Transcription
Let's talk about running backs that you should start or sit in week eight of the fantasy football season. We have so many teams on by. It's by magdon, the first one of 2025. The Cardinals, Lions, Jags, Raiders, Rams, Seahawks, which means you will have no Jir Gibbs, David Montgomery, Travis ET, Ashton Genty, Kyron Williams, Ken Walker, Zack Charbanet. But don't worry, I'm going to go through all 13 matchups in today's video. So, even though it's a difficult week, you'll have my rankings for every running back and you know, I'll help you hopefully set your lineups. Last thing, I will guarantee a reply to the first three comments of every video this year. So, make sure you subscribed and you turn your notifications on.
Let's jump into Thursday Night Football where we have the Vikings at the Chargers. It's a 43 and a half point overunder. The Chargers are favored by two and a half points. Very close spread. My anticipation at the time of recording this is that we will have no Aaron Jones. So I am ranking Jordan Mason as my RB18 this week and with so many players on buy, so many players injured, he is going to be in that mustart category. Now he's had a really safe floor. He's had a couple really bad matchups, you know, anywhere from 10 to 12 PPR points the last couple weeks. Uh so we can go out there and play him against the Chargers who are middle of the pack against running backs. Obviously, it'll be interesting to see JJ McCarthy whenever he steps into this offense and how that will impact the flow of the offense. But look, if Aaron Jones is active, it gets a lot more messy because I do see this as a 1A 1B situation. You know, think, you know, Charbanet Walker, uh, Markx Chub, like I think that's how the rotation will look. Obviously, Aaron Jones will be more attractive because of his PPR upside, but I don't anticipate him coming back. They'll both be spot starts if he is back. It is a short week, so I think they'd probably hold him off until next week if I had to guess.
On the opposite side of the ball, we are going to go ahead and go with Hassan Haskins as a must start. Again, so many players are unavailable in your lineups this week. So, when you have a guy who is touching the ball as many times as Vidal is each and every week, it's hard to not put that guy into your lineup right now. Last week, he had 49 snaps compared to 25 for Hassan Haskins. He touched the ball just 13 times. But unfortunately, this team was down for the majority of the game. So, they never really had a chance to establish the run. But Hassan Haskins, the guy behind him, only had three touches. This is Vidal's backfield until they make a trade, which I don't think that happens this week, or Mario Hampton comes back. So, we're going to start Vidal with some confidence, even though it's a relatively difficult defense to go up against.
Okay, no international game this week. Thank God. I mean, shout out to our international people. We want the game to spread, but I'm glad we don't have to think about that. Start of the 1 pm Sunday slate of games. Dolphins at the Falcons. Devon Ain of course a must start. One of the better picks in fantasy football this year has been so reliant. Is not only the wide receiver one in Miami, but also the RB one, right? So it's that dual threat ability, if you will. I am shocked that this team has not already fired their head coach. I thought McDaniel would be out of there by this time uh this week, but he's not. And also to attack Boa will remain the starting quarterback. So, as long as the head coach is in place and Tua is in place, you need you need not worry about Devon Achan. I would slightly worry if there are changes. Uh, what will the new play caller think about Devon Han and how to deploy him? But we don't have to think about that right now.
Here's where things are interesting. On the opposite side of the ball here, of course, you're going to start Bean Robinson, right? It's a top five matchup for your fantasy running backs. The Dolphins are giving up more rushing yards per game than any other defense in the NFL. Their rushing defense is terrible. Bejon's my RB1 this week. But beyond Bejan Robinson, I think you can start Tyler Algier. I see a very realistic possibility in this game where the Falcons are favored by seven and a half points. Huge favorites coming in. I see a very realistic possibility where in the second uh half, the third and fourth quarter, you're seeing a lot of Tala Alier. I wouldn't be shocked if this is one of those games where he has a touchdown, averages over six yards per game, 12 touches. So, with limited options this week, Tyler Alier is a legit flex if you're in a dis uh difficult position.
