Fantasy Football Week 8 wide receiver rankings: How to handle life without Davante Adams

Davante Adams was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday and Allen Lazard was placed on the reserve list Tuesday, which comes at an especially bad time with the Packers set to face the Cardinals on Thursday night, given the league protocols around COVID-19 testing. Adams could be cleared to play in time for the game, assuming he doesn’t have any symptoms related to his positive test, however he would need to have two negative tests at least 24 hours apart to be clear — which means the first would have to come no later than Wednesday afternoon. If he is symptomatic, Adams doesn’t have enough time to be cleared, it would seem.

Which means it looks pretty unlikely the Packers will have their No. 1 or 2 WR available for Thursday’s game. Bad news for them, bad news for Fantasy players, especially since there just isn’t anyone in the Packers offense we can feel particularly confident will step up. If you’re desperate for a Week 8 starter, Randall Cobb should see an increased role and might have some appeal as a low-end starter in PPR leagues. Amari Rodgers and Equanimious St. Brown are likely to see expanded roles, but it’s hard to justify starting either of them unless you are truly desperate — it might make Robert Tonyan, Aaron Jones, and AJ Dillon better starts, if anything. 

Here’s my first run at ranking the top 48 wide receivers for Week 8. To see the rankings from Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard and Heath Cummings, make sure you head here. We’ll be updating this throughout the week with new notes and rankings as we get news and the rankings get tweaked, so make sure you bookmark the page.

Week 8 WR Rankings

1. Cooper Kupp @HOU
2. Tyreek Hill vs. NYG
3. Stefon Diggs vs. MIA
4. Justin Jefferson vs. DAL
5. Ja’Marr Chase @NYJ
6. Deebo Samuel @CHI
7. A.J. Brown @IND
8. Diontae Johnson @CLE
9. Terry McLaurin @DEN
10. Mike Williams vs. NE
11. Keenan Allen vs. NE
12. D.J. Moore @ATL
13. Calvin Ridley vs. CAR
14. Chris Godwin @NO
15. CeeDee Lamb @MIN
16. Mike Evans @NO
17. Amari Cooper @MIN
18. Brandin Cooks vs. LAR
19. Courtland Sutton vs. WAS
20. Robert Woods @HOU
21. DeAndre Hopkins vs. GB
22. Michael Pittman vs. TEN
23. Tee Higgins @NYJ
24. Jaylen Waddle @BUF
25. DeVonta Smith @DET
26. Chase Claypool @CLE
27. Marvin Jones @SEA
28. Adam Thielen vs. DAL
29. Emmanuel Sanders vs. MIA
30. D.K. Metcalf vs. JAX
31. Jakobi Meyers @LAC
32. Allen Lazard @ARI**
33. Cole Beasley vs. MIA
34. Jamison Crowder vs. CIN
35. Corey Davis vs. CIN
36. Randall Cobb @ARI
37. Darius Slayton @KC
38. Laviska Shenault @SEA
39. Jarvis Landry vs. PIT
40. DeVante Parker @BUF
41. Darnell Mooney vs. LAR
42. Julio Jones @IND
43. Robby Anderson @ATL
44. Mecole Hardman vs. NYG
45. Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. PHI
46. Russell Gage vs. CAR
47. Tyler Lockett vs. JAX
48. A.J. Green vs. GB