Transcription
It is week eight. Here's the running back tier list. We're going through my top 37 running back rankings, helping you set your fantasy football lineups.
Today we have a ton of great running backs on bye, including Jir Gibbs and David Montgomery, Kairen Williams, no Ashen Genty, no Travis ETN, no Kenneth Walker, Zack Charbanet, and no Bam Knight of the Arizona Cardinals. Six teams on bye, so we are going to have to dig deeper this week.
We do have some injuries to talk about before I get into the tier list. DeAndre Swift dealing with a groin injury. Did not practice Wednesday. Limited on Thursday and Friday. Should be good to go, but make sure Kyle Maneni is a must-stash for you. He is officially listed as questionable.
Bree Hall limited, limited, and full with soreness in his knee. Stash Isaiah Davis, especially with some of these Bree Hall trade rumors swirling as well. Um, but he should be good to go in this game.
Alvin Chimera limited, limited, and limited against the Buccaneers at 4:00 on Sunday. He is listed as questionable with an ankle injury, but he should be good to go. Make sure you stash Devin Neil, who should be taking over Kendra Miller's new uh role as the early down guy there.
And then Tyler Algier also dealing with a hip/knee injury. He is officially listed as questionable, but he should go. And of course, we do also have Kareem Hunt. We're still waiting word on his Saturday practice report because they do play on Monday, but he did get banged up last week. Um, he is probably going to be listed questionable if I had to guess.
So, moving into the actual tier list itself, starting with the elite RB ones, there are three running backs that stand head and shoulders right now above the rest in fantasy. With Jir Gibbs on bye, Bijan Robinson versus the Miami Dolphins. They are 29th ranked against fantasy running backs. It does sound like we will not have Michael Penn for this game. So, Bijan Robinson will be dealing with Kurt Cousins at quarterback. Probably the best backup quarterback in football. He probably be a starter for four or five other teams in the NFL. Bijan Robinson and Tyler Algier are both set up to smash this week. The Falcons are implied for 26 points in this game. And Bijan actually set an underdog record uh rushing plus receiving yardage projection of 137 and a half total yards. That is the highest in years that we've seen for any fantasy football running back. Enjoy the 40 bomb if you guys have uh Bijan Robinson this week. He is averaging 28.4 fantasy points per game over his last three.
Number two running back on the week is of course Christian McCaffrey. Houston Texans are 13th ranked against fantasy running backs. The 49ers on the road in this one. Kind of a terrible game environment with just a 41.5 point overunder. But San Francisco is getting reinforcements back in the coming weeks. This week not so much. They do have M. Jones starting, Jawan Jennings of course playing through injury. Kendrick Bourne their number two receiver. But George Kittle is back. Next week it sounds like they're going to open up Brandon Aiyuk's 21-day practice window. We could see Ricky Pearsall coming back on the field pretty soon. And it sounds like it's possible Brock Purdy is going to start in week number nine as well. So Christian McCaffrey gonna have a PPR scam type of day against the Texans who are pretty good against the run and overall have a very good defense. But going forward, we should see some more scoring opportunities for the 49ers.
Jonathan Taylor going up against the Tennessee Titans, currently ranked as the 28th ranked run defense in the league. And that is despite in this game being without Jeffrey Simmons, who is their best defensive player, bar none. And in the secondary, L'Jarius Sneed is now on IR, is probably their second best defensive player. So overall, a cake matchup for Jonathan Taylor. Again, enjoy your 40 bomb to anybody who has Jonathan Taylor. He's averaging 26 fantasy points per game over his last four weeks, and we've seen him score multiple touchdowns in multiple games this season.
Moving into the next tier of running backs, of course, you knew you were starting those guys. Devon Achane at the Atlanta Falcons. They are ninth ranked against fantasy football running backs. It's a bad matchup, but CMC and the 49ers ran on this team last game. As we saw, Christian McCaffrey rushed for over 120 yards, 5.3 a carry. Brian Robinson goes 9 for 36 on the ground as well. Achane has been above five yards per carry in five of his seven games this year. And I think that's really impressive considering the Dolphins offensive line's not very good. The Dolphins offense is not very good. And he has at least five targets in five of seven games this season as well. Achane averaging nearly 20 points per game over his last four games as well. So feel pretty good about him this week.
James Cook at the Carolina Panthers. They are fourth against fantasy football running backs. This week is a great week to buy low because even though this is a tough matchup, Carolina's got a good run defense. Buffalo should overpower them as a team this week because you don't have Bryce Young, you have the glowing ginger man, Andy Dalton starting this game. Jimmy Cooks is due for a a big one here. He has zero receptions in back-to-back games before the bye. He did not catch a pass against the Patriots or the Falcons. And I would expect that to correct itself. And also too, he had a massive streak of scoring touchdowns every week and he did not score in two straight games, which is the first time that's happened in a couple of years. So, James Cook definitely set up to have a bounceback game.
