Fantasy Football Week 8 Fantasy Stars Who Will Struggle: Dak Prescott, George Kittle, and More

Last week's try at picking out weekly fantasy starters who would struggle to excel was rough, as our stars mostly did what they were supposed to do in succeeding:

• Jalen Hurts had negative rushing yards, but he threw for 326 yards on just 23 attempts (14.2 yards per attempt) with three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Vikings, who just got torn up by Justin Herbert on Thursday night as well.
• De'Von Achane gained 82 yards on 13 carries and 16 yards on three receptions. That's a good game, though his team got absolutely shut down by the Browns, as expected.
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba starred against the Texans, catching eight passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.
• George Kittle was the one win, as he was completely shut out on two targets. It's the first time in Kittle's career that he didn't catch a pass, showing that Atlanta has a legitimately tough defense.

That's bad. It happens, since we're often talking about some of the best players in fantasy football, but I usually like to hit on at least 50%. Let's do it again and look at one weekly fantasy starter at each offensive position who will fail to live up to expectations in Week 8. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Use FantasySP's defensive rankings to find the teams with the best and worst matchups each week and help make all your toughest lineup decisions!

Quarterback

Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys @ Denver Broncos

Prescott had the second-most passing yards entering Week 8, behind Herbert. He's only average in efficiency, but Prescott was tied for the second-most pass attempts, again only behind Herbert.

Less volume would mean less fantasy acumen, but that doesn't seem to be in the future, as Prescott has thrown the ball at least 29 times in every game and reached 40 attempts in three of seven games (topping out at 52). When he's throwing it all over the field, it's tough to bench Prescott.

The matchup is the big issue here, as the Broncos have given up the eighth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. They have been a little vulnerable at times, but it's been more about volume than efficiency, as Denver faced at least 33 pass attempts in each game in which they gave up more than 200 passing yards.

Prescott will still probably build volume of his own in this game, but it will be a tough go of it compared to recent games against the Jets, Panthers, and Commanders. I understand anyone who won't bench Prescott, as he was QB2 entering the week, but this will be his most formidable opponent to date.

Running Back

Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns @ New England Patriots

I'm ready to call Judkins something close to a fantasy star, even after just six games. He is averaging 77.8 rushing yards per game with five touchdowns, though his receiving impact has been limited. Judkins is a top-11 back since Week 2, when he made his debut.

The Patriots are allowing the third-fewest yards per rush attempt and the sixth-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs. While New England has been very vulnerable against the pass, they are one of the top run defenses in the league.

Cleveland doesn't have much of a passing game with rookie Dillon Gabriel under center, but they have been running the ball. Judkins isn't going to find a lot of room to run in this one, and it might be up to Gabriel to have success through the air if the Browns have any hope of winning.

Judkins will touch the ball, but it's going to be tough to find consistent success against such a good run defense. While owners probably aren't benching him, you didn't draft Judkins as a starter, so you might have another option.

Wide Receiver

Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins @ Atlanta Falcons

Waddle is dealing with a hamstring injury but is expected to play in Week 8. Any player with an injury worry brings risk, so it's a bad start for Waddle before we even jump into the numbers.

He had two really good games after Tyreek Hill went down, combining for 12 catches, 205 yards, and a touchdown in Weeks 5 and 6, but things turned last week, as Waddle finished with just one catch for 15 yards.

That came in a tough matchup against the Browns, and Waddle and the Dolphins now face an even tougher pass defense in Atlanta. The Falcons have allowed the second-fewest yards per pass attempt and the second-fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers.

With the Dolphins falling apart on both offense and defense, there aren't many successful players left. While Waddle is one of them, that means that opposing teams can key on him more, so when they face a tough defensive team like Atlanta, that puts even more stress on the star receiver.

Waddle and the Dolphins are both likely to struggle this week, making for another poor offensive day for Miami.

Tight End

George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

Let's go back to the well with Kittle. Maybe part of the issue is that the injury wasn't healed. Kittle suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1, and he didn't return until last week against the Falcons, when he was shut out, as mentioned above.

This week, San Francisco faces Houston, a team that has allowed the fifth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the fifth-fewest fantasy points per game to tight ends. No position in the passing game has found success against the Texans, and tight ends are included.

Kittle had at least one catch in all 114 games he played in his career before Week 7. He was held catch-less on two targets despite playing a majority of the snaps against Atlanta. There's a real worry with a second straight tough matchup.

Kittle is a superstar at his best, but it's hard to know what to expect after last week. He might still be dealing with the injury, and he has a tough matchup on top of it. Because of all that, it's worth looking at your options if you have another tight end on your roster.