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Week eight is officially here, and today I got you guys covered with my top 40 wide receivers in the tier list format I give you guys every week, along with some of my favorite picks over on Underdog.
But before we get into the tier list, we go through the "will they play" tier and the guys that have already been ruled out for this week. If you have AJ Brown, if you have Nico Collins, Ricky Pearsall, Calvin Ridley, they will not be playing in week eight.
And there is one other wide receiver that is a true question mark this week. We got Matthew Golden, the Green Bay Packers. He's listed with a hip injury, suffered it late in practice. We will see if he's able to play. I'll talk about him later in this video where I would rank him amongst the wide receiver position. However, he plays on Sunday Night Football. Make sure you have a pivot if you do start Matthew Golden.
I alluded to the fact that there are teams on bye this week. The Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks are all on week eight bye. So, plenty of fantasy stars mixed in there. Puka Nacua, Jackson Smith-Njigba. You know, the pair of wide receivers over in Jacksonville, Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Etienne, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Marvin Harrison Jr. There are plenty of guys outside of your lineup this week. Just make sure you're not the doofus that leaves them in.
But let's move over to the official tier list. Starting off with my tier one this week, the S tier wide receivers, we have Ja'Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, Rashee Rice, Justin Jefferson, who played on Thursday night, and A.M.E.C.H.A. Igbouka of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Starting at the top, we have Ja'Marr Chase, the guy that was probably picked first overall in your fantasy league. He is back and he is ready to roll because in these last three games, we have seen Ja'Marr Chase remind us why he is an elite fantasy football wide receiver. Three straight games of over 20-plus PPR points, top five wide receiver in scoring in each of the last three games. And what's remarkable about Ja'Marr Chase is that obviously he started the year slow, but if we look at his overall usage compared to past years, his past season-high in targets share was 29.7%. This year he's operating as a true target hog. 34% seasonal targets share. We saw 23 targets from him from Joe Flacco last week. I think is as safe as it gets. He's got the matchup. He's got the usage. Top five overall game environment for Ja'Marr Chase. The Jets cannot cover the passing game. And as we've seen from Ja'Marr Chase, he can explode on any defense.
Next up at number two, we have CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys. And sure, you guys will see 15.1 points per game on the screen, but if you exclude the game that he left early in the first quarter against Chicago, he's been a 20 PPR point per game scorer. And he's commanded a 29.1% seasonal target share despite George Pickens and Jake Ferguson cooking on the other end. And in terms of the game environment, this is a smash spot for Lamb. Highest overall game total, second highest projected pace of the slate. And the market just expects these two offenses to explode on Sunday. 42.5 going to be a big kickoff. And with CeeDee Lamb, I understand people will point to, well, you know, Patrick Surtain, very, very good corner on the other side. With the way George Pickens has been playing, I do think we're going to see Patrick Surtain split time on who he's on. Is he going to be on CeeDee Lamb the majority of time? Going to be on George Pickens the majority of the time? Honestly, I don't really care. This Cowboys offense has been playing too well. Dak Prescott's playing MVP-level football. And with Dak Prescott, we have seen him pass for 250-plus yards and two-plus touchdowns in all but two games this season. You're firing up CeeDee Lamb with wide receiver one overall upside this week.
Next up and a deserved member of this top tier, we have Rashee Rice of the Kansas City Chiefs. And if you just isolate the 12 games since his rookie bye week, so keep this in mind, 2023 week 10 bye for the Kansas City Chiefs. If you take his splits week 11 on, include those three games we saw last year in his game back this year, we are looking at an 18.4 point per game receiver. His 17-game pace is that of a legit number one wide receiver. And it's pretty simple. He's the clear number one for Patrick Mahomes on an offense implied for nearly 30 points this week. We saw despite limited snaps last week, only 48% of the Chiefs' air yards. He commanded a 47% targets per route run and 23.2 PPR points. Rashee Rice, he's the layup guy in this offense, an offense that's been humming on all cylinders, and I am trusting him to deliver once again. So, give me the over on his 12.85 projection over on Underdog.
