5 biggest Week 8 fantasy football sleepers: Dontayvion Wicks, Rico Dowdle and more

Another week of NFL action is upon us and the NFL’s wide receiver trade market remains in full force. After trades a couple weeks ago saw Amari Cooper and Davante Adams wind up in new homes, this week has already seen the Chiefs trade for DeAndre Hopkins while rumors of a Cooper Kupp trade percolate as well.

None of those names are sleepers, but one of those four players being traded is partially part of why one name is on this list. Is that a good enough connection? Sure.

To count as a sleeper, quarterbacks and tight ends need to be ranked outside the top 15 at their position on FantasyPros’ weekly rankings, while running backs are ranked outside the top 20 and wide receivers are ranked outside the top 25.

Jameis Winston - QB - Cleveland Browns

Week 8 ranking: QB23

The Cleveland Browns have made a change at quarterback. Not by choice as many expected to have happened at some point, but by necessity as starter Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles last week.

Maybe this change will light some kind of fire under the Browns offense, which has looked hapless this season. The team had yet to have 200 passing yards in a game before the Bengals game, when Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jameis Winston combined to finally go above that mark.

Now, Winston takes over as the team’s quarterback and there’s nowhere to go but up. Winston isn’t the same guy who led the league in passing yards in 2019, but there’s a good chance he’s a major improvement over what Watson was giving the team.

And he’ll be in a solid position to prove that in Week 8 as he takes on the Baltimore Ravens, a pass defense that’s seen better days. The Ravens allow 287.1 passing yards per game, the worst mark in the NFL. 

Rico Dowdle - RB - Dallas Cowboys

Week 8 ranking: RB28

Rico Dowdle got shut down last time out against the Lions, but the whole Cowboys offense looked puny in that one, so I don’t want to hold it against Dowdle too much. He had top-20 fantasy finishes in the two prior weeks and has a juicy matchup against the 49ers this week.

San Fran has struggled to stop receiving backs, allowing the sixth-most receiving yards and seventh-most receptions to the position. The receiving game is where Dowdle has really made his impact, with both of his touchdowns this season coming off receptions. He has five or more targets in half of his games.

Dowdle is a tough player to trust based on his 2024 production, but if I’m starting a running back ranked outside the top 25 this week, Dowdle is the only one who really stands out.

You could get really weird with it and play Hunter Luepke in a deep league for the same reason you’d play Dowdle — the Niners and their struggles against receiving backs — but that’s obviously way, way riskier as he barely is involved in the run game. He has four carries all season versus having eight targets.

Dontayvion Wicks - WR - Green Bay Packers

Week 8 ranking: WR41

Earlier in the week, I wrote about why I like the Green Bay Packers passing attack this week in the context of why I loved Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs this week: 

“Jacksonville has allowed the second-most passing yards in the NFL this season behind only the Ravens. Additionally, the team has allowed a league-high 16 passing touchdowns while picking off just one pass all year. Teams have been able to move up and down the field against the Jags. Meanwhile, Jordan Love has thrown three or more touchdown passes in three of the four games since he returned to the lineup.”

Reed and Doubs are the most likely players to take advantage of this but don’t count Dontayvion Wicks out. After an explosive Week 4 that saw him catch two touchdowns, Wicks looked like a potential breakout candidate, but he disappointed over the next two games, combining for three receptions and 29 yards.

We saw a little more of the good version of Wicks last week against Houston though. He was targeted six times, catching three passes for 48 yards and a score. He has four touchdown passes this season and is a really enticing WR3/4 option.

Rashod Bateman - WR - Baltimore Ravens

Week 8 ranking: WR53

We need to talk about the fantasy world ranking Rashod Bateman so low each week.

Because here’s the thing: he’s not a superstar, but he’s finished as a top 20 fantasy receiver in two of the last three games, including as the WR1 last week. He’s ranked as the WR53 this week but has just one game where he didn’t finish in the top 50.

Bateman doesn’t get a ton of volume, with just one game all year with over five targets, but he makes the most of those chances he gets. He’s finished with exactly four receptions in three consecutive games, but has two touchdowns and is averaging 83 yards per game over that span.

And then there’s the Zay Flowers situation this weekend. Flowers is listed as questionable and didn’t practice Thursday as he deals with an ankle injury. Will Flowers suit up this weekend? If he doesn’t, Bateman has even more upside as the team’s No. 1 receiver.

Harrison Bryant - TE - Las Vegas Raiders

Week 8 ranking: TE39

We’re going real deep at tight end this week, but sometimes that's what you have to do to find some value.

Brock Bowers is a star for the Raiders. He’s off to one of the best starts ever for a tight end and gets a juicy matchup with a Chiefs defense that allows the most fantasy points per game to the position.

But this matchup could work out in Harison Bryant’s favor as well, assuming the injury that knocked him from last week’s game early doesn’t cost him a chance to play this weekend.

Two games ago against Pittsburgh, Bryant played 57 percent of the team’s snaps and saw a season-high five targets. He caught three of those for 24 yards. Bryant has multiple receptions in three of the past four games. They are not great numbers, but this matchup with KC is appealing. The Chiefs are one of just two teams to allow over 500 receiving yards to tight ends this year.