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        NFL Bye Weeks 2025: Beware of Week 8

        The 2025 NFL bye weeks are here — and they could wreak havoc on your fantasy football lineup. Here’s what you need to know.
        By Jared Smola | Fri, May 16 2025 2:48 AM UTC
        NFL Bye Weeks 2025: Beware of Week 8

          

        Six teams will be off in Week 8, creating a mid-season hurdle for fantasy managers. But that might not even be the toughest spot to navigate when it comes to 2025 bye weeks.

        Whether you’re playing redraft fantasy football, best-ball tournaments, or dynasty, properly planning for NFL bye weeks is key to winning a championship.

        You don’t want to alter your draft strategy too much to account for bye weeks. But you also don’t want to end up with a bunch of players with the same bye, especially at the same position. 

        Finding the right balance is crucial.

        Let’s take a look at 2025 NFL bye weeks – and how they’ll impact your fantasy season.

           

        2025 NFL Bye Weeks

        Week 5Week 6Week 7Week 8Week 9week 10week 11Week 12WEEK 13week 14
        ATL
        HOUBALARICLECININDDENCAR
        CHI MIN BUFDETNYJDALNOLACNE
        GB JACPHIKCMIANYG
        PIT LVTBTENWASSF
        LAR
        SEA

          

        TIP

        Bye weeks for every player are displayed on this customizable fantasy football cheat sheet.

         

        NFL Bye Week 5

        • Atlanta Falcons
        • Chicago Bears
        • Green Bay Packers
        • Pittsburgh Steelers

        The first byes of 2025 come five weeks into the season and will strip fantasy managers of the potential No. 1 RB — plus a few more early-round picks.

        Key Players on Bye

        Headshot of Bijan Robinson
        Headshot of Josh Jacobs
        Headshot of Drake London
        QB RB WR TE
        Caleb Williams Bijan Robinson
        Drake London Tucker Kraft
        Jordan Love Josh Jacobs D.J. Moore Pat Freiermuth
        D'Andre Swift D.K. Metcalf Colston Loveland
        Jaylen WarrenRome OdunzeKyle Pitts
        Kaleb JohnsonJayden Reed

           

        NFL Bye Week 6

        • Houston Texans
        • Minnesota Vikings

        Just two teams on bye in Week 6 — but plenty of fantasy firepower will be missing. Most notably Justin Jefferson, Nico Collins, and Joe Mixon.

        Key Players on Bye

        Headshot of Joe Mixon
        Headshot of Justin Jefferson
        Headshot of Nico Collins
        QB RB WR TE
        C.J. Stroud Joe Mixon
        Justin Jefferson T.J. Hockenson
        J.J. McCarthy Aaron Jones Nico Collins
        Jordan Addison

          

        NFL Bye Week 7

        • Baltimore Ravens
        • Buffalo Bills

        Just two teams on bye in Week 7 ... but they're high-powered offenses loaded with fantasy studs, including two elite QBs.

        Key Players on Bye

        Headshot of Lamar Jackson
        Headshot of Josh Allen
        Headshot of Derrick Henry
        QB RB WR TE
        Lamar Jackson Derrick Henry
        Zay Flowers Mark Andrews
        Josh Allen James Cook Khalil Shakir Dalton Kincaid

        TIP

        Check out where each of these guys sit in our 2025 fantasy football rankings

          

        NFL Bye Week 8

        • Arizona Cardinals
        • Detroit Lions
        • Jacksonville Jaguars
        • Las Vegas Raiders
        • Los Angeles Rams
        • Seattle Seahawks

        The NFL strapped us with only one six-team bye week in 2025, but it's a doozy. We'll be without as many as eight players who will go in the first two rounds of fantasy drafts.

        Key Players on Bye

        Headshot of Jahmyr Gibbs
        Headshot of Puka Nacua
        Headshot of Brock Bowers
        QB RB WR TE
        Kyler Murray Jahmyr Gibbs
        Puka Nacua Brock Bowers
        Trevor Lawrence Ashton Jeanty Brian Thomas Jr. Trey McBride
        Jared Goff Kyren Williams Amon-Ra St. Brown Sam LaPorta
        Ken WalkerDavante Adams
        James ConnerMarvin Harrison Jr.
        David MontgomeryJaxon Smith-Njigba
        Travis Hunter
        Jameson Williams
        Jakobi Meyers
        Cooper Kupp

          

        NFL Bye Week 9

        • Cleveland Browns
        • New York Jets
        • Philadelphia Eagles
        • Tampa Bay Buccaneers

        A four-team Week 9 bye will strip fantasy managers of their Eagles studs, along with a handful of other high-end RBs and WRs.

