Updated Fantasy Football QB Rankings Week 8: Who to start, best sleepers, injury updates, waiver wire picks

The entirety of not just the fantasy football universe, but the entire NFL universe held is collective breath when Jayden Daniels was taken to the locker room for X-rays on what appeared to be injured ribs. The game was already in hand against a hapless Panthers squad, but that was the least of anyone's concerns. Even though Daniels is a rookie, he's looked like a seasoned veteran since his first snap in the league. He and Dan Quinn have completely turned around the Commanders franchise. Thankfully, Daniels came back out onto the field, and while he was in street clothes, he was also all smiles, seemingly signaling to the fans that he would be ok. Stay tuned for an official diagnosis, but it appears this may not be a long-term injury. 

Meanwhile, Browns QB Deshaun Watson also went down with an injury, but his is of the season-ending variety as he tore his Achilles. The fans were not silent for this one though, as the Browns cheered that Watson went down and would not be under center anymore. You can read more on the situation here. 

And it was an overall somewhat surprising quiet week for quarterbacks in general. Josh Allen was the only quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards as he was 21-for-33 for 323 yards and two touchdowns. 

Now it's time to turn the page on Week 7, though, and look ahead to Week 8. 

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Fantasy QB Rankings Week 8: Who to start, sit at quarterback

These rankings are based on four-point passing TD scoring. These rankings were updated on Oct. 27 and will be updated throughout the week, so check back often. 

Those who have already played are listed in italics.

Who are the best fantasy QBs for Week 8?

It's no surprise to see the likes of Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, and Josh Allen as our top 3 quarterbacks this week. All three have rushing upside, and all three have favorable matchups. So with not much to break down with our top-3, let's focus on the next two this week. 

Jordan Love gets a Jacksonville pass defense that came into Week 7 dead last in the entire NFL. The Jags will also be traveling back to the U.S. after two straight weeks in London, splitting those games with a loss to the Bears and a victory against the Patriots. The Packers are so difficult to gameplan for because they have so many weapons, so when you get a poor pass defense like this, Love has to be salivating at the matchup. The only thing that could hold back an elite stat line from Love is if the Jags can't keep this one close.

Joe Burrow didn't put up huge numbers against the Browns, but he didn't have to, and he typically does struggle against Cincinnati's inter-state rival. Coming into this one, though, Burrow was on a heater. He gets a Philadelphia Eagles defense that has looked great the last couple of weeks, but it's come against the same Browns and the Giants. While Philly's defense is improving, if the offensive line can slow down the surging pass rush, then Burrow should still be able to put up numbers in what could be a shoot-out. 

Who are the best fantasy QB waiver pickups Week 8?

Drake Maye was a waiver wire recommendation last week, but with him being rostered in just 16% of Yahoo! leagues, not enough of you took us up on that advice. Well, he looked pretty impressive in London, albeit against a very poor Jacksonville pass defense. He threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns and added another 18 yards on the ground. The running game was almost non-existent, and with very few reliable wide receiver options, Maye has wisely been leaning on tight end Hunter Henry. Maye's connection with his WRs will only grow as the season goes on, so it makes sense to pick up Maye now before he starts putting up bigger stat lines.  

It was very surprising to see that the QB13 in fantasy scoring heading into Week 7 was none other than Bo Nix. He hasn't cracked 250 passing yards in any game this season and has cracked 200 yards in just four games thus far. But he's made up for that by rushing for 25 or more yards in 5-of-7 games so far this season. And he's racked up 75 and 61 rushing yards in the last two games, respectively. Nix may not connect on many deep shots this season, but if he can keep the rushing numbers up, he may still be a good streaming option in favorable matchups. 

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Who are the best fantasy QB sleepers Week 8?

Caleb Williams was finally starting to build some momentum, but then the Bears encountered their bye week in Week 7. That could be a good thin for the rookie QB, though. Now, with a couple of good games under his belt, he can look back and see what improvements have led to that success and how to make more improvements as the season wears on. Plus, they get the Washington Commanders in a marquee matchup against fellow rookie Jayden Daniels. While Daniels has taken the league by storm, he hasn't faced many tough defenses yet, and Chicago has one of the better pass defenses in the league. Look for Williams to try and steal the headlines away from Daniels and make the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award a real competition after all. 

After suffering their first loss of the season against the Lions in a heartbreaker in Week 7, look for the Vikings to rebound in a big way against the Rams. Los Angeles has one of the worst pass defenses in the league, so expect Darnold to let it rip and send plenty of targets to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. The Vikings may also get back tight end T.J. Hockenson, which would be another boost to an already juicy offensive matchup. 

What are the biggest QB injuries Week 8?

Deshaun Watson came into Week 7 as arguably the worst quarterback in the league. He was actually off to one of his best starts of the season against the Bengals, but then he went down with what appeared to be a ruptured Achilles tendon. Dorian Thompson-Robinson took over in relief and showed some juice with his rushing ability, but then he went down as well. And that paved the way for fantasy darling Jameis Winston who promptly tossed a TD to tight end David Njoku. Watson is officially out for the rest of the season, and Winston was named the starter for this Sunday against the Ravens. 

And this could be the week that Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) returns for the Dolphins. That hasn't been set in stone, but the Dolphins were optimistic this would be the week he returns. And it can't come soon enough. His original backup, Skylar Thompson, is already out with an injury, and then Snoop Huntley went down against the Colts as well, so Tim Boyle closed things out in a tough loss. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle need Tua back in the worst way, but even if Tagovailoa does make his return, everyone will be waiting with baited breath to see if he can come out of the game unscathed. 

The biggest scare came from Jayden Daniels, though. With a huge clash against the Bears and fellow rookie Caleb Williams on deck, Daniels was knocked out of the Week 7 matchup against the Panthers. Washington jumped out to a commanding lead, and with backup Marcus Mariota nursing a 28-0 lead, there was no reason for Daniels to return. While we can't take this as gospel, Daniels' mom seemed to send a message that had Commanders fans and fantasy managers breathing a sigh of relief. Now we just have to see how "fine" he really is. 

He's fine #httc

— Mz Jackson (@LovelyMzJackson) October 20, 2024

On Monday, Daniels was revealed to be considered week-to-week, which is concerning for the short-term. It's not a lock that he'll be out this week, but we'll at least need to see a switch to day-to-day to start feeling better. Daniels has gotten in some limited practices, and he was upgraded to a game-time decision. The most encouraging sign that he may play, though, is that they did not call up an additional quarterback to be active. For those reasons, we've added Daniels to the rankings, but we're still waiting on an official word when inactives are reported.  

On Wednesday, it was reported that Andy Dalton was in a car accident. While it doesn't appear that there are any long-term health concerns, who was not in uniform at practice, and Bryce Young was named the starter for Sunday.