Sit Brandon McManus in Week 8 if you have a real alternative — 4.2 projected points lands 3.3 under the K starter line.
- Projection
- 4.2 pts
- K rank
- #29
- Matchup
- vs LAC
Brandon McManus's fantasy role in Week 8
Brandon McManus goes into Week 8 of the 2026 season as a deep-league K flyer for the LAR. He is rostered in 0% of leagues and actually started in 0% of them, and we rank him K29 on our own weekly board at 4.2 projected points.
Roster rates are steady week over week, so his role looks settled rather than in flux.
No injury designation to work around right now, which keeps his projection honest.
Week 8 matchup breakdown
The matchup: vs LAC. Our Pepper Meter heat rating for this spot is 1 out of 5, which is how we grade the combination of role, projection and opponent difficulty.
Against a typical starting K baseline of 7.5 points, his 4.2-point projection is 3.3 points short. That gap is the whole start/sit argument in one number.
How to play it
Sit Brandon McManus in Week 8 if you have a real alternative — 4.2 projected points lands 3.3 under the K starter line.
If you are deciding between him and another K, compare projections first, then lean on the Pepper Meter heat rating as the tiebreaker.
Sally's take
Peppers & Picks ranks Brandon McManus (LAR K), our K29 this week for Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season vs LAC, projecting 4.2 projected points with a mild Pepper Meter rating. Sally wants fireworks, and 3.3 points below a typical starter isn't fireworks. Nothing in the projection defends him — 44% below positional par is a bench line for me. The vs LAC draw matters here — home snaps against LAC shape how often he's asked to do something. The Pepper Meter cools him to Mild, and that reading is doing its job.
Tina's take
Peppers & Picks ranks Brandon McManus (LAR K), our K29 this week for Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season vs LAC, projecting 4.2 projected points with a mild Pepper Meter rating. Tina calls it a floor problem: 3.3 points under the starter line is a lot of risk for a lineup spot. At home against LAC, I expect the game to stay competitive enough that his usage holds. The projection sits about 44% under what a startable K returns, so I honestly can't pretend the price tag matches the output. Tina keeps him at Mild until the usage says otherwise.