All right, let's jump to the Bears at the Ravens. One of the higher overunders of the week, 49 and a half points. Now, obviously for the Ravens, we are anticipating Lamar Jackson being back with this team. That's a huge boost to Derrick Henry. Uh both of these running backs for these teams are must starts. DeAndre Swift and Derrick Henry. They have great matchups on opposite sides. The Bears give up the sixth most points to fantasy running backs. The Ravens give up the second most points to fantasy running backs. Now, here's what I would say. Some of these numbers for Baltimore is just their defense is really bad. And some of it is no Lamar Jackson means their offense isn't on the field very much and they're constantly being scored on. Right. Regardless, DeAndre Swift has been one of the better running backs in fantasy football since their by-week. We all thought, "Oh, maybe Kongai will come in and take over." Will last week Kanongai clearly had a role but they were up in that game and there wasn't a single moment where they where it was really in doubt versus the Saints. You can see last week DeAndre Swift had 19 carries and 20 total opportunities. Kyle Manangai had 15 total opportunities. Now we could see a change of the guard here where Ben Johnson who loves to deploy multiple running backs. Maybe that will be a theme over the next couple weeks. My feeling is DeAndre Swift has been playing so well. I think this was more just an indication of the game script and uh at this point Swift is still the only guy that you can start. It's a great matchup. He should smash. I wouldn't be shocked if Kyle Manangai ends up being, you know, a decent floor play uh given the matchup. And I do expect Derrick Henry to be back and in full strength. So, if you're a Derrick Henry owner, if you're not, go try and trade for him. It's the perfect time by by the way with his upcoming schedule. But if you're a Derrick Henry owner, start him with confidence this week with a Lamar Jackson back and healthy. This offense should look much better. He should have plenty of goal line opportunities. I think he's a big bounceback this week.
Okay, let's go to the Bills at the Panthers. 47 1/2 point overunder. Very high overunder. The Bills are heavy favorites. 7 and a half points. Uh James Cook is going to be a must start. Obviously, his first bust week before the Bills buy, but you're going to play him regardless. It doesn't matter what happens to this offense each and every week. James Cook is going to be in your lineup. Now on the opposite side of the ball, the Panthers offense will look a little bit different this week. Firstly, Bryce Young suffered a high ankle sprain. I don't think that really impacts this running back room at all. Now, if you are curious guys, okay, what we saw last week where they pretty much split the opportunities for the Panthers down the middle. Are we going to see that or is that just, you know, is Trouba going to get more work coming from, you know, back from this injury? Are they going to give it to Rico because he looks so great? Well, Panales came out after the game and said, "Yeah, we're going to continue to use both of them." Right now, there's a glass half full and glass half empty way to look at this. Half full. They're both going to get used, but this offense is built around the run game, right? I mean, very rarely are you seeing any wide receiver getting a heavy amount of targets and a high amount of yards in this offense anymore. Last week, for example, Chuba Hubard touched the ball 16 times. Rico Dattle touched the ball 18 times. So, if this team is going to be built around the running backs, and both of them are going to get 15 plus touches per game. They'll both be startable assets. Now, here's the great news for them as well. They are playing the Buffalo Bills. They are one of the worst rush defenses in the NFL. That's the seventh best matchup for your fantasy running back, by the way. So, both are going to be must starts for me. I prefer Rico, but Chuba is the starter. There's a reason he's a captain. There's a reason that they signed him to a long-term deal. You know, if you're a Rico owner, Chuba is not going away. If you're a Chuba owner, Rico is not going away. They're both going to be an important part of this offense, but it's built around the run game, this entire offense, and it's a great matchup. So, both are guys that you can start this week.
Okay, let's go to the Jets at the Bengals. 44 and a half point overunder. Bengals are favored by four and a half points. Uh the Jets haven't won a game. I don't think that changes this week, but Bree Hall, if you're looking for a glass half full, is supposedly good to go. This is from Aaron Glenn. He said he got banged up a little bit, but he should be fine for Cincinnati. Thank God because this is the best matchup for your fantasy running backs. No defense in the NFL gives up more fantasy points per game than the Cincinnati Bengals. So, I do think this week Bree Hall you can start. And honestly, I don't care if it's Justin Fields. I don't care if it's Tyrod Taylor. That's not really going to impact things. Regardless, Bree Hall is going to have a great day in my opinion.
