Fantasy Football Week 8 Wide Receiver Start/Sit: Tetairoa McMillan, Stefon Diggs and More

Welcome to Week 8's fantasy football wide receiver start/sit breakdown! 

As always, let's start with some accountability by going over how my picks from last week performed. This week, those results were split right down the middle. I had probably my best week of the season on the start side, but things were rough on the sit side.

Specifically, Rashee Rice (19.7 half-PPR points), Chris Olave (24.3), and my deep pick of Tez Johnson (13.8) all finished as top-17 receivers, with the first two both finishing in the top 10. I simply couldn't ask for better results from three start picks. 

However, they were all outscored by my first sit pick, DeVonta Smith, who exploded for 28.8 points to finish as the WR2 on the week. Jakobi Meyers didn't suit up at all with an injury, so that pick gets an incomplete grade (with a slight lean toward the positive side because he did score zero points, after all). Stefon Diggs didn't make me look as stupid as Smith did, but he still had a solid outing with 10.4 points.

Looking forward to Week 8, we have six teams on bye. That means the standards will be lower for the players I suggest, both as starts and sits. Hopefully, I can maintain last week's excellent results on the start side while bouncing back as a hater. Let's get started.

For more help with your toughest Week 8 start/sit decisions, check out FantasySP's NFL Start/Sit tool!

Wide Receivers to Start Week 8

Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina Panthers

Last week was probably the worst of McMillan's young professional career. He posted just a 15.6% target share, his lowest of the season and just his second time below 20%. And he only caught three of those five targets, finishing with 33 scoreless yards.

But I can only recommend going straight back to the eighth-overall pick this week. After all, I just said that he has only seen below a 20% target share twice all season — that's simply excellent usage. Although it's certainly not guaranteed, I'm cautiously optimistic that Andy Dalton (who will likely start this week as Bryce Young is dealing with an ankle injury) will be an upgrade for the Panthers' offense — at least in terms of downfield passing volume, if nothing else. 

The matchup with the Bills isn't great on paper, but it should at least lead to a positive game script for Carolina's receiving game, as they are seven-point home underdogs. Jalen Coker was in a part-time role in his 2025 debut last week, and I'm not buying last week's explosion from Xavier Legette. T-Mac is the Panthers' WR1, and he's a solid starting option in all formats. 

Darnell Mooney, Atlanta Falcons

Thanks to a shoulder injury and a hamstring injury, Mooney has played just three full games this season. In those games, he has averaged just 5.9 points per game.

That's not inspiring. What is inspiring is his underlying usage: a 19% target share and a 39% air yards share on an 85% route participation rate. His expected half-PPR points per game are somewhere around 12.2 (per Fantasy Points Data) or 9.5 (per PFF).

Normally, when a player is providing lackluster production on solid usage, I'd recommend waiting for them to also be in a good matchup to jam them in. That's not the case here, as the Dolphins have allowed the eighth-fewest points per game to opposing WRs (mostly because their run defense is so bad no one bothers to pass against them).

But beggars can't be choosers, and I imagine plenty of fantasy managers are currently staring at thoroughly mediocre flex or WR3 options this week. Mooney — who is still available in over half of leagues — can help. 

Tez Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I recommended Johnson last week, and I regretted it when Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka both ended up available for Tampa Bay's Monday night game. But Evans unfortunately exited early with a broken clavicle, opening things back up for the seventh-round rookie to serve as the WR2 alongside Egbuka (who also was in and out with his hamstring injury).

By the time the game was over, Johnson finished second among Buccaneers WRs to only his fellow rookie with a 74% route participation rate. And he made the most of those routes, earning seven targets and catching four for 48 yards and a very impressive touchdown. 

Now, Johnson is set up to once again be Baker Mayfield's WR2, heading into a good matchup with the Saints. New Orleans ranks near average in actual points allowed to opposing WRs, but their defense is bad and their offense plays fast. With Baker cooking, Johnson has a great chance to provide a usable week once again.

Wide Receivers to Sit Week 8

Stefon Diggs, New England Patriots

Diggs had a solid game last week when I listed him as a sit, but I can't help but go back to the well again for Week 8. He simply sticks out like a sore thumb among receivers projected to be started in over half of leagues … and not in a good way.

The thing is that Diggs just isn't seeing the kind of usage to justify his current perception as a fantasy asset. For the season, he has averaged just a 62% route participation rate, including being below 65% in two of the last three weeks. That's genuine part-time usage, not what you expect to see from a weekly fantasy starter

To be fair, Diggs' target share (22%) and air yards share (24%) are both much more respectable. Even with his small role, he's proven capable of racking up targets when he is on the field. With this in mind, he's not a must-bench. But if you're in a shallow league where you still have options despite the many byes this week, I recommend leaning away from the Patriots veteran. 

Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills

Speaking of AFC East receivers who don't run enough routes to be reliable fantasy options, we have Shakir. 

Shakir's 73% participation rate is actually better than Diggs', although that says more about Diggs than his Buffalo counterpart. However, Shakir can't match Diggs in terms of per-route efficiency. As a result, he has just a mediocre 18% target share and a flat-out bad 12% air yards share in the Bills' offense. 

Especially because of that low air yards share, Shakir needs one of a few things to happen to have a big fantasy day. He either needs a high-volume day for Josh Allen, to score a touchdown, or to break a big play with yards after the catch. The latter of those options is always possible, and it's what I'm most scared of with this pick. 

But the Bills are seven-point favorites, so this isn't likely to be a heavy passing game for Allen. And Shakir has zero end zone targets on the season, with his only red-zone usage being screens (0.6-yard ADOT on seven red zone targets this season), so he's not too likely to hit paydirt. Put it all together, and I recommend avoiding the slot specialist against Carolina this week. 

Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders

After Diggs and Shakir, I found myself reaching into players who were already barely started to find receivers I felt comfortable picking against. Instead, let's jump toward the top of the rankings with a bold pick against McLaurin.

He hasn't played since Week 3, but McLaurin is reportedly practicing today, putting him on track to play Monday against the Chiefs. Managers who have held Scary Terry through his injury will likely be excited to get him back, but I don't recommend inserting him straight back into your lineup if you have other viable options. 

For one, McLaurin simply hasn't been productive this season, even before his injury. He scored 3.7 points in Week 1, 7.3 points in Week 2, and 8.9 points before exiting in the second half of Week 3. If we filter to just his two fully healthy weeks, the 30-year-old wasn't even the Commanders' WR1. He averaged an 18% target share compared to 25% for Deebo Samuel Sr. (who is also on track to return this week after missing Week 7 with a heel injury).

Things weren't all bad, as he led the team with a 33% air yards share, but it's not as though his lack of fantasy production was despite elite usage.

However, this all wouldn't be enough to make McLaurin a sit pick. What puts things over the top is the situational factors. The Commanders face the Chiefs this week, who have allowed the fewest yards per game and the third-fewest points per game to opposing receivers. They will also do so with Marcus Mariota under center, as Jayden Daniels has already been ruled out.

It's also concerning that this game is on Monday night — if McLaurin ends up being a late scratch with his injury, there won't be pivots available. Putting it all together, relying on Terry as a starting WR this week is a Scary option.