Start Xavier Worthy or Carnell Tate? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 8:26 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Tate projects lower, 11.0 to 11.7, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 81 for Tate, 109 for Worthy.

Start

Carnell Tate

WR · TEN · at CIN

Market projects: 11.0; recent weeks avg
CIN D vs WR: 31.4; 15th most to WRs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 46 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 82%; Through Week 7
Target share: 26%; Through Week 7

Sit

Xavier Worthy

WR · KC · at DEN

Market projects: 11.7; recent weeks avg
DEN D vs WR: 27.8; 7th fewest to WRs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 59 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 82%; Through Week 7
Target share: 20%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Xavier Worthy for Carnell Tate?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Carnell Tate projects 98 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (10.9 a game over 9 games), Xavier Worthy 92 (9.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Carnell Tate over Xavier Worthy.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Carnell Tate over Xavier Worthy in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Carnell Tate at 11.0 points and Xavier Worthy at 11.7, a gap of 0.7. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Carnell Tate still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 81 against 109, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Carnell Tate this week yet, so his 11.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (10.4, 11.2 and 11.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Xavier Worthy this week yet, so his 11.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 6 and 7 (12.0 and 11.4); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Xavier Worthy yet. His market-based projections were 12.0 and 11.4 points in Weeks 6 and 7, an average of 11.7, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

No Week 8 player market is posted for Carnell Tate yet. His market-based projections were 10.4, 11.2 and 11.4 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 11.0, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Xavier Worthy 0.7 points ahead of Carnell Tate on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Xavier Worthy and KC visit DEN on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

DEN allowed 27.8 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 7 games, the 7th fewest in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 136 yards and 0.4 touchdowns a game against DEN.

Carnell Tate 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, Carnell Tate has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Xavier Worthy is not on the injury report.

Carnell Tate is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Xavier Worthy played 82 percent of KC snaps, drew 20 percent of the targets, earned 26 percent of the air yards and had 7 percent of the red zone chances.

Xavier Worthy, Week 3 against MIA: 43 of 52 snaps, 2 targets and 2 catches for 20 yards.

Xavier Worthy, Week 4 against LV: 45 of 60 snaps, 7 targets and 4 catches for 70 yards.

Xavier Worthy, Week 6 against LAC: 51 of 61 snaps, 7 targets and 7 catches for 73 yards.

Xavier Worthy, Week 7 against SEA: 46 of 53 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 11 yards.

Through Week 7, Carnell Tate played 82 percent of TEN snaps, drew 26 percent of the targets, earned 45 percent of the air yards and had 5 percent of the red zone chances.

Carnell Tate, Week 4 against BAL: 54 of 64 snaps, 12 targets and 9 catches for 145 yards.

Carnell Tate, Week 5 against HOU: 48 of 63 snaps, 5 targets and 1 catch for 6 yards.

Carnell Tate, Week 6 against IND: 34 of 46 snaps, 7 targets and 6 catches for 70 yards, 1 touchdown.

Carnell Tate, Week 7 against CLE: 56 of 63 snaps, 7 targets and 5 catches for 69 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Xavier Worthy played 14 games for KC and scored 109.9 PPR points, 7.9 a game, finishing WR59.

He caught 42 of 73 targets for 532 yards and 1 touchdown, with 6 red zone targets and 339 air yards.

He was on the field for 70 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 Xavier Worthy for Carnell Tate?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Carnell Tate projects 98 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (10.9 a game over 9 games), Xavier Worthy 92 (9.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Carnell Tate over Xavier Worthy.
Should I drop Carnell Tate for Xavier Worthy?
No. Keep Carnell Tate: he projects 98 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (10.9 a game over 9 games), Xavier Worthy 92 (9.2 a game over 10 games). For Week 8 the call starts Carnell Tate over Xavier Worthy.

Should I drop Xavier Worthy?