Start Darnell Washington or Colby Parkinson? Week 8

Our Week 8 call

Start Darnell Washington over Colby Parkinson in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Darnell Washington at 6.5 points and Colby Parkinson at 5.3, a gap of 1.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Darnell Washington this week yet, so his 6.5 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (6.2, 6.5 and 6.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Colby Parkinson this week yet, so his 5.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (5.3, 4.0 and 6.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Darnell Washington yet. His market-based projections were 6.2, 6.5 and 6.7 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 6.5, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

No Week 8 player market is posted for Colby Parkinson yet. His market-based projections were 5.3, 4.0 and 6.7 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 5.3, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Darnell Washington 1.1 points ahead of Colby Parkinson on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Darnell Washington and PIT host CLE on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CLE allowed 13.6 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 14th most in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 49 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against CLE.

Colby Parkinson and LAR host LAC on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

LAC allowed 11.1 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 6 games, the 10th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 58 yards and 0.2 touchdowns a game against LAC.

By points allowed to the position, Darnell Washington has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Darnell Washington is not on the injury report.

Colby Parkinson is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Darnell Washington played 65 percent of PIT snaps, drew 9 percent of the targets, earned 6 percent of the air yards and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.

Darnell Washington, Week 4 against CLE: 51 of 72 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 27 yards, 1 touchdown.

Darnell Washington, Week 5 against IND: 38 of 60 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 12 yards.

Darnell Washington, Week 6 against TB: 56 of 79 snaps, 6 targets and 4 catches for 25 yards, 1 touchdown.

Darnell Washington, Week 7 against NO: 36 of 64 snaps, 1 target and 1 catch for 4 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 7, Colby Parkinson played 63 percent of LAR snaps, drew 9 percent of the targets, earned 2 percent of the air yards and had 8 percent of the red zone chances.

Colby Parkinson, Week 3 against DEN: 37 of 86 snaps, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Colby Parkinson, Week 5 against BUF: 53 of 82 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 3 yards.

Colby Parkinson, Week 6 against ARI: 36 of 58 snaps, 6 targets and 5 catches for 31 yards, 1 touchdown.

Colby Parkinson, Week 7 against LV: 50 of 72 snaps, 6 targets and 5 catches for 48 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Darnell Washington played 16 games for PIT and scored 73.4 PPR points, 4.6 a game, finishing TE39.

He caught 31 of 43 targets for 364 yards and 1 touchdown, with 8 red zone targets and 135 air yards.

He was on the field for 57 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Colby Parkinson played 15 games for LAR and scored 129.8 PPR points, 8.7 a game, finishing TE17.

He caught 43 of 56 targets for 408 yards and 8 touchdowns, with 20 red zone targets and 137 air yards.

He was on the field for 59 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

• Start AJ Barner over Darnell Washington.
• Start Chig Okonkwo over Darnell Washington.
• Start Darnell Washington over Darren Waller.
• Start AJ Barner over Colby Parkinson.
• Start Chig Okonkwo over Colby Parkinson.
• Start Darren Waller over Colby Parkinson.