On the opposite side of the ball, I do think Chase Brown is becoming a more startable name. Um, what's happening with the Bengals offense is because Joe Flacco is competent and he's able to get the ball out quick and make some smart decisions, that is actually, which is what we need to see happen with the Commanders, that is actually causing less stacked boxes and it's giving Chase Brown more room to run, right? You love to see that for Chase Brown who last week had 11 carries, 108 yards, had 12 fantasy points. He's been in that spot start range for me um pretty much the majority of the year. He's going to stay in that range right now. He's my RB26, so a playable name. Certainly doesn't have the same upside uh that you drafted him to have, but still a safe floor play.
Okay, let's go to the 49ers at the Texans. Lower overunder in this one at 42 and a half points. The Texans are favored by one and a half points. I think that line is gonna move closer and closer to the Niners. The Niners will be favorites uh by the time that game actually begins. Let's not waste our time on the Christian McCaffrey side of this. You're going to start Christian McCaffrey every week that he's available. You're going to put him in there. It's the San Francisco 49ers. No, it's the San Francisco CMCers. All right. That is the entire identity of this offense is Christian McCaffrey. RB1, wide receiver one.
Now, as far as the Houston Texans go, look, it's no secret they looked terrible on Monday night. Their offensive line, I would say, is probably the worst offensive line, not just this year. They, this offensive line unit might be the worst offensive line we've seen in football in the last five years. It's terrible. Every single play there is one guy who's just getting thrown to the side and they're all like, it doesn't matter if it's Chub or Woody Marks, both of them are getting contacted at negative yards in the back field. Really frustrating. Last week, however, we told you we prefer Woody over Chub. Uh before their bye-week, he played the vast majority of the snaps. Well, it was pretty close, but he had, you know, the little bit of of the go-ahad. And as we said last week, in games where you predict the Texans to be down, you'll want to play Woody Marks. That's what I predict again here against the 49ers, I think the Texans will be down, needing to come back, and Woody Marks will be the featured running back in my opinion. They're both playable, but Woody is the one that's going to get the high volume touches, uh, the high value touches, like the catches through the air. Here in week seven, where they were down the entire game, you can see Woody Marks played 48 snaps compared to 19 for Chub. He had the majority of the early down work, all of the goal line and the short yardage uh, work as well, went to Woody Marks, and in the two-minute drill, he got the vast majority of the work as well. So, I think Woody Marks is their guy. Again, in games where they're down, most games, I think they're probably going to be down. And that's obviously beneficial for a name like Woody Marks. In this last game on Monday Night Football, Markx had 15 touches, including five targets. Chub had eight. And on those eight touches, he had 11 yards. So, uh, Nick Chub, I think, is a sit for most of you guys. But because there are so many injuries, I just wanted to give him as an option here versus the 49ers, who are actually a top 12 matchup for your fancy running back. So, again, we prefer Marks, but I understand if you don't want to play either of them.
Okay, let's go to the Browns at the Patriots. one of the lowest over under of the week. Um, and the Patriots are heavy favorites in this game by about seven, uh, points, a full touchdown. Raandre Stevenson, look, uh, we've all been saying, I feel like you guys watching this have probably agreed for the past five weeks, we've all been like, look, at some point Trayvon Henderson is going to get more and more involved at some point, right? Then Antonio Gibson goes down with an injury and then it was like, surely they have to use Trayvon Henderson. No, they they don't. And in fact, Trayvon Henderson is on your bench until further notice until we see some sort of life. Yes. There's going to be reports where they say, "Oh, we want to utilize Trayvon Henderson." Yeah. And and then you're going to go out and do things like get Terrell Jennings. Terrell Jennings, the guy who was working at your local Costco, your local Kroger's just two weeks ago. He get he got more rushing attempts than Trayvon Henderson, your top 40 NFL draft pick, your second round draft pick. Right. So at this point, we have no trust with this coaching staff outside of they have an absolute obsession, a fetish for Raandre Stevenson. So no matter what happens, Ramandre Stevenson is the guy until further notice. He had 20 touches this last game versus the Saints. Obviously got into the end zone. 17 PPR points, 16.8, but we're rounding up there. So you can start Stevenson if you're going to start anyone out of that backfield. But I will say the reason I'm not high on him and the reason he's not a mustart is because it's a terrible matchup against the Browns. The Browns give up the fewest yards per game um on the ground to any team. So, I'm only telling you that you can play him because of volume alone.
