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Week 8 of the 2023 fantasy football season will conclude with a Monday Night Football matchup between the Detroit Lions and Las Vegas Raiders. The Lions will be looking to bounce back after a disastrous game last week, while the Raiders are pushing to get themselves back into the NFL Playoff picture. This makes it an important game for both teams, though for different reasons.
This particular contest features many fantasy options for the final game of the Week 8 slate. Some managers will be looking for Monday night miracles, while others look to solidify their leads and finish strong. Either way, it will be crucial to properly analyze all of the potential options before finalizing any lineup decisions.
Monday Night Football Week 8 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em fantasy football
Effective fantasy football lineup decisions require managers to weigh a wide range of various factors for each available player. Some of these include recent individual performances, injury situations to relevant players, potential game scripts, direct weekly matchups and projected offensive output, among many others. These variables help determine which weekly options to target for fantasy lineups.
The Start/Sit Optimizer helps streamline this complicated process. This useful tool considers every possible variable on any players in a given week to generate lineup suggestions and fantasy projections. Managers who reference it for lineup decisions often gain an edge over the rest. It was used to help produce the following list of potential targets and fades for Week 8 Monday Night Football.
Official injury reports also play a crucial role when debating which players to target during each week of any fantasy football season. For this particular matchup, several injury situations are noteworthy. Jimmy Garoppolo is expected to make his return to the Las Vegas Raiders this week, moving Brian Hoyer and Aidan O'Connell back to the bench.
For the Detroit Lions, running back David Montgomery has already been ruled out as he continues to deal with a rib injury. This means that rookie Jahmyr Gibbs will get another opportunity as the starter, with Craig Reynolds filling in as their RB2. Superstar wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is currently listed as questionable to play after being a late addition to the official injury report with an apparent illness.
All of these various factors, along with many others, were taken into careful consideration when coming up with the following list of players to target and others to avoid for fantasy football lineups on Monday Night Football in Week 8 for the 2023 NFL season.
MNF Week 8 Fantasy Football Start 'Em Picks
Jared Goff
Jared Goff ranked as QB10 overall in fantasy football entering Week 8. This includes four finishes among top 14 quarterbacks and ranking in the top six in three separate weeks. His two best performances of the 2023 NFL season have also come in games that he has played in his home stadium, which he will do again this week when the Lions host the Raiders.
Jahmyr Gibbs
With David Montgomery unavailable last week due to a rib injury, Jahmyr Gibbs stepped into the featured running back role for the Lions after returning from a different injury of his own. He responded by recording the first top-10 weekly finish of his career so far. He will be in the same situation this week and makes for an excellent player to target in all fantasy leagues, regardless of scoring format.
Also Read: Jahmyr Gibbs fantasy outlook
Josh Jacobs
While Josh Jacobs has failed to repeat his monstrous fantasy football season from last season, he still ranked as RB19 ahead of Week 8. This makes him a RB2 in most fantasy lineups, so he's going to be starter in most weeks for the majority of formats. Despite the Lions allowing the fewest fantasy points per game to running backs, Jacobs makes for low-upside fringe starter.
Amon-Ra St. Brown
As long as Amon-Ra St. Brown is able to overcome his illness and play against the Raiders this week, he must be started in all fantasy formats. He has some of the most reliable volume of any wide receiver in the NFL, consistently making him a top-10 weekly option in the position. Managers should check his official injury status prior to kickoff, but if he's active, he's a must-start.
Davante Adams
Davante Adams entered Week 8 as WR16 in fantasy football, making him a back-end WR1 or elite WR2 on most fantasy rosters. This comes despite three consecutive weekly finishes outside of the top 25 wide receivers. With Jimmy Garoppolo back in the lineup, he's a solid candidate for a bounce back performance.
Jakobi Meyers
Jakobi Meyers is quietly putting up WR1 numbers for the Raiders this year, including four weekly finishes among the top 15 players in the position. The Lions rank in the top 10 in limiting fantasy football points to wide receivers, so while he has a challenging matchup this week, Meyers has elevated himself to a weekly must-start, at least until he cools off.
Sam LaPorta
Sam LaPorta has been one of the breakout rookies during the 2023 NFL season so far. He currently ranks as the TE4 overall this year, giving his managers unexpected stability at the most volatile position in fantasy football. He should be started in just about every week, for as long as his output remains elite.
Managers looking to acquire any of these Week 8 targets should consult the fantasy football trade analyzer first.
MNF Week 8 Fantasy Football Sit 'Em Picks
Jimmy Garoppolo
While Jimmy Garoppolo will boost the fantasy outlooks for Jakobi Meyers and Davante Adams, he doesn't make for an intriguing lineup option himself this week. He finished outside of the top 20 quarterbacks in each of his past two starts and has a difficult matchup against the Lions defense. It ranks toward the top of the NFL in most defensive categories.
Craig Reynolds
Craig Reynolds was expected to play a significant offensive role last week when David Montgomery was ruled out with an injury. The Lions instead decided to heavily feature Jahmyr Gibbs in their offensive gameplan, a strategy that they will likely stick to after his success last week. This makes Reynolds a bench stash, at best.
Jameson Williams
The Las Vegas Raiders are currently allowing the second-fewest fantasy points per game to wide receivers. They have been a sneaky-good defense this season, especially in defending opposing passing attacks. This makes Jameson Williams extremely difficult to trust this week, though he makes for an ideal bench stash as his role appears to be on the incline for the remainder of the season.
Also Read: Week 8 QB rankings
Josh Reynolds
Josh Reynolds has been an excellent streamer in the right matchups this year, holding WR3/Flex value in favorable situations. This isn't one of them against the Raiders' strong pass defense. Reynolds is also becoming increasingly difficult to trust with Williams seemingly on the rise, potentially cutting into his target share.
Michael Mayer
Michael Mayer quickly emerged on the fantasy football radar two weeks ago when he exploded for a TE5 finish in PPR leagues. The issue is that he has finished outside of the top 20 players in the position in every other week so far this season. The rookie shouldn't be trusted in fantasy lineups until he can prove his one breakout performance wasn't simply a fluke.
