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Week 8 of the 2023 fantasy football season kicks off with a Thursday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Managers should always be looking to get off to the best start possible for their fantasy matchups, which requires making the correct lineup decisions for the opening game of the week.
This particular TNF game is loaded with potential fantasy options as many of the Bills and Buccaneers' main offensive weapons are rostered in fantasy football. The majority of them should not be blindly started, but instead analyzed and compared to other potential options first. This strategy is how managers most often maximize their weekly fantasy score.
Thursday Night Football Week 8 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em fantasy football
Before finalizing any lineup decisions in fantasy football, managers must weigh a large amount of variables 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.
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The Start/Sit Optimizer helps make this complicated process much easier. This useful tool considers all of the variables on any players in a given week to generate lineup suggestions and fantasy projections. Those who use it will often gain an edge over the rest of their leagues. It was used to help produce a list of targets and fades for Week 8 Thursday Night Football.
Official injury reports are also extremely important when breaking down any game in relation to fantasy football lineup considerations. Luckily for the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, their offensive skill-position players will enter the contest relatively healthy. Almost all of them are expected to play, despite some being listed on the injury report.
For the Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield and Chris Godwin are both listed as questionable, but they are both reportedly expected to play. The Bills will be without one of their tight ends, Dawson Knox, creating an opportunity for rookie Dalton Kincaid to see an expanded role, increasing his fantasy value.
All of these various factors, along with many others, were taken into consideration when coming up with the following list of players to target, and others to avoid, for fantasy football lineups in the opening game of Week 8 for the 2023 NFL season.
TNF Week 8 Fantasy Football Start 'Em Picks
Josh Allen
Despite Josh Allen playing below his usual standards during the 2023 fantasy football season so far, he is still a weekly must-start in all leagues, regardless of the scoring format.
His rare combination of passing and rushing has ranked him among the top three fantasy quarterbacks in each of the past three seasons, so he can safely be started this week and every week unless something unexpected drastically changes his approach to the position.
Rachaad White
While the Bills' defense is excellent in defending the pass, it is mediocre at limiting opposing rushing attacks. This includes allowing the 12th most fantasy points per game to running backs.
Rachaad White has finished among the top 20 players at the position in half of his games this season, making him a solid lineup option this week.
James Cook
Despite a challenging matchup against a Buccaneers defense that allows the eight-fewest fantasy points per game to running backs, James Cook should still be started in most lineups. He has finished RB18 or better four times this year, including a season-best last week, ranking eighth among all running backs.
Stefon Diggs
Not many wide receivers should be blindly plugged into fantasy football lineups every week, regardless of their matchup, especially considering the elite depth of the position. Stefon Diggs is one of those rare players. He enters just about any weekly wide receiver rankings among the top five options due to his consistently dominant output.
Gabe Davis
Gabe Davis seems to put fantasy managers in a dilemma every week as they debate whether or not to use him in starting lineups. He is the ultimate boom-or-bust player, finishing WR13 or better three times this season, but also finishing outside of the top 65 in the same amount of games. He's always a gamble, but his weekly upside is difficult to leave on the bench.
Chris Godwin
Despite downgrading from Tom Brady to Baker Mayfield at quarterback, Chris Godwin is still having a relatively productive fantasy football season. He has recorded four finishes among the top 30 wide receivers. He has been listed as questionable on the Buccaneers' official injury report this week, but he's reportedly expected to play.
Mike Evans
Mike Evans appears to be well on his way to another 1,000-yard receiving season, as he has done every year of his career so far. Many worried about his offensive production and fantasy value tanking with the arrival of Mayfield, but he has remained his consistently solid self, ranking among the top 20 wide receivers four times this season, including two top 10 finishes.
Dalton Kincaid
Dalton Kincaid has been steadily increasing his offensive role with the Bills as his rookie season plays itself out. With Dawson Knox recently having wrist surgery, Kincaid's fantasy value has recently skyrocketed. He would be a borderline fantasy starter this week if Knox were playing, but without him, the rookie is an excellent tight end option.
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
Baker Mayfield
The Buffalo Bills are currently allowing the second-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, trailing only the Baltimore Ravens. This gives Baker Mayfield a brutal matchup this week. While the potential game script suggests he may have to pass the ball often to keep up with the favored Bills, he's hard to trust in most league formats.
Cade Otton
The Bills' defense has had similar success defending fantasy tight ends, allowing the eight-fewest points to the position so far. This further demonstrates their elite all-around passing defense that seems to be severely underrated.
Cade Otton recorded his third top-15 finish of the season last week, but he is better off left on the bench in this difficult TNF matchup.
