Start Brian Thomas Jr. or Elic Ayomanor? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 2:06 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Brian Thomas Jr. over Elic Ayomanor

Start

Brian Thomas Jr.

WR · JAX · vs IND

Market projects: 4.7; recent weeks avg
IND D vs WR: 29.0; 8th fewest to WRs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 31 of 100 at WR

Sit

Elic Ayomanor

WR · TEN · at CIN

Market projects: 4.0; recent weeks avg
CIN D vs WR: 31.4; 15th most to WRs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 34 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 65%; Through Week 7
Target share: 11%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Elic Ayomanor for Brian Thomas Jr.?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Brian Thomas Jr. projects 67 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 10 games), Elic Ayomanor 35 (3.9 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Elic Ayomanor.

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Brian Thomas Jr. rookie cards

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Our Week 8 call

Start Brian Thomas Jr. over Elic Ayomanor in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Brian Thomas Jr. at 4.7 points and Elic Ayomanor at 4.0, a gap of 0.8. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Brian Thomas Jr. this week yet, so his 4.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 6 (5.1 and 4.4); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Elic Ayomanor this week yet, so his 4.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (3.8, 4.0 and 4.2); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Brian Thomas Jr. yet. His market-based projections were 5.1 and 4.4 points in Weeks 5 and 6, an average of 4.7, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

No Week 8 player market is posted for Elic Ayomanor yet. His market-based projections were 3.8, 4.0 and 4.2 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 4.0, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Brian Thomas Jr. 0.8 points ahead of Elic Ayomanor on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Brian Thomas Jr. and JAX host IND on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

IND allowed 29.0 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 7 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 142 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against IND.

Elic Ayomanor and TEN visit CIN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CIN allowed 31.4 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 6 games, the 15th most in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 138 yards and a touchdown a game against CIN.

By points allowed to the position, Elic Ayomanor has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Brian Thomas Jr. is not on the injury report.

Elic Ayomanor is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Elic Ayomanor played 65 percent of TEN snaps, drew 11 percent of the targets, earned 16 percent of the air yards and had 14 percent of the red zone chances.

Elic Ayomanor, Week 4 against BAL: 40 of 64 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 22 yards.

Elic Ayomanor, Week 5 against HOU: 33 of 63 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 17 yards.

Elic Ayomanor, Week 6 against IND: 28 of 46 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 3 yards.

Elic Ayomanor, Week 7 against CLE: 56 of 63 snaps, 7 targets and 3 catches for 44 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Brian Thomas Jr. played 14 games for JAX and scored 138.8 PPR points, 9.9 a game, finishing WR42.

He caught 48 of 91 targets for 707 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 6 red zone targets and 548 air yards.

He was on the field for 79 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Brian Thomas Jr., Week 18 of 2025 against TEN: 5 targets and 3 catches for 49 yards, 7.9 PPR points.

Brian Thomas Jr., Week 17 of 2025 against IND: 54 of 69 snaps, 7 targets and 4 catches for 39 yards, 7.9 PPR points.

Brian Thomas Jr., Week 16 of 2025 against DEN: 51 of 70 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 18 yards, 3.8 PPR points.

In 2025, Elic Ayomanor played 16 games for TEN and scored 116.5 PPR points, 7.3 a game, finishing WR55.

He caught 41 of 89 targets for 515 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 8 red zone targets and 400 air yards.

He was on the field for 79 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Elic Ayomanor for Brian Thomas Jr.?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Brian Thomas Jr. projects 67 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 10 games), Elic Ayomanor 35 (3.9 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Elic Ayomanor.
Should I drop Brian Thomas Jr. for Elic Ayomanor?
No. Keep Brian Thomas Jr.: he projects 67 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 10 games), Elic Ayomanor 35 (3.9 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Elic Ayomanor.