At number four, this is where Justin Jefferson locked in. Obviously, not the greatest game overall, but you look at the peripherals, 11 targets, seven receptions, 74 receiving yards. If you bank in a touchdown there, you're looking at over 20 PPR points. Again, 14.4, solid, but unspectacular performance. But Justin Jefferson's gonna be an elite tier wide receiver because he's Justin [ __ ] Jefferson.
And coming in at five, a guy I do believe deserves to be in this tier is A.M.E.C.H.A. Igbouka of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mike Evans, of course, against the Detroit Lions suffers what appears to be a season-ending injury. And who knows when Chris Godwin's going to return. The last man standing in this receiving corps is the rookie wide receiver, A.M.E.C.H.A. Igbouka. And with A.M.E.C.H.A. Igbouka, we have seen this guy pace as a 20 PPR point per game receiver when he was fully healthy early in the season. With A.M.E.C.H.A. Igbouka, he was at a 20.5 seasonal point per game despite only a 23% target share. Without those two in the lineup, what if we see him command 30, 35% of the targets? We could be looking at an Amon-Ra St. Brown light type of situation here.
Moving off the S tier, what I would describe as the elite wide receiver ones in week eight. We head on to my other tier here, which is what I classify as the other wide receiver ones. Drake London, Romeo Doubs, DeVonta Smith, Courtland Sutton, George Pickens, Lad McConkey, of course, also played on Thursday night, and Chris Olave of the New Orleans Saints.
We'll start off the top with Drake London because if you look at, you know, potentially what he did in the two weeks prior to last week, you could very well make the case he should be in that elite tier, number one tier at wide receiver. But I do think it's worth noting his splits when Darnell Mooney is on or off the field. And again, maybe it's more coincidental than anything, but we do see his first-read target share drop nearly in half when Darnell Mooney is active. Over 47% when Darnell Mooney is out, which is number one in the league, but only a 23.3% first-read target share when Darnell Mooney is active. And then the fold. And when you look at his overall splits this year in the games that Darnell Mooney hasn't played, 14 targets per game, 23.4 points per game. In the splits that Darnell Mooney has played, that drops to 8.2 points per game. Again, I think it's very much coincidental. I still trust Drake London, still should profile into, you know, a 10-plus target role, but maybe his overall top-end ceiling doesn't exist as long as Darnell Mooney is in the lineup.
And the same can be echoed for Romeo Doubs. Again, keep in mind here, this graphic does say Ravens - 6.5 with the news, of course, as I'm recording. Lamar Jackson will be ruled out for this game. I would expect this to drop maybe, you know, a Ravens 1.5, maybe a pick 'em type of projection. I really do think Lamar Jackson being out is a big-time needle mover in the spread. So, keep this in mind. The over-under is at 49.5, which is the second of the slate. That should be more so close to the 45, 44.5 level play once the market adjusts for no Lamar Jackson. But with Romeo Doubs, I mean, it is pretty concerning that we have seen his first-read target share drop off dramatically. Again, before the bye, wide receiver 13, 28.1% versus after the bye of the wide receiver 53 at 17.1%. Again, I still believe Romeo Doubs, he's still the number one wide receiver on this team, that ex wide receiver. And keep in mind, he did have a touchdown that was called back two weeks ago against Washington. I do have to bake in the fact that maybe he's not quite the 20-point per game guy he was prior to the by-week, but I still do think with Romeo Doubs, he profiles in that 15 to 17 point game range, low-end wide receiver one range. It's just unfortunately for him after the by-week, we've seen Chicago kind of lean into the run game and get more involvement for Cole Kmet and D.J. Moore. So with Romeo Doubs, great matchup, goes up against Baltimore, a defense that's currently third worst in EPA per play against the pass and allowing the fourth most fantasy points per game to wide receivers. I think this is his bounce-back spot.
Wide receiver A, we have DeVonta Smith of the Philadelphia Eagles. AJ Brown ruled out for this game and the Eagles have been extremely pass-happy since week four. Number two across the league in terms of neutral pass rate, and it's simple because they cannot run the football like they did last year. The offensive line is struggling. Saquon Barkley's not ripping off those big plays. The Eagles have been forced to rely upon the passing attack and DeVonta Smith has been their guy recently. Over 25 implied points with DeVonta Smith, 80 receiving yards per game in his last three games and I think the Eagles make it a priority to get their number one receiver involved early and often. So give me the over on his 13.5 first-quarter receiving yards this week on Underdog.
