Start Darnell Washington or Oronde Gadsden? Week 8

Our Week 8 call

Start Darnell Washington over Oronde Gadsden in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Darnell Washington at 6.5 points and Oronde Gadsden at 6.0, a gap of 0.5. 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 Oronde Gadsden this week yet, so his 6.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 6 (8.2 and 3.8); 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 Oronde Gadsden yet. His market-based projections were 8.2 and 3.8 points in Weeks 5 and 6, an average of 6.0, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Darnell Washington 0.5 points ahead of Oronde Gadsden 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.

Oronde Gadsden and LAC visit LAR on Sunday at 4:05 PM ET.

LAR allowed 10.2 fantasy points a game to TEs this season over 7 games, the 5th fewest in the league.

Tight ends caught passes for 42 yards and 0.1 touchdowns a game against LAR.

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

Injury status

Darnell Washington is not on the injury report.

Oronde Gadsden 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 6, Oronde Gadsden played 48 percent of LAC snaps, drew 12 percent of the targets, earned 12 percent of the air yards and had 13 percent of the red zone chances.

Oronde Gadsden, Week 3 against BUF: 39 of 69 snaps, 3 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Oronde Gadsden, Week 4 against SEA: 39 of 71 snaps, 1 carry for 2 yards, 8 targets and 5 catches for 36 yards.

Oronde Gadsden, Week 5 against DEN: 39 of 67 snaps, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Oronde Gadsden, Week 6 against KC: 33 of 68 snaps, 5 targets and 3 catches for 17 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, Oronde Gadsden played 15 games for LAC and scored 131.4 PPR points, 8.8 a game, finishing TE15.

He caught 49 of 69 targets for 664 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 14 red zone targets and 443 air yards.

He was on the field for 63 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 Colby Parkinson.
• Start AJ Barner over Oronde Gadsden.
• Start Chig Okonkwo over Oronde Gadsden.
• Start Oronde Gadsden over Colby Parkinson.