        Key Players on Bye

        Headshot of Saquon Barkley
        Headshot of Breece Hall
        Headshot of A.J. Brown
        QB RB WR TE
        Jalen Hurts Saquon Barkley
        A.J. Brown David Njoku
        Baker Mayfield Breece Hall Mike Evans Dallas Goedert
        Justin Fields Bucky Irving Garrett Wilson
        Quinshon JudkinsDevonta Smith
        Chris Godwin
        Jerry Jeudy

        Beat the Bye Weeks By Optimizing Your Fantasy Bench

           

        NFL Bye Week 10

        • Cincinnati Bengals
        • Dallas Cowboys
        • Kansas City Chiefs
        • Tennessee Titans

        This is an impactful bye week late in the season, with the high-powered Bengals and Chiefs offenses unavailable to fantasy players.

        Key Players on Bye

        Headshot of Ja'Marr Chase
        Headshot of CeeDee Lamb
        Headshot of Rashee Rice
        QB RB WR TE
        Joe Burrow Chase Brown
        Ja'Marr Chase Travis Kelce
        Patrick Mahomes Tony Pollard CeeDee Lamb Jake Ferguson
        Dak Prescott Isiah Pacheco Tee Higgins
        Rashee Rice
        Xavier Worthy
        Calvin Ridley

          

        NFL Bye Week 11

        • Indianapolis Colts
        • New Orleans Saints

        A light bye week, although fantasy managers will be without key RBs Jonathan Taylor and Alvin Kamara.

        Key Players on Bye

        Headshot of Jonathan Taylor
        Headshot of Alvin Kamara
        Headshot of Chris Olave
        QB RB WR TE
        Anthony Richardson Jonathan Taylor Chris Olave Tyler Warren
        Alvin Kamara Josh Downs

        Michael Pittman
        Rashid Shaheed

            

        NFL Bye Week 12

        • Denver Broncos
        • Los Angeles Chargers
        • Miami Dolphins
        • Washington Commanders

        Yet another four-team bye strips fantasy managers of multiple key players at every position, mostly notably WR.

        Key Players on Bye

        Headshot of Jayden Daniels
        Headshot of De'Von Achane
        Headshot of Ladd McConkey
        QB RB WR TE
        Jayden Daniels De'Von Achane Tyreek Hill Jonnu Smith
        Bo Nix Omarion Hampton Ladd McConkey Evan Engram
        Justin Herbert R.J. Harvey Terry McLaurin Zach Ertz
        Tua TagovailoaBrian RobinsonCourtland Sutton
        Najee HarrisJaylen Waddle
        Austin EkelerDeebo Samuel

        NFL Bye Week 14

        • Carolina Panthers
        • New England Patriots
        • New York Giants
        • San Francisco 49ers

        Four teams on bye for the final week of many fantasy leagues' regular season — and the league championship round in the FFPC Main Event. 

        We're not altering our rankings for these Week 14 byes, but you could certainly use it as a tiebreaker if you're deciding between two similarly ranked players.

        Key Players on Bye

        Headshot of Christian McCaffrey
        Headshot of Malik Nabers
        Headshot of George Kittle
        QB RB WR TE
        Drake Maye Christian McCaffrey Malik Nabers George Kittle
        Brock Purdy Chuba Hubbard Tetairoa McMillan Hunter Henry
        TreVeyon Henderson Jauan Jennings
        Cam SkatteboRicky Pearsall
        Tyrone TracyBrandon Aiyuk
        Rhamondre StevensonStefon Diggs

          

        Don’t Mess Up 2025 NFL Bye Weeks

        The Draft War Room displays each player’s bye week for quick reference during your draft.

        But it’s still easy to slip up and draft too many players with the same bye week. We’ve all been there.

        That’s why we built a Bye Week Warning System into the Draft War Room.

        During your draft, you’ll see an icon next to every player that has the same bye week as a player already on your team at the same position.

        The bye week warning system makes sure you don't mess up your fantasy draft by taking too many players with the same bye week.

          

        Get the Bye Week Warning System

        Plus Customized, Dynamic Player Rankings

          

        Learn About All The Ways The Draft War Room Helps You Build Super Teams 

        Jared Smola Author Image
        Jared Smola, Lead Analyst
        Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks sixth among 158 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.
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