The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR DeAndre Hopkins.
Is DeAndre Hopkins Playing in Week 8?
Hopkins is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any unexpected setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Chiefs’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit DeAndre Hopkins in Week 8?
We don’t know if Hopkins will be in the fold this week. Even if he is, we saw Amari Cooper operate in a very limited fashion last week following a deal, so sitting on your Hopkins stock is the percentage play for this week.
But moving forward? Buckle up!
Since joining the Titans, Hopkins ranks 43rd of 55 qualifiers in terms of fantasy efficiency on deep passes. You could write that off to a receiver being on the wrong side of 30 years old, but with Ridley ranking 46th on that list, it’s more likely that the struggles downfield are the result of Tennessee’s offensive environment more than anything.
For reference, Hopkins ranked 25th of 89 qualifiers during this three seasons with the Cardinals despite battling various injuries.
Mahomes is completing a career-high 53.6% of his deep passes, making this an advantageous spot for a receiver who might have more gas left in the tank than his current stat line suggests. There’s some concern with Mahomes averaging just 4.7 deep pass attempts per game (pacing for a career low with ease, career average: 7.3 such attempts).
This trade could represent an end to our efforts to try to start Xavier Worthy. The rookie burner has seen 31% of his targets (and 65.7% of his production as a pass catcher) this season come deep downfield. The Chiefs still have five games remaining against top-10 defenses in terms of passer rating allowed deep downfield, making the supporting of two splash-play threats a tall ask for a team that isn’t as open as it has been in year’s past.
Hopkins could get rolling over the next two months, but managers need to be aware that two of those tough matchups downfield come in Weeks 16-17 (the Texans and Steelers rank third and sixth, respectively, against long passes through seven weeks).
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 7 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
DeAndre Hopkins’ Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Hopkins is projected to score 11.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 4 receptions for 50.6 yards and 0.4 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
DeAndre Hopkins’ Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders Insights
Kansas City Chiefs
Team: The Chiefs haven’t lost consecutive games vs. the Raiders since 2011-12 (three straight). Kansas City’s last loss before its current 12-game win streak (including playoffs) was at home to the Raiders on Christmas Day 2023.
QB:23 quarterbacks have started all their team’s games this season. Patrick Mahomes’ TD-Int ratio (6-8) is tied for the worst out of that whole group (Matthew Stafford has thrown 3 TD to 4 Int for the Rams).
Offense: Are the Chiefs a smashmouth offense now? Kansas City has run by design on 48.8% of its plays, far and away its highest in any season since Patrick Mahomes became the starting QB (the prior high was 38.9% in 2018). That includes a 57.9% run rate on the first down, and in the first season with Mahomes, they’ve been above 50% on the first down.
Defense: The Chiefs have allowed a touchdown on just 47.4% of red zone trips, pacing them for their best rate since the 2014 team (38.9%).
Fantasy: This is a conservative offense, but as Xavier Worthy’s role increases, there is hope – Patrick Mahomes is completing a career-high 53.6% of his passes thrown 15-plus yards down the field.
Betting: Seven of Kansas City’s past eight road divisional games have come in under the projected point total, though the one exception was Week 12, 2023 … at Vegas (31-17 win with a total of 42.5 points).
Las Vegas Raiders
Team: The Raiders own the worst per-game turnover differential in the league this season (-1.9).
QB: Gardner Minshew has two more games with multiple interceptions than multiple touchdown passes this season and misfired on 19 of 34 passes last week against a vulnerable Rams defense.
Offense: Brock Bowers has received 25.1% of the Raiders’ targets this season. That’s on track to be the highest target share by any rookie tight end since at least 2000 and the highest by a TE period since Mark Andrews for the 2021 Ravens (25.9%).
Defense: The Raiders own the fifth-highest sack rate on play-action attempts this season (8.9%).
Fantasy: Brock Bowers has five top-five finishes at the position this season, and after not seeing a red zone target in any of his first three games, he’s had a red zone in scoring position in every game since.
Betting: Over tickets have cashed in four of Vegas’ past five home games (2-1 through seven weeks this season).