Saquon Barkley is my number six running back, which is a lot higher than I think a lot of people will have him. Saquon and the Eagles implied for 25 and a half points against the 26th ranked against fantasy football running backs New York Giants. This is the game where we're going to see the Saquon Barkley big run. We have not seen a single 20-plus yard run out of Saquon Barkley last uh last year. He pretty much invented 20-plus yard runs and we have not seen a single one this season. So back-to-back sub-10 fantasy point days. Buy low opportunity. There is no A.J. Brown in this game. He is out with a hamstring injury. I would expect the Eagles to lean a little bit more on the run. Maybe throw the ball to Saquon Barkley a little bit more than they do. And like I said, still currently implied for 25 and a half points. Barkley's workload's great. 78% of the snaps, 74% of the carries, half the routes, 10% target share. He just needs to play better than he's been playing in the Eagles run blocking lines, 19th in the NFL versus their pass blocking is fourth in the NFL. So, they need to run the ball a little bit better from all facets, play calling, rushing game, and offensive line run blocking.
Javonte Williams, number seven running back for me on the week here going up against his old team. 23rd ranked the Denver Broncos. Of course, revenge game for Javonte. He was talking about wanting to show them his girth, which is a wild statement. He's used to playing in that altitude, so I wouldn't be too worried for him. Denver's defense just allowed Cam Akers and Tyrone Tracy to rush for over a 100 yards last week. They are allowing the fewest targets per game to the running back position. So, you do usually have to get it done on the ground if you want to have a good game as a running back against this defense because of course they're very difficult to pass the ball against in general. Um, but 18.3 PPR points per game over his last four. Javonte Williams should be just fine in this one.
Number eight running back for me is Derrick Henry versus the Chicago Bears. Now, I will move him down depending on the status of Lamar Jackson. 19th ranked against fantasy football running backs. In my opinion, this is the biggest bo running back in all of fantasy football. Limited practice, limited practice, full practice, but apparently scout team is what Lamar Jackson was doing on Friday. They are still whispering that he could be out for this game. Now, the betting line started at 7 and a half favorites for the Baltimore Ravens. It is now moved to like 3 and a half point. So when I made this graphic on Thursday, it was 7 and a half point favorites. But now it looks like there is some real doubt that Lamar Jackson could miss this game. Maybe it's gamesmanship. Maybe it's all BS. I don't see how you could possibly log a full practice and run the scout team offense. That just doesn't make any sense to me. With Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry is a top 10 play. Without Lamar Jackson, he's probably a top 15 play. Even without Lamar though against uh the uh Los Angeles Rams before the bye, Derrick Henry rushed for 5.1 yards per carry, 120-plus yards. He just didn't score, didn't catch any passes. I would expect the scoring and the big runs to start back up again as soon as Lamar Jackson is on the field. Hopefully that is this week against the Chicago Bears because only DeAndre Swift has an easier two-game stretch of rushing defenses the next two weeks other than Derrick Henry. So Derrick Henry hopefully he can get back on track in this one.
Number nine running back for me is Josh Jacobs at the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are exactly league average against fantasy football running backs. We saw Chase Brown have his best rushing day of the season against them last week. Uh should be easy claps for Josh Jacobs. The receiving work dipped off last week, but quietly he has a 12% target share this season, which would be a career-high for Josh Jacobs if it continues. He's also had four or more receptions in three straight games leading into last week's game. Uh the Packers are implied for 24.25 points. And as I talked about in yesterday's video, the Sharps love the over of this game. Uh set at 46 and a half right now. More than any other game on the slate, the Sharp money is on the over for this one. And of course, Josh Jacobs has been on a tear in the last couple of games, averaging 27.5 PPR points per game, the last uh three games that he's played.
Rashad White against the New Orleans Saints closes out this tier for me. They are 18th ranked against the run. This game is on the road for Tampa Bay. It's a divisional matchup. Even though this is a one-and-six football team, I do imagine it'll be close. Whispers about Shawn Tucker getting more work in Tampa Bay. 91% of the snaps for Rashad White last week. Probably not going to continue, especially considering he also saw 91% of the carries, 76% of the routes. And again, this is a one-and-six football team. The last time Shawn Tucker played against this team, he was the offensive player of the week. And that was specifically in New Orleans, that one. Um, Rashad White is getting great work though, so he is definitely in your lineup. 13% target share in three straight games in addition to all the groundwork. I think the expectation for a lot of people is that after the bye in week nine, um, we will see Bucky Irving back on the field, but it's not a guarantee. So, make sure you still hold on to Rashad White through the bye until we hear other information about Bucky Irving's health, shoulder, and foot there.
So, moving into the next tier of running backs, a little bit of a small group of high-end RB2s. Again, remember, we got six guys on bye this week or six teams on bye. Probably eight or nine fantasy relevant running backs, plus some injuries. So, a lot more digging deep this week than a lot of people probably want to do.
