Top 3 Fantasy Football Storylines of Week 8 (2025)

Quarterbacks are in the crosshairs of the biggest storylines in Week 8. Will a team pull the plug on their starting signal-caller? Will another get theirs back this week? Finally, can a fabulous finish for a young quarterback in Week 7 carry into this week?

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Fantasy Football Storylines

Will the Dolphins Make a Change at Quarterback?

According to Mike McDaniel, Tua Tagovailoa will start this week’s game against the Falcons. Tagovailoa is struggling mightily this year. The lefty’s 10 interceptions are tied for the NFL lead with Geno Smith.

Tagovailoa has also been a disaster against the blitz. Among 34 quarterbacks with at least 40 dropbacks against the blitz, Tagovailoa is the 24th-ranked passer by Pro Football Focus (PFF). Tagovailoa’s struggles against the blitz will be problematic this week. According to Pro-Football-Reference, the Falcons have the highest blitz rate (33.9%) this season.

McDaniel yanked Tagovailoa in the fourth quarter last week, allowing Quinn Ewers to finish the game. Zach Wilson was previously the team’s No. 2 quarterback, but Ewers was elevated to the backup gig in Week 7, with Wilson serving as the emergency quarterback. Ewers and Wilson will reportedly battle for the No. 2 spot this week, but given Tagovailoa’s in-game benching last week, it’s reasonable to wonder if he’ll get the hook again this week.

Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane are Miami’s only fantasy viable options. According to the data suite at Fantasy Points, in 11 games with Tagovailoa last season, Achane amassed 19.5 half-PPR points per game and 20.3 expected half-PPR points per game. In six games without Tagovailoa in 2024, Achane recorded 7.7 half-PPR points per game and 11.6 expected half-PPR points per game. Waddle should be force-fed the ball by whoever the Dolphins have at quarterback, and it’s debatable if Ewers or Wilson would be worse than what Tagovailoa has played recently.

Can the Ravens Bounce Back?

Unfortunately, Lamar Jackson didn’t practice in Baltimore’s bonus practice on Monday. It’s discouraging that he couldn’t participate after last week’s bye. Nevertheless, Jackson has multiple opportunities to progress to practicing and playing this week. The early betting odds have the Ravens favored by 6.5 points against the visiting Bears, suggesting oddsmakers anticipate Jackson playing. Jackson is a no-brainer starter in fantasy leagues if he plays.

The fantasy value of Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews hangs in the balance of Jackson’s availability. Flowers had 23 receptions, 305 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in Jackson’s four starts. He’d be a WR2 with Jackson, but only a Flex choice, at best, if Jackson is out again. Andrews would be a viable low-end starter at tight end in 12-team leagues and larger with Jackson.

Derrick Henry‘s value would also get a lift from a returning Jackson. Nevertheless, King Henry toted the rock 24 times for 122 yards and added an eight-yard reception in Baltimore’s final game before their Week 7 bye. Gamers who need help at running back and have some tradeable assets would be wise to kick the tires on buying Henry before Jackson returns, as the King’s value would skyrocket if the Ravens get their offense back on track.

Can the Broncos Build on Their Fast and Furious Finish in Week 7?

The Giants shut out the Broncos through three quarters before Denver exploded for 33 points in a comeback victory in Week 7. Ultimately, Bo Nix finished the game with 279 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 48 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Can he carry his dynamic fourth quarter into a matchup against the Cowboys?

Dallas has played shootout football, with their explosive offense hanging points in bunches and their defense surrendering many points. The conditions are ideal for the Broncos staying in an offensive groove. Courtland Sutton is Denver’s most consistent option in the passing attack. In the last three weeks, he’s had 15 receptions (five per game), 203 receiving yards (67.7 per game), 1.90 yards per route run and two end-zone targets but zero touchdowns.

Troy Franklin could emerge as an intriguing Flex option, and Marvin Mims Jr. could also be a deep-league option. Since Week 5, Franklin has a 69% route participation rate, 30.2% air yards share, 0.20 targets per route run and 14.3 expected half PPR points per game but only seven half-PPR points per game to show for his underlying data.

Mims has a 48.8% route participation rate in that period, 26.9% air yards share, 0.24 targets per route run, 9.6 expected half-PPR points per game and 0.43 expected half-PPR points per route run. Mims’ route participation was at 56.6% in Denver’s comeback victory last week.

The Broncos rotate their wideouts too much behind Sutton to make them genuinely reliable weekly. Still, Franklin’s underlying data is better than his surface stats, and another slight step forward in route participation from Mims would go a long way toward him carving out deep-league usefulness.

Finally, J.K. Dobbins remains atop Denver’s backfield depth chart. He handled 14 of the backfield’s 18 carries last week, rumbling for 81 yards. Dobbins also had a 26.4% route participation rate versus 22.6% for RJ Harvey and 18.9% for Tyler Badie. Badie’s re-emergence is suboptimal for Dobbins and Harvey. Still, Dobbins is a rock-solid RB2.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.