On the opposite side of the ball, of course, you're going to start Quinn Sean Judkins. Since he uh was allowed to come back to football, right, week two onwards, he's been one of the better, most consistent plays at the running back position. So, of course, you're going to put him in there. The entire offense funnels around him.
Okay, let's go to a divisional game. Giants at Eagles. 43 and a half point overunder. The Eagles are favored by seven points. Now, I know just two weeks ago we saw the Giants win, but this is in Philadelphia and it's different. All right, it's just different when you're a rookie quarterback on the road in division. I do think we will see uh the Giants struggle a little bit more. But what's great for Cam Scataboo is even with Tyrone Tracy back and healthy, what we wanted to see is it still to be Cam Scataboo's backfield. And it is 100% it is. Cam Scataboo last week had 46 snaps compared to 28 for Tracy and he had 21 total touches compared to just nine for Tracy. Obviously Tracy got into the end zone on that broken play. But Scataboo is getting not only volume on the ground but volume in the air. Cam Scataboo is like what you would dream Woody Marks to be, right? In a competent offense with a competent play caller, that's what you would hope Woody Marks to be. Scaboo is that. And I just mean for fantasy football play style, they're very different, right? Scaboo is like the Kool-Aid man. he's going to run through the wall for you. But obviously, Scataboo is a mustar each and every week. And oddly enough, the Eagles are a good defense, but they've been terrible against running backs this year. They give up the eighth most points. So, you can definitely start him. And I understand it's been disappointing for Saquon Barkley. There's no doubt about it. Like, Saquon has been disappointing. He has been one of the more disappointing first round picks in fantasy this year. Just the RB14 through seven weeks. The past two weeks alone, under nine PPR points in both of those games. But this is a team that likes to get right for their guys, you know. I think they'll do that with Saquon against his Giants. I am gonna play him no matter what.
Guys, news is constantly changing in the NFL. If you want my latest rankings for both weekly and rest of season, then become a season pass member, but make sure you use the promo code land at signup. When you do, it'll be a $34 onetime purchase. You get some vouchers to come on the live stream and ask me questions about your fantasy team. You get all the latest rankings, all the premium tools like the trade calculator, and of course, you're supporting the show here, keeping lights on. Check that out in the pinned comment.
Okay, let's go to the start of the afternoon slate of games. We've got the Bucks at the Saints. 47 12 point overunder. So, a pretty high overunder. The but the Bucks are favored by six and a half points. Rashad White coming off a stinker on Monday Night Football. They were down that entire game. And let's be real, the Bucks could not establish the run at any point against Detroit. That Detroit defensive line looked better than ever. But still without Woody Marks, Rashad White is the guy. 63 snaps out of 69. Shawn Tucker was completely invisible. So, uh, Rashad White is game script proof. However, in this game versus the Saints, he should be a major factor. Uh, this team should be up. They should be able to establish the run. Look, obviously, if Bucky Irving is active, then I will sing the praises of the fantasy gods myself. I will send out my thanks to the fantasy gods above because I would need him in my lineups and he would obviously be a must start when he's back. But I would argue in this matchup against the Saints, even if Bucky Irving is out there, you can still start Rashad White in this specific matchup where the Bucks are such heavy favorites, they're going to come out after an embarrassing performance and look to spank the Saints. Also, you have to keep in mind, no Mike Evans, right, for the vast majority of the year right now. So, a lot of their passing attack, they're probably going to invent ways to get both Rashad White and Bucky Irving involved through the air, but my gut tells me Bucky won't play this week. So, Rashad is a start.