Coming in at wide receivers 9 and 10, we have Courtland Sutton and George Pickens. We already mentioned another wide receiver in this game with CeeDee Lamb, but I do think both these guys should be viewed as top 10 options this week. We'll start with Sutton. Outside of weeks two and six, he's been absolutely money this year. 60-plus receiving yards and/or a touchdown in each game. He is the true alpha number one wide receiver for the Broncos. 14.3 points per game on the year as a whole. But outside of those two outliers, he has scored 16-plus in each of his other games. Now he gets a smash matchup. Great game total. Easy matchup. I mean, the Cowboys cannot cover a nosebleed. Courtland is poised to be a wide receiver one in fantasy this week.
On the flip side with George Pickens, I kind of mentioned it, but with the way Dak Prescott's been playing, CeeDee Lamb, I'm sure he's going to get his on the other side, but George Pickens has big plays and George Pickens has touchdown upside. When we talk about Dak Prescott, 250-plus passing yards and two-plus touchdowns, like I said, in all but two games. And George Pickens has been his main touchdown threat. Six touchdowns in seven games. And as we've seen from the Cowboys offense, they are the second highest point-per-game unit in the league.
Like I mentioned with Lad McConkey, he did play on Thursday Night Football. And if you did start him, you're feeling great in your matchup. 10 targets, six receptions, 88 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown. It is very clear he is the number one wide receiver on this team moving forward ahead of Quentin Johnston, ahead of Keenan Allen. And to be honest, maybe the number two is going to be Josh Downs.
Coming in at wide receiver 12, we have Chris Olave of the New Orleans Saints going up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We already mentioned Igbouka on the other side. Chris Olave deserves his flowers as well because when you look at the season as a whole, he's the wide receiver 11 in fantasy points per game and just had his big week in week seven. 26.8 PPR points and that was off of a receiver that already had one of the most consistent floors in fantasy. Each game between weeks 1 and 6, he scored between 10 to 16 PPR points. And then we look at the usage, a 30% yearly target share and 38% air yard share in a matchup against a pass-funnel Bucs defense. He is a clear wide receiver one in my rankings this week.
But moving on to B tier, this is what I'd classify as the high-end wide receiver twos in fantasy this week. We got T. Higgins, Jordan Addison, Michael Pittman, DK Metcalf, Jaylen Waddle, and Zay Flowers.
Starting off the top, we have at 13 T. Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals. It's simple. Joe Flacco, he has injected juice into the Cincinnati offense despite no games of over 60 receiving yards in his first five. He's done it in back-to-back games since Joe Flacco's come over. And we have seen ample volume in this offense. 18 targets in the last two games for T. Higgins. And we've seen Joe Flacco attempt more passes than any other quarterback in the league. In fact, even when you look back at his time with Cleveland, this is a guy that repeatedly game in and game out is throwing the ball over 40 times. And likewise, it's happened in his last two weeks as a Cincy starter. On top of that with Higgins, not every week is Ja'Marr Chase going to get 23 targets. If Joe Flacco is going to keep dropping back at the rate he has been going to keep slinging the rock again. We know Joe Flacco not a threat to scramble, not a threat to gain significant yards on the ground. And in a 25.5 implied point Bengals offense, T. Higgins is a smash high-end wide receiver two this week.
At 14, we had Jordan Addison kind of getting there on the back of a touchdown. Four targets, three receptions, 26 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown. Again, holistically, 11.6 PPR points. You're pretty satisfied, but at the same time, thank goodness he scored that touchdown. Otherwise, it would have been an extremely down day for Addison.
But moving on to wide number 15, we have Michael Pittman Jr. of the Indianapolis Colts going to play the Tennessee Titans at home. Very, very good game environment for Pittman. 30.5 implied Colts points, 14-point favorites. On top of that, the third highest over-under of the slate. And as we see with Indianapolis, they are the number one team in DVOA this year. It's really simple, man. The Colts offense has been playing some inspired football. They're scoring points at will. And Michael Pittman Jr. has the most touchdown equity of any Colts wide receiver. He's been an every-week mid-wide receiver two. and now gets a smash spot against the seventh-worst defense in EPA per play against the pass. Pittman is an absolute smash play in the midst of bye-pocalypse.
