Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em, NFL Week 8: Indiana Daniel Jones and the Offense of Doom

All Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Ems are created equal.

You pick a position, you pick a player, you dig up some number to explain why this dude goes into your fantasy football lineup, and why that dude should remain on your fantasy bench.

That’s all fine and good — some of these tidbits of advice have helped me win plenty of fantasy football games — but sometimes, we pigskin pundits need to mix things up. And that’s exactly what I’m doing here. Start ‘em, Sit ‘em, NFL Week 8 is going to be about stacks.

Some of you might be asking, “Alan, what the heck is a stack?”

Easy: A stack is when you insert multiple players from a single team onto your fantasy lineup, the reasoning being that if you stack a couple of Detroit Lions — i.e., QB Jared Goff and WR Jameson Williams — you’ll have a great week if/when the two of them connect for a couple of tuddies.

Admittedly, it’s a theory that’s geared more towards DFS than season-long, but even if you grab one of the players from a stack-centric team, you might well do okay. 

Conversely, you’ll probably want to avoid rostering players from non-stack-centric squads, for instance anybody playing defensive semi-dynamos like the Browns or the Falcons.

Among the squads that seem to have advantageous Week 8 matchups are Indianapolis (vs. Tennessee), Tampa Bay (@ New Orleans), and Atlanta (vs. Miami). On the other hand, you might want to avoid New England (vs. Cleveland), Miami (@ Atlanta), and San Francisco (@ Houston).

So let’s get stacking, y’all.

NFL Week 8 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em

Colts QB Daniel Jones: Start ‘Em

Colts vs. Titans - 4:25 p.m. ET

Here’s a sentence that exactly none of you have said or heard, ever: Daniel Jones deserves to be in the MVP conversation.

Aside from the fact that he’s racked up the fifth-most total passing yards here in 2025 with 1,790, and has thrown just 3 picks, and has been sacked a mere 6 times, he’s the field general for arguably the best team in the AFC (okay, maybe second-best behind the Chiefs), a team that leads the league in points with 232.

The Titans, who have allowed 192 points — fifth-most in the NFL — can’t be super-stoked to face Indiana Jones. Not one bit. 

Daniel Jones PrizePicks Projection: 231.5 Pass Yards, 16.5 Rush Yards

Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield: Start ‘Em

Buccaneers @ Saints - 4:05 p.m. ET

Here’s the thing: The Saints D isn’t the worst of the bad. Sure, they’ve given up just 6 points fewer than the Titans, but last Sunday, in their gnarly 26-14 loss to Chicago, they held Bears QB Caleb Williams to 5.7 fantasy points, his worst outing of the season.

But Caleb isn’t playing at an MVP level, and aside from his Monday night stinker in Detroit, Baker is, so here we are.

Patriots QB Drake Maye: Sit ‘Em

Patriots vs. Browns - 1:00 p.m. ET

I swear, if I hear NFL RedZone’s Scott Hanson say, “Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is become a star right before my eyes," I’ll throw my remote at the TV. (Okay, I really won’t. Both RedZone and Hanson are national treasures.) But even though Maye currently sits as fantasy football’s QB6 — we’re talking a 21.1 fantasy points per week average, ahead of both Mayfield and Jones — he’ll have to make hay against a Browns D that allows a piddly 173.7 passing yards per game.

So for at least this week, Scott Hansen might have to cool it with the Maye love.

Drake Maye PrizePicks Projection: 223.5 Pass Yards, 24.5 Rush Yards

49ers QBs Brock Purdy or Mac Jones: Sit ‘Em

49ers @ Texans - 1:00 p.m. ET

As of this writing, we don’t know who’ll be behind center for the Niners, but what we do know is that this past Sunday night facing an elite Atlanta D, Jones managed a meager 6.2 fantasy points (QB21), so it seems like he’s not ready to deal with stud defenses.

The Texans allow just 265.8 passing yards per game, and whether it’s a less-than-stellar Jones or the potentially rusty Purdy — who would be returning to the lineup back after nursing a turf toe he suffered in Week 1 — points might be hard to come by for the Niners.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor: Start ‘Em

Colts vs. Titans - 4:25 p.m. ET

If Taylor is on your season-long team, you start him, no questions asked. If you want to put Taylor in your DFS lineup, you do it, no questions asked.

Next.

Jonathan Taylor PrizePicks Projection: 98.5 Rush Yards

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson: Start ‘Em

Falcons vs. Dolphins - 1:00 p.m. ET

If Robinson is on your season-long team, you start him, no questions asked. If you want to put Robinson in your DFS lineup, you do it, no questions asked.

Next.

Bijan Robinson PrizePicks Projection: 84.5 Rush Yards, 38.5 Receiving Yards

Dolphins RB De’von Achane: Sit ‘Em

Dolphins @ Falcons - 1:00 p.m. ET

Now admittedly, Niners RB Christian McCaffrey torched the Falcons for 32.1 fantasy points (RB1) in their 20-10 loss to San Francisco on Sunday night. But that’s Christian McCaffrey, and the Dolphins are the Dolphins, and even though Achane is this season’s RB7 averaging a solid 14.9 fantasy points per week, the Dolphins are still the Dolphins.

