Start Rashid Shaheed or Brian Thomas Jr.? Week 8

Updated Oct 28, 8:36 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Latest

Oct 25, 11:13 PM ET: Rashid Shaheed: Questionable to Out (Knee) (Sleeper injury feed)
Oct 25, 10:43 PM ET: Rashid Shaheed: Listed Questionable (Knee) (Sleeper injury feed)

Start Brian Thomas Jr. over Rashid Shaheed

Thomas projects lower, 4.7 to 5.5, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 72 for Thomas, 131 for Shaheed.

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

Rashid Shaheed

WR · SEA · vs CHI · Questionable

Market projects: 5.5; recent weeks avg
CHI D vs WR: 29.2; 10th fewest to WRs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 34 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 49%; Through Week 7
Target share: 14%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Rashid Shaheed 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), Rashid Shaheed 52 (5.8 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Rashid Shaheed. Rashid Shaheed is listed questionable.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Brian Thomas Jr. over Rashid Shaheed in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Brian Thomas Jr. at 4.7 points and Rashid Shaheed at 5.5, a gap of 0.8. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Brian Thomas Jr. still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 72 against 131, and that outweighs a gap this size. 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 Rashid Shaheed this week yet, so his 5.5 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (5.0, 5.3 and 6.3); 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).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Rashid Shaheed yet. His market-based projections were 5.0, 5.3 and 6.3 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 5.5, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Rashid Shaheed 0.8 points ahead of Brian Thomas Jr. 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.

Rashid Shaheed and SEA host CHI on Monday at 8:15 PM ET.

CHI allowed 29.2 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 7 games, the 10th fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 149 yards and 0.9 touchdowns a game against CHI.

By points allowed to the position, Rashid Shaheed has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Brian Thomas Jr. is not on the injury report.

Rashid Shaheed is listed as questionable with a knee injury.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Rashid Shaheed played 49 percent of SEA snaps, drew 14 percent of the targets, earned 21 percent of the air yards and had 6 percent of the red zone chances.

Rashid Shaheed, Week 4 against LAC: 36 of 60 snaps, 2 carries for 33 yards, 3 targets and 1 catch for 20 yards, 1 touchdown.

Rashid Shaheed, Week 5 against SF: 29 of 63 snaps, 4 targets and 2 catches for 23 yards.

Rashid Shaheed, Week 6 against DEN: 39 of 85 snaps, 1 carry for 2 yards, 8 targets and 5 catches for 66 yards.

Rashid Shaheed, Week 7 against KC: 22 of 69 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 1 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, Rashid Shaheed played 18 games for SEA and scored 156.6 PPR points, 8.7 a game, finishing WR39.

He caught 59 of 92 targets for 687 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 6 red zone targets and 510 air yards.

He was on the field for 61 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 Rashid Shaheed 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), Rashid Shaheed 52 (5.8 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Rashid Shaheed. Rashid Shaheed is listed questionable.
Should I drop Brian Thomas Jr. for Rashid Shaheed?
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), Rashid Shaheed 52 (5.8 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Rashid Shaheed. Rashid Shaheed is listed questionable.