Wide receiver 16, we have DK Metcalf of the Pittsburgh Steelers going to play on Sunday Night Football against the Green Bay Packers. Packers three-point favorites in this game. And in terms of what Metcalf has kind of been this year, he's been volatile week to week in terms of his weekly volume. But he has posted 10-plus PPR points in all but one game. And as we know, serious touchdown equity when Pittsburgh gets inside the 10, inside the 5-yard line, that 6'4", 225-pound frame is used as a weapon. On top of that, we do have a little bit of a revenge game narrative. Aaron Rodgers, of course, legendary Packers quarterback playing his former team and the sharps are hammering the over at 45.5. Very simple with Metcalf. Four touchdowns in six games this year. No semblance of a wide receiver two on the Steelers offense. and we can bank on a 20-plus percent target share considering he's posted that in all but one game this season.
Watch for 17. We got Jaylen Waddle of the Miami Dolphins going on the road to play the Atlanta Falcons. Down week in week seven, but he had two straight 15-plus PPR point weeks in weeks five and six. And on the surface, don't get me wrong, this Falcons defense has been great this year, but with Jaylen Waddle, he posted three straight weeks of a 20-plus% target share between weeks four and six. And with no Darren Waller on the field, we could very well see him being funneled 30% of the targets for Miami this week.
Moving on to the final wide receiver in this tier and my wide receiver 18 this week. We have Zay Flowers of the Baltimore Ravens going up against the Chicago Bears. Stunning twist. We thought it was going to be Lamar Jackson all week. Today it's announced that he is going to be out for this game and Tyler Huntley is expected to be the starter. With Lamar Jackson, he would have been a bonafide top 12 wide receiver. But nonetheless, in a very good spot against Chicago, he is still a top 18 option for me. Very simple, man. We look at the usage, 30% seasonal target share, 25-plus% in three straight weeks between weeks four and six. Sure, the fantasy points, they've been down since week one, but at the same time, he's a good player. He commands volume. And while the touchdown equity clearly decreases with no Lamar, Zay is still this team's clear alpha number one wide receiver.
But moving on to my low-end wide receiver two tier this week, we have Deebo Samuel, Quentin Johnston, Romeo Doubs, Terry McLaurin, and Stefon Diggs between wide receivers 19 through 23.
We'll start with Deebo Samuel. Very simple. He's going to make his return this week and he's averaged 15.7 PPR points per game as the wide receiver 13 in fantasy. However, pretty simple. The situation is not nearly like it is when Jayden Daniels is healthy. We do have Marcus Mariota starting and we do have Terry McLaurin making his return. On top of that, there's still risk. Deebo Samuel been dealing with that heel injury basically for the last month. I do think I have to bake in the potential that maybe it flares up in game. Regardless though, when you combine that with the fact that Washington's only implied for 17 points, a guy that I think was a consensus top 15 wide receiver needs to be readjusted to backend wide receiver two range this week.
At number 20, I mean, we'll breeze through this. I mean, Quentin Johnston, what are we talking about here? Goose egg. No targets, no receptions, no receiving yards. Like, I understand that the Chargers were routing the Vikings in this game, but you have to do [ __ ] something, man. He lost snaps to Trey Palmer in this game. Trey Palmer is the one who scores a touchdown. Like, it's bleak if you have Quentin Johnston. I don't know what's going on with him. At one point, we're talking about this as being the breakout of the season to start the year, but now it's very clear that he has to be viewed as a volatile wide receiver three. His stretch since returning from injury has not been good. And this is going to be something to monitor, man. We're going to need better than zero points in the lineup.
And a guy I wish I had ranked ahead of Quentin Johnston this week, but I really do love Romeo Doubs on Sunday Night Football. It's pretty simple. He goes up against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he has been a volume magnet for this Packers offense. Eight-plus targets, 10-plus PPR points in each of his last three games. And of course, that's mixed in with the spike week he had against Dallas. Three touchdowns in that game. And as we know, Jordan Love trusts his number one ex wide receiver. And for a Packers offense implied for over 24 points at home, I think he's going to continue to be this involved. And if he does keep it up, he should be viewed as a low-end wide receiver two moving forward.
