill in for Evans. Even though he only caught three passes for 15 yards, he should be ready for a much better total this week.
McMillan impressed during preseason and training camp and caught this 32-yard touchdown in Week 1.
Mayfield to McMillan for the 32-yard TD!
📺: #WASvsTB on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/d8ESrlMXNF— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024
He’s getting healthy at just the right time and is lined up for plenty of targets coming his way in a favorable matchup against the Falcons. Atlanta ranks in the top 10 of most fantasy points allowed to wide receivers and Baker Mayfield ($6,700) tore them up in Week 5.
One other bonus: the Bucs will be wearing their Creamsicles this week. I ranked those as my top throwbacks of the season, so McMillan and the other Bucs receivers will look good while looking for breakthrough performances.
McMillan will be very popular for DFS contests like the NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st] since he is so cheap. While he isn’t much of an “off the radar” pick, he does have the highest floor and ceiling of all options in this salary range.
Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns ($3,300)
I’ve already broken down why I like Tillman in multiple articles on this site this week, but I’m coming back to highlight him again since he’s so affordable for this matchup with the Ravens.
The second-year WR showed a good connection with Jameis Winston ($5,200), who trusted him to snag a critical two-point conversion.
Cedric Tillman : 8 catches for 81 yards & a 2-point conversion on 12 targets (Career-highs in catches, receiving yards & targets) pic.twitter.com/d3WkmeNKeB
— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) October 20, 2024
Tillman stepped into the role vacated by Amari Cooper ($6,000) an should be the team’s top receiver this week in a matchup against the Ravens, who have allowed the third-most fantasy points to receivers this season.
Devaughn Vele, Denver Broncos ($3,400)
The Broncos snagged Vele in the seventh round out of Utah, and he mae the team after an impressive preseason that included viral grabs like this one.
Vele making this team for sure #BroncosCamp pic.twitter.com/cOIIpHQglH
— Anthony Nguyen (@MileHighRonin) August 8, 2024
He started the season with a monster game with eight catches on eight targets for 39 yards but then didn’t play any snaps between Week 2 and Week 5 even though he wasn’t on the injury report. He played 62% of the team’s snaps in Week 6 and 43% in Week 7, though, so he seems to have re-establishied himself in the rotation.
The 6’5” rookie out of Utah has a nice 20-yard catch last week but didn’t haul in either of his other targets. In the last two weeks, he has run 83.1% of his routes from the slot. He’ll be a big mismatch for the Panthers (pun intended) on Sunday.
The Broncos passing game under rookie Bo Nix ($5,600) has been a roller coaster ride for many receivers from week to week, but Vele has shown enough potential to be worth a look as a bargain in this favorable matchup Sunday in Denver.
Kalif Raymond, Detroit Lions ($3,400)
With Jameson Williams suspended for two weeks, Raymond and Tim Patrick ($3,500) Patrick will step up on the depth chart behind target-magnet Amon-Ra St. Brown ($8,400). I’m not buying the Allen Robinson II ($3,000) hype and think Raymond will be a much better fantasy play.
While Patrick has played more snaps, Raymond has out-targeted him 15-to-12 and has more receptions than him this year as well. Raymond has 11 catches for 148 yards and a touchdown this year.
Kalif Raymond had him touching turf on this TD 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/uDtLi52mRF
— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2024
Even though Patrick may be on the field more, Raymond’s big-play ability and rapport with Jared Goff ($6,600) make him a usable play this week even in a less-than-perfect matchup with the Titans.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Tennessee Titans ($3,000)
I’ve been all over Panthers WR Jalen Coker ($3,100) the last two weeks (check it out here or here if you missed it), and I think he has a real shot to post a breakout performance. However, since Coker is high-risk, let’s look at an alternative here and take a flier on Westbrook-Ikhine.
The Titans’ passing game has not been a good one for fantasy football production this season, but there should be usage available this week with Deandre Hopkins ($4,900) suiting up with Patrick Mahomes ($6,800) in Vegas. Calvin Ridley ($5,200) will play after missing practice with a foot injury, and Tyler Boyd ($3,900) will be the primary option out of the slot, but NWI should be able to get plenty of looks as well.
Westbrook-Ikhine has only caught three passes all season, and they have all come in the last two weeks. Two of those catches have been touchdowns.
NWI SZN
📺: Watch #TENvsBUF on @NFLonCBS stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/SaR0Vvsuwq
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) October 20, 2024
Westbrook-Ikhine is consistent and steady but has never posted huge numbers. Without Hopkins, though, he could get enough work to be a fantasy factor, especially if the Titans have to air it out to keep up with the Lions, who have allowed the second-most fantasy points to WR this season.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
