With six teams on a bye this week, fantasy teams are missing key players like Brandon Marshall, Andre Johnson, T.Y. Hilton, Torrey Smith, and Keenan Allen. As if that weren’t bad enough, studs like Julio Jones, Randall Cobb, and Reggie Wayne have all been lost to injury. You’ll likely have to do plenty of lineup tweaking and the best place to start is by looking at the defensive matchups.
This week, Harry Douglas is liable to get the Patrick Peterson treatment but, after a big game against Darrelle Revis and the Bucs, he should be just fine, especially if Roddy White remains out.
On the other hand, anyone on the Chiefs, Rams, Jets, and Bills should be avoided.
The Pats shouldn’t have too much trouble against Miami but, with Gronk back, all of Brady’s receivers will have limited value. On the other hand, if Aqib Talib remains out, one of the Dolphins receivers could be in for a big game. Of course, it’s the Dolphins so you never really know which one. Last week it was Brandon Gibson.
I would avoid Denarius Moore against a very tough Steelers defense that has only given up two double-digit games to receivers, both in their game against the Vikings.
Justin Blackmon and Josh Gordon both have tough starts but they’ve been very good since coming back from their suspensions so they’re worth taking the chance on.
On the favorable side, Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Rueben Randle, Pierre Garcon, Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, Jordy Nelson, Jarrett Boykin, DeSean Jackson, Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Anquan Boldin, and Calvin Johnson all have favorable matchups and are liable to post big days.
Let’s take a look at all of the fantasy football wide receiver matchups in Week 8.
Browse Matchups by Position: QB – RB – WR – TE
 Highly Unfavorable, Unfavorable, Neutral, Slightly Favorable, Favorable
|
Rank |
AVG |
Defense |
Week 8 Opponents |
|
1 |
13.72 | Texans | BYE |
|
2 |
15.55 | Titans | BYE |
|
3 |
15.72 | Cardinals | Harry Douglas, Roddy White (Q), Darius Johnson |
|
4 |
15.95 | Browns | Dwayne Bowe, Donnie Avery, Dexter McCluster |
|
5 |
16.18 | Dolphins | Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola (Q), Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson, Austin Collie |
|
6 |
16.28 | Seahawks | Austin Pettis, Chris Givens, Tavon Austin |
|
7 |
16.44 | Panthers | Vincent Jackson, Mike Williams |
|
8 |
16.53 | Patriots | Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson |
|
9 |
17.06 | Steelers | Denarius Moore, Rod Streater |
|
10 |
18.57 | Chiefs | Josh Gordon, Greg Little, Davone Bess |
|
11 |
18.62 | 49ers | Justin Blackmon, Cecil Shorts |
|
12 |
19.15 | Colts | BYE |
|
13 |
19.72 | Bengals | Stephen Hill, Jeremy Kerley, David Nelson, Santonio Holmes (Q) |
|
14 |
21.33 | Saints | Robert Woods, Stevie Johnson |
|
15 |
21.92 | Buccaneers | Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell, Ted Ginn Jr. |
|
16 |
22.37 | Raiders | Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders |
|
17 |
23.7 | Bears | BYE |
|
18 |
24.15 | Cowboys | Calvin Johnson, Kris Durham, Ryan Broyles |
|
19 |
24.18 | Jets | A.J. Green, Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu |
|
20 |
24.38 | Jaguars | Anquan Boldin |
|
21 |
25.22 | Rams | Golden Tate, Sidney Rice, Doug Baldwin, Percy Harvin (Q) |
|
22 |
25.62 | Ravens | BYE |
|
23 |
25.95 | Lions | Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Miles Austin (Q) |
|
24 |
25.97 | Giants | DeSean Jackson, Riley Cooper, Jason Avant |
|
25 |
26.06 | Vikings | Jordy Nelson, Jarrett Boykin, James Jones (Q) |
|
26 |
26.93 | Chargers | BYE |
|
27 |
27.62 | Redskins | Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Eric Decker |
|
28 |
27.98 | Falcons | Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, Andre Roberts |
|
29 |
28.04 | Packers | Greg Jennings, Jerome Simpson, Cordarrelle Patterson |
|
30 |
30.03 | Broncos | Pierre Garcon, Leonard Hankerson, Santana Moss |
|
31 |
34.32 | Bills | Marques Colston, Kenny Stills, Robert Meachem |
|
32 |
36.43 | Eagles | Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Rueben Randle |
*Values based on Yahoo standard scoring.
Browse Matchups by Position: QB – RB – WR – TE