Next up at wide receiver 22, we have Terry McLaurin of the Carolina Panthers. He's averaging 11.9 PPR points per game this year and prior to week seven has posted a 20-plus% target share in each game of this season. He goes up at home to play the Buffalo Bills this week. And while I can't rank him as the high-end wide receiver two, his usage is dictating. At the same time, I do think we're due for that true breakout week for Terrace Marshall Jr. Jonathan Mingo's second game back from injury. We should see increased usage for him out of the slot. And Xavier Legette played very well in week seven. Having two guys that can really take the pressure off of McLaurin could poise for more valuable targets in this game. We saw him score his first two touchdowns against Dallas. And I very much think that 6'5", 220-pound frame and what should be a pass-happy script going up against Buffalo for this Carolina offense. I think we finally see the breakout this week. Can't rank him much higher than this, but I am optimistic for Terrace Marshall Jr. given the usage.
Finally, at wide receiver 23, we have Stefon Diggs going up against the Cleveland Browns this week. And quite simply, if he was playing, you know, 80-plus, 85-plus% of the routes, he'd be much higher than this. But the issue keeping him back is the inconsistent snaps he sees on this offense. Because when he is on the field, he is getting targeted like a true alpha wide receiver. 13-plus PPR points in three of his last four games and over seven targets per game in that stretch. The Browns, they are a tough matchup on the outside, but New England is still implied for nearly 24 points this week and Drake Maye is playing at an MVP level. So with Stefon Diggs, I get it. It is a very big risk. If the Patriots go up 14 points, 20 points in this game, we won't see Stefon Diggs much in the second half. but he is way too involved when he's on the field to have him on your bench.
But moving on to the next tier of wide receiver we got here this week. We got the high-end wide receiver threes. Jahan Dotson, Xavier Worthy, Keenan Allen, and Darnell Mooney consist of this tier this week.
We'll start off the top with Jahan Dotson. He is by far the most consistent of this group. Again, tough matchup against Philadelphia, but we saw what it looked like two weeks ago when he played them. And in these last two weeks for Jahan Dotson, 19 targets and 179 receiving yards, including over 20 PPR points in that aforementioned Thursday night game. And for Jahan Dotson, again, it is a tough matchup, but Sam Howell has played extremely well. And Jahan Dotson is operating as the true number one wide receiver on this team, a 25% seasonal target share. And when you look across these last two weeks, 28% and 36% respectively.
Next up at 25, we have got Xavier Worthy of the Kansas City Chiefs going up to play Washington on Monday night. And pretty much with Xavier Worthy, he's kind of turned into Jameson Williams. Again, you're banking on that spike week, high octane Chiefs offense. But as we saw, Rashee Rice is the number one wide receiver on this team. When the Chiefs offense needs layups out of the slot, layups across the middle of the field, Rashee Rice is their guy. And unfortunately, we have seen Xavier Worthy delegated to a designated deep threat. Only 12% of the targets in week seven. However, Mahomes, he's playing at MVP level football, and the Chiefs are implied for nearly 30 points this week. So, if there is going to be a ceiling week for Xavier Worthy, it will happen this week. But if it doesn't come, man, I view him no differently than Jameson Williams.
At 26, we had Keenan Allen, who did play on Thursday night. Five targets, four receptions, 44 receiving yards, down week against the Vikings. And he will be a father moving forward. Again, I did want to give him the benefit of the doubt after a big week seven game. But with Keenan Allen, now you got Quentin Johnston to the fold. Now you got, you know, potentially more Lad McConkey snaps in the slot. Josh Downs' coming on. There is just so much target competition in LA to the point where the guy that's getting 63% of the routes is not going to be a weekly starter in your lineup.
And then finally at 27, we got Darnell Mooney of the Atlanta Falcons going to play Miami. And in his return back, five targets, 68 receiving yards, and now gets a cupcake. That is the Miami Dolphins defense. While Drake London has operated as that, you know, underneath layup guy in this offense, Darnell Mooney has been their big-play wide receiver. As we know with Miami, they have given up big plays this season. And Darnell Mooney has posted a 20-plus yard reception in two of the three games he's played 50-plus% of the snaps. We saw last week a 38-yard reception. So I will take the over on his 18.5-yard projection over on Underdog. I think we see a big play from Mooney and I think he has a 20-plus yard catch.