On the opposite side of the ball, look, it's an interesting situation in New Orleans because what we were all really worried about for Alvin Kamar was Kre Miller's usage. We were starting to see Kry Miller and he was starting to become a really important part of that rushing attack. Obviously, if you don't know, Kendrick Miller tore his ACL, so he'll be out for the remainder of the season. Um, now you have to ask the question, well, if Kry Miller is out, are they going to trust Devin Neil the same way they trusted Kendrick Miller? Well, in this game last week, the answer is no. They only gave Deon Neil one single carry. He was only out there for seven snaps. Alvin Kamaro was back up there. A high usage player, 47 snaps out of 56, just dominating from uh the perspective of like being out there and available. He had 84% of the snaps, his second highest mark this entire season. So that's like glass half full. Well, they probably don't trust Evan Neil the way they trusted Kendry Miller. They're probably going to be down in this game. It's going to be Kamara with the targets. He's a safe floor. But I'll be honest, this offense is so bad. And you know, in Kell Moore's offense, they're not looking to target Alvin Kamar, even though he's one of the best passcatching running backs in NFL history. They're not looking to feature him that way. So, it's really frustrating. And even when they're on the goal line, there's a chance that Taesm Hill, they do some buggery and, you know, he gets into the end zone. So, the reason Alvin Kamar is not a mustart, but rather a spot start is simply because the upside is so low compared to recent years. It really has fallen off a cliff. Also, you have to keep in mind that Eric McCoy, their best uh I would say probably their best lineman uh is going to be out for a significant period of time. It actually is for the season, right? Uh torn biceps. So, man, I'll be honest. If you're a Kamar guy, you can say, well, he's going to be on the field often now. Maybe that's the case, but there's still such limited upside in this offense, unfortunately.
Okay, let's go to the Cowboys at the Broncos. 48 and a half point overunder. There should be a lot of fantasy points in this one. And the Broncos are favored by three points. Javvante Williams a must start. I don't really care what the matchup is for Javvante Williams. Every single week he's out there and he's playing for me. They could play the Cleveland Browns every week who give up the fewest amount of rushing yards per game. And every week I would tell you Javvonte Williams is a mustart. At some point elite offenses, they beat whatever defense they go up against. And that is what we have with the Dallas Cowboys. There will be so many red zone opportunities, so many big play opportunities. It's a great offensive line. Even against a great Broncos defense in in Denver, you're going to play Javvante Williams.
On the opposite side of the ball, it's a great matchup for JK Dobbins. My RB 15 on the week. The Cowboys give up the third most points to fantasy running backs. So, she he should have a great opportunity here in this matchup uh to get right. Last week, he had most of the touches, but only scored nine fantasy points. The Jets were much more competitive or sorry, the Giants were much more competitive than we anticipated. R.J. Harvey. The problem with him, I've labeled him a risky start. It is a good matchup, but the problem with R.J. Harvey is Tyler Bedet is still a problem. And when it's not Tyler Bedet, it could be any other backup running back that Shawn Peyton decides that he likes this week, right? So, it's just hard because there might be room for multiple running backs to be successful in this offense, but not when Shawn Peyton deploys three every single week.
Okay, let's go to Titans at Colts. I don't really know how you trust any Tennessee Titans running back at this point. Um, this is back-to-back weeks where their usage is pretty much split. Here in week seven, Tony Pard had 30 snaps, 23 for Taj Spears, but Taj had nine opportunities and Pard had 12 opportunities. So, when you've got two guys in one of the worst offenses in the NFL in a negative matchup, the Colts are not a good matchup for your running backs. in an offense that rarely scores points, that's rarely in the red zone. It's just there's not much value. So, both of these guys I'm labeling risky starts, meaning the vast majority of you guys, nine out of 10 of you, have a much better play than Tony Pard or Taj Spears. But, if you have to throw them out there, I get why you would want to do that. I just would prefer to avoid it.
On the opposite side of the ball, of course, Jonathan Taylor, he should he should smash again. I mean, the fourth best match up for for running backs against the tight ends. It's in Indianapolis. The Colts are favored by over two touchdowns. The biggest favorites of the week. I'd be shocked if JT isn't a top five running back again this week.
Okay, let's go to Sunday Night Football. We've got the Packers at the Steelers. 44 and a half point overunder. The Packers are favored by three points. Should be a competitive game. Josh Jacobs is going to be a mustart. Obviously, we weren't sure if he was going to play last week with the calf injury. That's probably still going to be a part of his practice reports this week, but if he played last week, you would anticipate him playing this week.
On to the Steelers though, there was a concerning trend for a couple of weeks where you were starting to see Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren start to really split opportunities down the middle. That did not happen on Thursday Night Football last week. Kenneth Gainwell just five total touches. Meanwhile, Jaylen Warren a dominant 20 opportunities and he looked fantastic. Of course, he played the Bengals, so how much can you really pull from that? but almost 20 fantasy points, 127 rushing yards on 16 rushing attempts. Obviously, always a threat through the air. So, he's going to be a mustart. It's a bad matchup, but as long as we have workhorse Jaylen Warren, then Jaylen Warren is in your lineup.
