The Los Angeles Chargers will face the New Orleans Saints in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Joshua Palmer.
Is Joshua Palmer Playing in Week 8?
Palmer is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Chargers’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Joshua Palmer in Week 8?
Palmer has dealt with various injuries this season, but the counting numbers for fantasy purposes haven’t been there when he’s been active. The 25-year-old has yet to reach 40 receiving yards in a game in 2024 and has produced under expectations in three of four games.
With a fluid target hierarchy in Los Angeles, there is a path to him offering a week upside in any matchup, but as a part of the 28th-ranked offense in terms of pass rate over expectation, the risk far outweighs the reward in most redraft situations.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Joshua Palmer’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Palmer is projected to score 8.1 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 3.2 receptions for 39.2 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Joshua Palmer’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.Â
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers Insights
New Orleans Saints
Team: The Saints have lost five straight since starting 2-0. They’re the first team since the 2015 Dallas Cowboys to lose at least five in a row after starting 2-0 (that Cowboys team fell to 2-7 after starting QB Tony Romo was injured in Week 2).
Team: The Saints have won the past 11 games played in Week 8, out-scoring opponents 361-227 (+12.2 PPG) during that run.
QB: In the first two weeks of this season, Derek Carr completed 61.5% of his deep passes with a 113.0 passer rating on such passes. His numbers since (45.4 passer rating and 35% complete) look more like Spencer Rattler than an MVP candidate.
Offense: All the passing game injuries have also killed the running game. Since Week 3, the Saints are averaging 3.1 yards per carry on running back carries, second-worst in the NFL. That includes the third-fewest yards before contact per carry (2.2).
Defense: The Saints have allowed 502 rush yards in the last two games, their most in a two-game span since 1980. For the first time since 2012, New Orleans has given up 200+ rush yards in consecutive games; the last team to allow 200+ rush yards in three straight games was the 2019 Jacksonville Jaguars.
Fantasy: Alvin Kamara has not had a 10-plus-yard carry in three straight games, and over his past four, despite having a pair of rushing touchdowns, the majority (56.9%) of his fantasy points have come as a receiver.
Betting: The Saints have seen 13 of their past 14 games played on extended rest go under the projected total (most recently, Week 5 at Chiefs, a 26-13 loss with a 43.5-point closing total).
Los Angeles Chargers
Team: The average NFL game this season has seen 44.8 points scored – not a single Chargers game has reached 40 points yet.
QB: On Monday night, Justin Herbert became the first QB since Ryan Tannehill (Week 2, 2021) to throw for 345 yards without a touchdown or interception.
Offense: JK Dobbins was the story of the first two weeks this season (27 carries for 266 yards, 9.9 yards per carry), but he has failed to average even 4.0 yards per carry in the four games since, checking in under 3.0 in three of those games.
Defense: Los Angeles allows a score on just 25% of drives this season, the lowest rate in the league and 13 percentage points better than the league average.
Fantasy: The Chargers are amongst the most run-centric offenses, and on Monday night, when they took to the air, the early passes weren’t exactly going to the players on fantasy rosters – Will Dissly and Simi Fehoko saw eight of Justin Herbert’s first 10 targets.
Betting: Seven of Justin Herbert’s last eight home starts have finished under the total, including each of the past four.