Moving on to the low-end wide receiver threes this week. We got Alec Pierce, Jaylen Noel, Rashid Shaheed, Tez Johnson, Khalil Shakir, Terry McLaurin, and Matthew Golden of the Green Bay Packers.
We'll start at the top. At 28, Alec Pierce going up against the aforementioned Titans defense. And he has been, you know, the designated field stretcher for this Colts offense. That true ex wide receiver that can take the top off of a defense. But we also have seen him contribute more in the volume game these last couple of weeks with the Colts, as we mentioned, implied for the most points on the slate. And Pierce has crossed double-digit PPR points in three of his five games this season. And that's off the fact that he hasn't scored a single touchdown this year. And with Alec Pierce, you're getting access to 86% of the Colts routes and 45% of their seasonal air yards for an offense, like I said, implied for over 30 points. We haven't seen him score a touchdown this season, but hopefully it comes this week against the Titans defense. He's averaged 63 receiving yards per game this season. So, we will be smashing the over on his 36.5-yard projection.
At 29, we got Jaylen Noel of the Houston Texans. And funny enough, my big decision in the Flock League would be between Alec Pierce and Jaylen Noel in my lineup. As you guys can see, I do have Pierce one spot higher. So, that is who I'm leaning right now. But, I keep going back and forth because on one hand, obviously, I mentioned with Alec Pierce, great implied offense, 30.5 implied points for the Colts. And as we know, he's been playing extremely good football these last couple weeks. Jaylen Noel is a bit more of a projection because while Nico Collins and Christian Kirk are expected out for this game after not practicing, we did see Braxton Berrios and John Metchie actually play more routes than Jaylen Noel, even despite Jaylen Noel being the clear most productive wide receiver. If we look at Jaylen Noel, inconsistent snaps are going to be the main question mark. But as we've seen, a 25-plus% targets per route run in each of his last two games. If he's getting those snaps, if he's on the field, we can trust C.J. Stroud to be able to target him.
But moving on to wide receivers 30 and 31 this week. We got Rashid Shaheed of the New Orleans Saints and we got Tez Johnson of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I'll start off with Shaheed. Nine targets in week seven ties for a season-high. And as I mentioned with Olave, Tampa Bay is an extremely pass-funnel defense with Rashid Shaheed. He is volatile, but there is legit spike week upside in what should be a big-time aerial shootout in that divisional matchup.
On the flip side, Tez Johnson's kind of like the Rashid Shaheed for the Tampa Bay offense. With Tez Johnson, again, it's a little bit more murky. We do have Sterling Shepard. We do have Cam Johnson potentially getting more snaps. But we have seen Tez Johnson operate as that clear next man up for this offense with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans out of the lineup. He's got big-play upside. He's played 80-plus% of the routes in two games. And I did think he had a very similar profile to Tank Dell when Tez Johnson was coming out of Oregon. So with Tez Johnson, we saw nine targets for him against the Lions last week and he has flashed big-play upside. As we've seen from Baker, as we've seen from the Tampa offense, they will not miss a beat regardless of the injuries on the outside. So, I trust Tez Johnson to be able to take on the workload.
At 32, we got Khalil Shakir of the Buffalo Bills. He is the primary zone beater for this Bills offense and the Carolina Panthers are one of the heaviest zone coverage teams in the NFL. Week-to-week involvement. It is inconsistent for Shakir, but he has gotten five-plus targets in three straight games and he has scored double-digit PPR points in four of his six games this year. So, you can fire him up with top 36-level confidence.
Now, a little bit more of a risky play. We got Terry McLaurin. He is making his return to the lineup, but I do think Deebo Samuel needs to be considered the number one wide receiver. This is a bad game environment and we've only seen eight PPR points per game from McLaurin this year. However, if you've held him this entire time, you were hoping for him to rebound this week. This is a talent play. There's a lot of risk here. We don't know how Terry McLaurin's going to look, but if you're going to be starting him this week, you're banking on him returning to potential 2024 level of play.
