Start Brian Thomas Jr. or Troy Franklin? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 11:56 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Brian Thomas Jr. over Troy Franklin

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

Troy Franklin

WR · DEN · vs KC

Market projects: 4.1; recent weeks avg
KC D vs WR: 23.7; 2nd fewest to WRs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 0 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 40%; Through Week 7
Target share: 5%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Troy Franklin 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), Troy Franklin 38 (4.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Troy Franklin.

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Brian Thomas Jr. rookie cards

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Our Week 8 call

Start Brian Thomas Jr. over Troy Franklin in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Brian Thomas Jr. at 4.7 points and Troy Franklin at 4.1, a gap of 0.6. 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 Troy Franklin this week yet, so his 4.1 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (4.2, 4.2 and 3.9); 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 Troy Franklin yet. His market-based projections were 4.2, 4.2 and 3.9 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 4.1, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Brian Thomas Jr. 0.6 points ahead of Troy Franklin 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.

Troy Franklin and DEN host KC on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

KC allowed 23.7 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 6 games, the 2nd fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 122 yards and 0.2 touchdowns a game against KC.

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

Injury status

Brian Thomas Jr. is not on the injury report.

Troy Franklin is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Troy Franklin played 40 percent of DEN snaps, drew 5 percent of the targets, earned 12 percent of the air yards and had 4 percent of the red zone chances.

Troy Franklin, Week 4 against SF: 32 of 65 snaps, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Troy Franklin, Week 5 against LAC: 39 of 62 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 16 yards.

Troy Franklin, Week 6 against SEA: 31 of 60 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 2 yards.

Troy Franklin, Week 7 against ARI: 28 of 61 snaps, 2 targets and 0 catches for 0 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, Troy Franklin played 17 games for DEN and scored 177.1 PPR points, 10.4 a game, finishing WR31.

He caught 65 of 104 targets for 709 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 18 red zone targets and 427 air yards.

He was on the field for 60 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 Troy Franklin 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), Troy Franklin 38 (4.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Troy Franklin.
Should I drop Brian Thomas Jr. for Troy Franklin?
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), Troy Franklin 38 (4.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Brian Thomas Jr. over Troy Franklin.