Start Makai Lemon or Darius Cooper? Week 8

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

Start Makai Lemon over Darius Cooper

Start

Makai Lemon

WR · PHI · at WAS

Market projects: 7.5; recent weeks avg
WAS D vs WR: 35.9; 6th most to WRs (2026)
Upside: High; 90 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 76%; Through Week 7
Target share: 16%; Through Week 7

Sit

Darius Cooper

WR · PHI · at WAS

Market projects: 7.4; recent weeks avg
WAS D vs WR: 35.9; 6th most to WRs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 48 of 100 at WR
Snap share: 59%; Through Week 7
Target share: 8%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Darius Cooper for Makai Lemon?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Makai Lemon projects 58 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.4 a game over 9 games), Darius Cooper 30 (3.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Makai Lemon over Darius Cooper.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Makai Lemon over Darius Cooper in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Makai Lemon at 7.5 points and Darius Cooper at 7.4, a gap of 0.1. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. No player market is posted for Makai Lemon this week yet, so his 7.5 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (7.2, 5.3 and 10.0); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Darius Cooper this week yet, so his 7.4 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 7 (5.6 and 9.2); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Makai Lemon yet. His market-based projections were 7.2, 5.3 and 10.0 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 7.5, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

No Week 8 player market is posted for Darius Cooper yet. His market-based projections were 5.6 and 9.2 points in Weeks 5 and 7, an average of 7.4, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Makai Lemon 0.1 points ahead of Darius Cooper on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Makai Lemon and PHI visit WAS on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.

WAS allowed 35.9 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 6 games, the 6th most in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 158 yards and 1.2 touchdowns a game against WAS.

Darius Cooper and PHI visit WAS on Sunday at 8:20 PM ET.

WAS allowed 35.9 fantasy points a game to WRs this season over 6 games, the 6th most in the league.

Receivers caught passes for 158 yards and 1.2 touchdowns a game against WAS.

Injury status

Makai Lemon is not on the injury report.

Darius Cooper is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Makai Lemon played 76 percent of PHI snaps, drew 16 percent of the targets, earned 11 percent of the air yards and had 2 percent of the red zone chances.

Makai Lemon, Week 4 against LAR: 45 of 61 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 27 yards.

Makai Lemon, Week 5 against JAX: 50 of 62 snaps, 7 targets and 5 catches for 43 yards.

Makai Lemon, Week 6 against CAR: 52 of 64 snaps, 6 targets and 3 catches for 19 yards.

Makai Lemon, Week 7 against DAL: 60 of 62 snaps, 8 targets and 7 catches for 67 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 7, Darius Cooper played 59 percent of PHI snaps, drew 8 percent of the targets, earned 12 percent of the air yards and had 8 percent of the red zone chances.

Darius Cooper, Week 4 against LAR: 55 of 61 snaps, 7 targets and 3 catches for 33 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Darius Cooper, Week 5 against JAX: 53 of 62 snaps, 3 targets and 2 catches for 71 yards, 1 touchdown.

Darius Cooper, Week 6 against CAR: 39 of 64 snaps, 2 targets and 1 catch for 9 yards.

Darius Cooper, Week 7 against DAL: 61 of 62 snaps, 3 targets and 1 catch for 17 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Darius Cooper played 13 games for PHI and scored 18.2 PPR points, 1.4 a game.

He caught 9 of 11 targets for 92 yards and 0 touchdowns, with 0 red zone targets and 70 air yards.

He was on the field for 19 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 Darius Cooper for Makai Lemon?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Makai Lemon projects 58 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.4 a game over 9 games), Darius Cooper 30 (3.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Makai Lemon over Darius Cooper.
Should I drop Makai Lemon for Darius Cooper?
No. Keep Makai Lemon: he projects 58 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.4 a game over 9 games), Darius Cooper 30 (3.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Makai Lemon over Darius Cooper.

Should I drop Darius Cooper?