Before we get into Monday Night Football, I want to tell you guys about six players I have the ultimate confidence in for week number eight. We're talking Courtland Sutton at the Dallas Cowboys. That should be juicy. I know things don't always work out, but that should be massive. I think Derrick Henry has a huge bounceback against the Bears. Scataboo is just so reliable on the ground through the air. Bree Hall want to get a little unique with my lineup. I don't think many people are high in Breece Hall, but he faces the Bengals this week. I love that matchup. A Dunay should bounce back against the Ravens and Agbuka with no Mike Evans should be a solid play in week eight. You can create your own lineup simply by downloading the Fast Draft app. Use my promo code land. I'll match your deposit up to 50 bucks and then you'll get my week eight rankings completely free. You can check that out in the pin comment if you want to have some fun.
Okay, last game of the week, the Commanders at the Chiefs. 48 and a half point overunder. The Chiefs are favored by nine and a half points. Obviously, that line gets bigger if Jaden Daniels is going to play or if he doesn't. Right. Here's the good news for Jayen Daniels. The MRI showed no long-term issues, but they haven't at the time of me recording this video officially ruled Jayen Daniels out or decided that he's going to play. Now, here's the deal. I am ranking this as if Jayen Daniels is playing. Okay? If Jaden Daniels is out there, then Bill Crosky Merritt is getting enough of the work there in Washington. I know again it wasn't what we wanted it to be on Sunday. There's a reason Bill Crosky is not a must start for me, but there's still plenty of opportunities for him to convert in the right game. Right here on Sunday, he had 33 snaps, had 14 total opportunities. That is like three, four weeks in a row where he's had over 10 opportunities where he's led the the backfield. Um the issue with Bill Crosky Merritt right now, if we're being completely unbiased, is number one, there is no threat down the field for the Washington Commanders. Okay, with last week no Terry, no Debo, no Noah Brown, there wasn't a single moment where the Cowboys felt threatened down the field and what's what teams are doing against the Commanders, they know they have a good run game, so they are stacking the box. If you go back and you watch the Commanders versus the Cowboys last week, even before Jayen Daniels went down with an injury, every single time JCM touched the ball, there was someone in his face. the offensive line was not doing their job, but to be fair, they were overwhelmed every single time they were running the ball simply because there was no threat over the top. So, it's my belief that until Terry and Debo and Noah Brown and Jayen Daniels are all healthy and ready to go, then there will be a lot of disappointing games for Bill Crosky Merritt. But when we see a healthy Jaden, all of those wide receivers back, defenses will not be able to stack the box. There will be the threat on the ground from Jaden Daniels, the threat in the air through Jaden Daniels, and it will be a much more balanced attack. But look, there are worse plays than playing the starter for the Washington Commanders.
Now, on the opposite side of the ball, Isaiah Pacheco is actually starting to really uh carve out a nice role for himself. It's it's great to see if you were a Pacheco believer before the season here in this most recent game. And we have to keep in mind that Isaiah Pacheco did go down with an injury. But in this most recent game, Isaiah Pacheco had 45 snaps, just 15 for Kareem Hunt. Bashard Smith had a roll as well. 17 total opportunities and obviously he got into the end zone. 12.4 fantasy points. I do think Bashard Smith is going to continue to be a problem for Isaiah Pacheco specifically as a passcatching threat, but obviously the Raiders didn't score a single point last week. So, uh, you know, they could feature Bashard Smith towards the end of the game. Pacheco is a playable name and I would be shocked if the Chiefs don't completely dismantle uh the commanders here on Monday Night Football.
But guys, I appreciate you watching the video. Do me a favor, hit the like button, show some love, subscribe if you like the content, and I'll see you guys in the next one. Nothing but love. Draft with me every night this week on the Fast Draft app where there are thousands of dollars to be won weekly. Getting started is easy. Download the Fast Draft app. Use the promo code land at signup to get your deposit match up to $50. That's up to 10 free entries on us. And when you finish your first DFS contest, I'll send you my weekly rankings completely free. Check out the link in the pin comment to start drafting today.