Fantasy Football Quarterback Start/Sit Week 8: Should You Start Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, or Matthew Stafford?

While things are getting a little more normal at quarterback, we're still left trying to make heads and tails of the first seven weeks. Jordan Love is still a top-10 quarterback on a points per game basis. Joe Burrow is closer to Mac Jones on a points per game basis than he is to Patrick Mahomes. And Sam Howell has been a better fantasy quarterback than Trevor Lawrence, Dak Prescott, and Geno Smith. Exactly how we all drew it up!

All that to say, we've got our work cut out for us as we try to figure out what to do with our start/sit decisions moving forward. 

You're obviously not benching any of those guys (more on that below), but there are plenty of other borderline fantasy starters we need to sift through. 

I'm going to use the list below to cover every quarterback start/sit situation for Week 8. The list is broken into tiers (which as pretty self-explanatory based on the names of them), and you can simply look at the list and make start/sit decisions -- because it's in order of preference! Think of it as my weekly quarterback rankings.

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No-Brainer Start 'Em

You drafted these guys as your starter. There's no reason to waffle on them based on matchups or anything like that. We don't even need to talk things through on any of these guys -- let's stop over-thinking things. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week: 

• Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

  • Mahomes get a dream matchup against Denver. The only risk here is the Chiefs may not need him to put up huge numbers. 

• Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

  • Jackson just put up a monster game against the Lions and should be able to continue that momentum against a worse Cardinals defense. 

• Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

  • Hurts is hobbled with a knee injury, but he should still be able to put up big numbers against the Commanders. 

• Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

  • While the Bills offense is close to broken, that shouldn't stop Allen from dominating the Bucs defense. 

• Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

  • The Bears defense is not good. And that should open up plenty of scoring opportunities for Herbert and the Chargers. 

• Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

  • Tua remains an auto-start until further notice. The Dolphins have come back to Earth a bit, but they have a nice matchup against a Patriots defense missing its two best players for the rest of the year. 

• Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

  • Goff has seemingly turned his career around and is a must-start against a bad Raiders defense. 

• Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Lawrence is still dealing with a knee injury, but he looked just fine last week and should be able to put up points on the Steelers. 

Still Start 'Em

These guys are a little more of a borderline decision, but they're worth starting this week. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week: 

• C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

  • Seems weird to have Stroud this high, but he's shown he's capable of putting up this type of production and has a great matchup against the Panthers coming out of his bye week. 

• Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

  • I'd have Burrow higher, but the 49ers defense is still worrisome (despite getting shredded by Kirk Cousins). 

• Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings

  • Speaking of Kirk Cousins... he looked great last week. I worry a little bit about traveling to Green Bay, but he should still a top-12 quarterback this week. 

• Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys

  • Prescott has a nice matchup against the Rams coming out of his bye week and is close to a must-start. 

• Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos

  • Wilson has been sneaky startable this season and is barely outside the top-12 at quarterback. He should be throwing a ton against the Chiefs, and there's a valid argument he should be a must-start. 

• Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

  • Stafford has been predictably mediocre this season. Nothing more, nothing less. If you're looking for a solid 13-16 fantasy points at the quarterback spot, that's probably what you're going to get again this week. Low upside, high floor. 

• Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints

  • Carr is yet another one who has put up fantasy points while looking like a very average quarterback. He's been a top-15 fantasy quarterback over the last three weeks and has been in the top-10 over the last two. I like him to be a borderline QB1 against the Colts this week. 

• Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

  • While Love is still a top-10 fantasy quarterback in terms of points per game, it's been a wild ride to get there. Love has struggled through the majoriy of each games, but has almost always pulled a solid fantasy performance out of it. Even though it might be an adventure, Love should be able to put up points against the Vikings.

Deep League Starts

These guys are basically "sits" in a 12-team league. But they're likely someone you should start in a superflex league or a 16-team league. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week:

• Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks

  • Geno has looked better of late, but he hasn't been lighting things up either. With an awful matchup against the Browns on tap, I'd sit him if you can. 

• Brock Purdy/Sam Darnold, San Francisco 49ers

  • This very likely could be Darnold with Purdy in concussion protocol, but I don't think it matters much. Either one of them is a so-so fantasy option against the Bengals and will be carried by their weapons. Whoever starts will probably finish as QB15-20.

• Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

  • While he still looks shaky, Young has finally started to look better over his last two games. Coming off a bye week, I like Young to put up a decent fantasy performance this weekend.

• Gardner Minshew, Indianapolis Colts

  • Minshew played out of his mind last weekend, but he's still a risky start. While I'm ok with starting him out of necessity, I wouldn't run to start him against a tough Saints defense either. 

• Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons

  • Ridder has been a bit like Love in that he's put up fantasy points while looking dangerously close to being a bad quarterback along the way. But points are points and Ridder should be able to finish as a top-20 quarterback this week. 

• Sam Howell, Washington Commanders

  • Howell has had some really good games this year, but he's had a couple stinkers too. I'm not scared of him if you have to use him. But I wouldn't be excited about starting him against the Eagles either. 

• Joshua Dobbs/Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

  • I don't love either of these starts (Dobbs because he's limited and Murray because he's coming off injury), but whoever gets the call... I'm only risking starting them in the deepest of leagues. 

Sit 'Em

These guys are "sits" in pretty much any league except a superflex. Here's the order in which I'd start them this week if you absolutely have to:

• Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • The Bills defense doesn't scare me, but Baker has come back to reality a bit lately. Avoid him if you can afford to. He's also currently questionable so that's even more to avoid him (and no, Kyle Trask wouldn't be a startable option either). 

• Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Pickett is QB23 on the year and that's basically what we should expect from him every week. He's yet to throw for more than 234 yards in a game and hasn only thrown one touchdown pass in his last three games. The matchup against the Jaguars isn't bad, but Pickett is a weekly sit at this point. 

• Zach Wilson, New York Jets

  • Wilson has shown signs of life this season, but he should not be an option for your fantasy lineup.

• Deshaun Watson/P.J. Walker, Cleveland Browns

  • I don't know who the starter here is, but I'm avoiding either one. 

• Daniel Jones/Tyrod Taylor, New York Giants

  • Regardless of who starts, neither is a great option. And the matchup against the Jets is a bad one. Avoid. 

• Jimmy Garoppolo/Brian Hoyer/Aidan O'Connell, Las Vegas Raiders 

  • It looks like Jimmy G will be back this week, but there's no reason to have him in your fantasy lineup. 

• Tyson Bagent, Chicago Bears

  • Bagent wasn't awful in his NFL debut, but he didn't look great either. While the matchup against the Chargers is pretty decent, I wouldn't start Bagent unless he's your only option. 

• Mac Jones, New England Patriots

  • Jones looked better last week, but he's still not anyone you want to start in your fantasy lineup unless you absolutely have to. 

• Will Levis/Malik Willis, Tennessee Titans

  • I don't know what the Titans are doing with their two-QB approach, but I want no part of it. 
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