Start Kalif Raymond or Brian Thomas Jr.? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 1:16 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Kalif Raymond over Brian Thomas Jr.

Start

Kalif Raymond

WR · CHI · at SEA

Market projects: 6.0; fantasy pts
SEA D vs WR: 20.9; fewest to WRs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 2 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 61%; Through Week 7
Target share: 14%; Through Week 7

Sit

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

Should I drop Kalif Raymond 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), Kalif Raymond 59 (6.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Kalif Raymond over Brian Thomas Jr. So make the move after his Week 8 game.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Kalif Raymond over Brian Thomas Jr. in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Kalif Raymond at 6.0 points and Brian Thomas Jr. at 4.7, a gap of 1.2. 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

Player markets imply 6.0 fantasy points for Kalif Raymond, with 100 percent of the markets a WR needs posted.

The market-based projection for Kalif Raymond is 23 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.2 touchdowns (9, 9 and 8 market sources).

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.

That puts Kalif Raymond 1.2 points ahead of Brian Thomas Jr. on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Kalif Raymond and CHI visit SEA on Monday at 8:15 PM ET.

SEA allowed 20.9 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 7 games, the fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 92 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against SEA.

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.

By points allowed to the position, Brian Thomas Jr. has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Kalif Raymond is not on the injury report.

Brian Thomas Jr. is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Kalif Raymond played 61 percent of CHI snaps, drew 14 percent of the targets, earned 11 percent of the air yards and had 5 percent of the red zone chances.

Kalif Raymond, Week 4 against NYJ: 47 of 93 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 6 yards.

Kalif Raymond, Week 5 against GB: 47 of 69 snaps, 1 carry for -2 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 6 yards.

Kalif Raymond, Week 6 against ATL: 36 of 77 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 18 yards.

Kalif Raymond, Week 7 against NE: 48 of 69 snaps, 2 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Kalif Raymond played 15 games for DET and scored 66.8 PPR points, 4.5 a game, finishing WR94.

He caught 24 of 30 targets for 289 yards and 1 touchdown, with 2 red zone targets and 132 air yards.

He was on the field for 38 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

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.

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 Kalif Raymond 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), Kalif Raymond 59 (6.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Kalif Raymond over Brian Thomas Jr. So make the move after his Week 8 game.
Should I drop Brian Thomas Jr. for Kalif Raymond?
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), Kalif Raymond 59 (6.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Kalif Raymond over Brian Thomas Jr.

Should I drop Kalif Raymond?