Start Joshua Palmer or Brian Thomas Jr.? Week 8

Updated Oct 29, 2:56 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Brian Thomas Jr. over Joshua Palmer

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; 29 of 100 at WR

Sit

Joshua Palmer

WR · BUF · vs BAL

Market projects: 3.4; fantasy pts
BAL D vs WR: 35.8; 7th most to WRs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 50 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 37%; Through Week 6
Target share: 8%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Joshua Palmer for Brian Thomas Jr.?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Brian Thomas Jr. projects 65 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.5 a game over 10 games), Joshua Palmer 40 (4.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Joshua Palmer.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Brian Thomas Jr. over Joshua Palmer in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Brian Thomas Jr. at 4.7 points and Joshua Palmer at 3.4, a gap of 1.3. 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.

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.

The market-based projection for Brian Thomas Jr. is 0.2 touchdowns (13 market sources).

Player markets imply 3.4 fantasy points for Joshua Palmer, with 100 percent of the markets a WR needs posted.

The market-based projection for Joshua Palmer is 12 receiving yards, 1-2 receptions and 0.1 touchdowns (8, 8 and 12 market sources).

That puts Brian Thomas Jr. 1.3 points ahead of Joshua Palmer 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.

Joshua Palmer and BUF host BAL on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

BAL allowed 35.8 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 7 games, the 7th most in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 182 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against BAL.

By points allowed to the position, Joshua Palmer has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Brian Thomas Jr. is not on the injury report.

Joshua Palmer is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 6, Joshua Palmer played 37 percent of BUF snaps, drew 8 percent of the targets, earned 19 percent of the air yards and had 0 percent of the red zone chances.

Joshua Palmer, Week 2 against DET: 28 of 74 snaps, 3 targets and 1 catch for 43 yards, 1 touchdown.

Joshua Palmer, Week 3 against LAC: 21 of 66 snaps, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Joshua Palmer, Week 4 against NE: 35 of 59 snaps, 4 targets and 1 catch for 3 yards.

Joshua Palmer, Week 6 against LV: 17 of 68 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 37 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, Joshua Palmer played 12 games for BUF and scored 52.3 PPR points, 4.4 a game, finishing WR105.

He caught 22 of 37 targets for 303 yards and 0 touchdowns, with 5 red zone targets and 249 air yards.

He was on the field for 46 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 Joshua Palmer for Brian Thomas Jr.?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Brian Thomas Jr. projects 65 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.5 a game over 10 games), Joshua Palmer 40 (4.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Joshua Palmer.
Should I drop Brian Thomas Jr. for Joshua Palmer?
No. Keep Brian Thomas Jr.: he projects 65 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.5 a game over 10 games), Joshua Palmer 40 (4.0 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Joshua Palmer.