Unless we see prime Dan Marino make a comeback, I’m fading all Fins, all the time.

De’von Achane PrizePicks Projection: 61.5 Rush Yards, 31.5 Receiving Yards

Patriots RB Tre’Veyon Henderson: Sit ‘Em

Patriots vs. Browns - 1:00 p.m. ET

The Pats backfield is a pain in the tush to start with — Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson as time-share-y as it gets — but throw them up against a Browns D that just held the aforementioned Mr. Achane to 9.8 fantasy points, well, no thank you.

I’m out on New England’s RBs until Week 11, when they play the Swiss cheesy Bengals. And even then, I’m proceeding with caution.

Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr.: Start ‘Em

Colts vs. Titans - 4:25 p.m. ET

Pittman is among the most annoying fantasy options of 2025.

In three of his seven games, he’s topped 13 fantasy points, while in two others, he couldn’t break 4.

But when you stack, it’s never a bad idea to start a killer QB and his WR1, and, for better or worse, Pittman is Indy's top receiver. (He's not their top pass catcher — that would be TE Tyler Warren.) And he’s facing a Titans D that’s allowed 192 points in ‘25, so there’s no worse here, just better.

Michael Pittman Jr. PrizePicks Projection: 52.5 Receiving Yards

Falcons WR Drake London: Start ‘Em 

Falcons vs. Dolphins - 1:00 p.m. ET

In Week 5, London racked up 21.8 fantasy points, finishing the week as WR3. In Week 6, he managed 4.2 fantasy points, finishing as WR42.

If you’re a receiver, there’s no better way to bust out of a slump than to play the Dolphins.

So have fun, Drake. We're pretty confident you will.

Drake London PrizePicks Projection: 71.5 Receiving Yards

Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle: Sit ‘Em

Dolphins @ Falcons - 1:00 p.m. ET

Taking McCaffrey’s 72 receiving yards out of the equation, the Falcons defense allowed the Niners to put together just 80 yards through the air, 69 of which were delivered by wide receivers.

On Sunday, Waddle managed an embarrassing 1.5 fantasy points. Then again, pretty much everything about the Dolphins is embarrassing, so if you have better options, keep Jaylen out of your lineup until further notice.

Jaylen Waddle PrizePicks Projection: 67.5 Receiving Yards

Patriots WR Stefon Diggs: Sit ‘Em

Patriots vs. Browns - 1:00 p.m. ET

Stefon Diggs is killing me.

Whenever I put him in my lineup, he tanks. Whenever I leave him on the bench, he crushes. So I’m putting him on the sit ‘em list out of spite.

Also, he’s facing the Browns, so there’s that.

Stefon Diggs PrizePicks Projection: 56.5 Receiving Yards

Buccaneers TE Cade Otton: Start ‘Em

Buccaneers @ Saints - 4:05 p.m. ET

Anecdotally speaking, Otton has been a boom or bust fantasy option throughout his career, but this season, he's yet to boom.

I don’t have stats to back it up, but my gut tells me that against a reeling Saints D, this is the week.

Cade Otton PrizePicks Projection: 56.5 Receiving Yards

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts Jr.: Start ‘Em

Falcons vs. Dolphins - 1:00 p.m. ET

Here’s a stat for ya: In his five-year career, Pitts has amassed a total of 11 TDs. Since the 2000 season, ten TEs have racked up 11+ tuddies in a single season.

But on Sunday, his Falcons host a Dolphins squad that allows 14.0 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends.

Considering the state of the Dolphins — and also taking into account the Falcons are probably pissed about Sunday night’s aforementioned disappointing L to the Niners — who knows, Pitts might find pay dirt 11 times.

Kyle Pitts Jr. PrizePicks Projection: 40.5 Receiving Yards

Patriots TE Hunter Henry: Sit ‘Em

Patriots vs. Browns - 1:00 p.m. ET

If Drake Maye has a lousy game, it would stand to reason that his favorite target’s numbers would also go into the crapper. The fact that Henry has totalled — totalled — 10.6 fantasy points in his last three games doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

Hunter Henry PrizePicks Projection: 36.5 Receiving Yards

49ers TE George Kittle: Sit ‘Em

49ers @ Texans - 1:00 p.m. ET

On Sunday night in his first game back after a month on the IR, Kittle saw 2 targets, neither of which he caught. Since he’s still finding his sea legs after his four-week stint on IR — and since the Texans give up an itty-bitty, teeny-tiny 8.6 fantasy points to opposing TEs — let’s give Kittle and his lovely locks the week off, shall we?

George Kittle PrizePicks Projection: 49.5 Receiving Yards

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