My 2025 Fantasy Football Trends for Week 8 article has arrived just in time to help you in your matchups this week and or going forward!
So with fantasy managers already suffering from a plethora of injuries to key players, we’ve now hit bye-maggedon with six teams resting this week. It’s a challenge setting a competitive lineup, so here are five rookies to keep an eye on to help this week, and towards the latter half of the fantasy season.
1. Kyle Monangai’s 39.4% running back rush share
Kyle Monangai is an interesting play in Fantasy Football for Week 8
— Brad Smith (@mackdaddyffb) October 24, 2025
-Week 7: 14-81-1 TD
-Ravens defense is giving up 4.7 yards per carry to opposing running backs.
He’ll continue to split with Swift but this could turn into a Gibbs-Monty situation like Ben Johnson had in DET pic.twitter.com/LLZMaEptCH
So far this season the Chicago Bears’ rushing attack has largely run through D’Andre Swift – to varying degrees of success. The last two week have seen a marked improvement with back-to-back 100 yard rush performances. Last week, however, we also saw a growth in Kyle Monangai’s usage. The rookie had a season high 15 touches, including 13 rushes for 81 yards and a touchdown, equating to almost a 40% rush share.
We have previously seen Ben Johnson’s success with a two-headed rushing attack in Detroit, and with Swift’s status uncertain at the time of writing, Monangai could see even more work. The rookie may be a viable flex option to guide us through the bye weeks, with the opportunity of carving out an even larger share of the backfield work as the year progresses.
2. Travis Hunter’s 29.8% target share
Travis Hunter Breakout Game👀
— Bryce DeGroat (@NFL_Convo) October 20, 2025
– 14 Targets
– 8 Catches
– 101 Yards
– 1 Touchdown
– 24.1 Fantasy Points
This is a career high for every stat….
And BTJ got hurt so he is now this teams WR1
He could be a legit option going forward✍🏻pic.twitter.com/K06KYmVaDp
Coming into the year there were plenty of questions surrounding Travis Hunter’s role in Jacksonville, and how the two-way player would split his time between offense and defense. And up until last week, the answer for fantasy managers was pretty clear – keep him on the bench.
Last week in the Jaguars’ second home, the rookie saw his highest number of touches of the year so far. He turned his 14 targets and eight catches into 101 receiving yards and a touchdown, hitting double-digit PPR points for the first time. This equated to almost a 30% target share, and double the number of targets of Brian Thomas. Importantly, he also hit his highest snap share on offense at 87%, and has now been above 75% for the last two weeks. Following his bye this week, it appears we can have more confidence in Hunter for the rest of the campaign.
3. TreVeyon Henderson’s two touches
Somewhere in the multiverse, New England passed on TreVeyon Henderson with the 38th overall pick and he went one pick later to Ben Johnson and Chicago and quickly became a locked in fantasy starter with a completely different narrative. pic.twitter.com/oZZ6wCzM4L
— Theo Gremminger (@TheOGfantasy) October 21, 2025
One rookie moving in the wrong direction, however, is TreVeyon Henderson. The hype train was unrelenting during draft season this summer following glowing camp reports and highlight plays during the preseason. Yet his usage is now going backwards. From 11 touches in week 1 (including six receptions) and 14 touches in week 3, Henderson had just two rushing attempts for five yards in week 7. Even undrafted free agent Terrell Jennings saw more backfield touches.
The lack of work in the passing game of is particular concern. Week 6 marked the first game with no targets for Henderson, and he has only had more than three receptions one – in week 1. Typically I am preaching patience over rookies, particularly ones who have been highly drafted, with the hope their role grows over the course of the season. He’s not someone I would drop just yet, but he’s certainly someone who cannot be in your starting lineup until his role becomes more pronounced.
4. Tez Johnson’s 55 yards per game since week 5
In spite of the numerous injuries to Tampa Bay’s skill position players, there have been bright spots in rookies Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson. The latter has seen his role grow significantly in recent weeks due to the absence of Mike Evans, and has now posted 165 yards over the last three weeks, equating to 55 yards per game. The opportunity has resulted in the rookie becoming a steady contributor in the Buccaneers’ offense, showcasing his big-play ability through his two touchdowns over the last two weeks and 17 yards per reception so far this year.
With Evans now on injured reserve, the Buccaneers will need Johnson to continue this trajectory. His usage has already jumped in the last two weeks, playing on more than two-thirds of the snaps and seeing nine targets against the Lions – the joint-second most on the team only behind Egbuka. Johnson is a sneaky high-upside flex through the bye weeks given this opportunity.
5. Jaylin Noel’s 15.2% target share
The Texans NEED to let Jaylin Noel play far more than he does. pic.twitter.com/oG3oKqPNGj
— James Roy (@JamesRoyNFL) October 21, 2025
The Houston offense has continued to be a little underwhelming in 2025. The team rank in the bottom half in EPA per pass, yards per game, and yards per attempt. It’s not a team we should be terribly excited about, but Jaylin Noel may offer fantasy managers some value through the coming weeks. Following the bye, the rookie had a season-high seven targets, resulting in four catches for 77 yards. This equated to a 15% target share.
With Collins out with a concussion and Kirk also out, there is a clear opportunity for good usage again this Sunday against San Francisco. Given the issues facing fantasy managers at present, Noel could be a low-end flex play in the coming weeks.