And then finally, at wide receiver 34, we have Matthew Golden of the Green Bay Packers. Talked about him in the intro of this video, but he did suffer a hip injury late in the week and he is listed questionable in this game. If it's announced that he's going to have no snap limitations, this would be a legit top 25 wide receiver in my rankings. But considering he suffered it late in the week, considering that we don't know what the status is going to be until Sunday night, if you're going to start Golden, make sure you have a pivot. Maybe you could pick up a guy like Christian Watson. Watson was declared healthy for this game. Watson is going to be playing on Sunday Night Football. If Watson is available in your league and you have Matthew Golden, pick him up just in case because you don't want to be left with zero in your lineup if Golden doesn't suit up.
And then finally, we're going to rapid-fire these last few guys. We'll go on to the flexes here. DJ Moore, Jauan Jennings, Troy Franklin, Josh Downs, Kendrick Bourne, and Xavier Legette of the Carolina Panthers.
Really simple with DJ Moore. It sucks what he's been this year. Only one game with 60-plus yards, only one game with 10-plus PPR points. But this is a smash game environment. He's going on the road to play Baltimore, a defense that has been bottom five against wide receivers this year. And DJ Moore, despite how gross it's been, has still been a full-time route share player. If he doesn't pay off this weekend, by God, I don't know when you will ever start DJ Moore in your lineup.
36, we got Jauan Jennings of the San Francisco 49ers. Seven targets in his past game after a big stretch of dealing with numerous injuries. There was a report a few weeks ago he was dealing with five broken ribs. We finally saw him return to his early season level of play in week seven. It is a tough matchup, but he looked a lot healthier last game. 93% of the team routes and 30% of the team targets in week seven. If he maintains that role, he has top 24 wide receiver upside this week.
At 37, we already talked about two of his teammates, but this is where Josh Downs will find his way into your lineup. He's going up against Tennessee like Pittman, like Alec Pierce. And with Josh Downs, he got 15 targets in weeks five and six. The issue with Josh Downs is he's only been relegated to slot wide receiver snaps out of 11 personnel, but he is a very good slot wide receiver when he is on the field, but he's only played on 63% of the Colts routes this year. Maybe we see that increase moving forward, but until it does, he is a volatile flex play.
At 38, we got Troy Franklin of the Denver Broncos going up against my Dallas Cowboys. The usage has been very bad these last couple of weeks. He's losing snaps. We see more Marvin Mims. We've seen more, you know, Pat Surtain in the lineup. But even with the decreased snap share this past week, he had 10 targets and a touchdown. And of course, Dallas, we can't cover anybody down the field. Troy Franklin 6'3", 180 lbs, can separate on the third level. I wouldn't be shocked if he caught a touchdown or two against us.
At wide receiver 39, we got Kendrick Bourne of the San Francisco 49ers going to play the Houston Texans this week. Very simple with Kendrick Bourne, 80-plus% of the routes in three straight games. And in two of those three games, he was a top 12 weekly wide receiver. However, George Kittle wasn't on the field when he really popped off and Houston represents a difficult matchup for Bourne. Mac Jones is playing well and Kendrick Bourne has big-play upside, but he is a volatile fourth option in this passing game. George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Jauan Jennings, all going to get targets before Kendrick Bourne.
And then finally, we got Xavier Legette rounding off this list as my wide receiver 40 this week. He's coming off his best game of the season in week seven and he's quietly scored 10-plus PPR points in two of his last three games and has run 90-plus% of the team routes in back-to-back weeks. However, I do think Jonathan Mingo, he only played 37% of the snaps last week. But for what we know right now, Xavier Legette is the number two wide receiver on this team. And as we know with him, size, speed, big-playability in a big-time game environment, I like him as a flexible option in my top 40 this week.
But either way, if you guys enjoyed, make sure you leave a like down below. Comment your biggest start/sit decision. I'll try to get to as many as possible. And of course, we talked about our flex entry over on Underdog. DeVonta Smith over 13.5 receiving yards in the first quarter. Darnell Mooney over 18.5 longest reception in this game. Alec Pierce over 36.5 receiving yards. And Rashee Rice over 12.85 fantasy points. You put those together, you make a flex entry over on Underdog, and you add this 50% profit boost token. Let's eat together. Good luck in your matchups this week. Let's take it down in week eight. I got a tough task in the Flock League going up against Avery, but we are trying to stack W's and gain momentum.