JK Dobbins versus the Dallas Cowboys is my 11th ranked running back. They are 31st against the fantasy football running back position. Currently allowing the second highest rushing success rate versus zone runs. The Broncos are one of five NFL teams averaging over five yards per carry on zone runs. So, expect a lot of zone concepts for JK Dobbins in this game. I think he could go crazy on the ground in this one. It's a home game for the Denver Broncos. They're implied for 27 points. They're favored. Um, this is an easy smash play for JK Dobbins this week. Even though his workload has not been great, he's been about a 50% of the snaps guy. Not really getting much uh through the air, but he is getting a lot on the ground. And that is where the Cowboys are exploitable, which is why I like him to go higher than 72 and a half rushing yards in this game. He's been beyond this total in every game, but one. The only one he was not beyond this total in was the Jets game in London, who are a top eight run defense. So, I like JK Dobbins to have a great day on the ground in this one.
Number 12 running back for me on the week is DeAndre Swift at the Baltimore Ravens. 32nd ranked run defense. So these two guys back-to-back have very, very easy matchups. This is a smash smash spot for DeAndre Swift. He is entering this game coming off of back-to-back top six performances, but he is a little bit banged up and the Ravens are getting healthier on defense. Roquan Smith should be back for this game. Kyle Hamilton a little bit more rested. They just had their bye week. This defense is top five in rushing yards allowed, touchdowns allowed, and receptions allowed to opposing running backs in per game numbers. And the Bears have been on a tear with their run game lately. DeAndre Swift has rushed for more than double this total in back-to-back weeks. So, I like him to go higher than 52 and a half rushing yards. And if Lamar Jackson does end up being out, that should only help the time of possession battle for the Chicago Bears.
Number 13 running back on the week for me is Cam Akers at the Philadelphia Eagles this week. They are 22nd against fantasy football running backs. And of course, just 16 days ago, Cam Akers punched in three touchdowns versus this defense on Thursday Night Football. But there are a couple different factors of why I don't think that'll be the case this time. Number one, that was Tyrone Tracy's first game back from his uh, you know, multi-week absence. And we saw that in that week six game against Philadelphia. Cam Akers 72% of the snaps, 61% of the carries, so on and so forth. Last week in Tyrone Tracy's second game back from that injury, he took a larger share of the touches away from Cam Akers. Number two, Jaylen Carter didn't play in that game, nor did Quinnen Williams. So, the Eagles defense was a little susceptible to both the run and pass. And that game was also at New York and not at Philadelphia. So, there's a good chance that Akers won't have that good of a game where he was the number five running back on that week, 31 PPR points, but he should still have a good matchup and a good chance to find the end zone in this one.
Number 14 running back Jaylen Warren versus the Green Bay Packers. Warren is coming off of a career game versus the Cincinnati Bengals, but this defense is much better. Third against fantasy football running backs. His total yardage is set pretty low at 79 and a half on Underdog. I like him to go higher despite how tough this matchup is. Playing with a lot of confidence. Plus, every single game this year, he's added at least two receptions per game in every game this season. Worth noting though that Green Bay is allowing the third fewest total yards to opposing running backs. So even though Jaylen Warren is getting a great workload, 84% of the carries last week, 67% of the snaps, half the routes, all the inside the five work and about half of the long down and distance stuff, Jaylen Warren is in a very bad matchup in this one.
So Quinshon Judkins closing out this tier. I had to rank him this low because this matchup is really difficult. This is a tough, tough run defense in New England. They are fifth against fantasy football running backs and versus the Dolphins who Judkins had last week when he went for 25 carries and three touchdowns. That was a much easier matchup and the weather also was a factor for why Judkins was getting a lot of carries there. I would throw him out there and hope for the best because the Patriots, even despite being number one in the NFL at yards before contact, uh, two opposing running backs and Cleveland being one of the worst offensive lines at generating rushing yards before contact, they are actually sixth in yards before contact per attempt. Um, like I said, this could be a tough matchup. It wouldn't shock me if we get a 19 for 40 and no touchdowns out of uh out of Quinshon Judkins in this game, but you got to throw him out there given how he's playing.
Moving into the next group of running backs, again, we have the low-end RB2s. Chase Brown versus the New York Jets. They are sixth against fantasy football running backs. He is my number 16 running back this week. Chase Brown's workload did bump back up, which is great, and he's above 4.5 yards per carry in both of Joe Flacco starts this season. This is a really difficult run defense though and the Jets are down some defensive starters. So I would expect the Bengals to move the ball really well with no Sauce in the secondary. So it's crazy that Chase Brown is all the way up to my RB16 this week. But that is the nature of the byes and the injuries that we're dealing with.
Running back 17 for me was Kamani Vidal who played on Thursday Night Football. 20 PPR points, 74% of the snaps, 59% of the routes, 25 opportunities. You absolutely love to see it as somebody who started him in the Flock League.
Number 18 running back at the Cincinnati Bengals. They are 30th against the fantasy football running back position. He is entering this game banged up. So I knocked him down my rankings a little bit. He does smash when he plays good rushing matchups typically this season when he played the Dolphins, the Cowboys, and the Steelers who are all top 15 running back matchups for rushing yards. He went over 100 total yards in all of those games. So So I like him to go higher than 62 and a half rushing yards in this game even despite entering this game with a little bit of knee soreness. Since Bijan Allen's injury, he's averaged 78% 78% of the rushing attempts the last two games. And then even despite missing a drive or two with injury checkups last week, he was still above 70 uh 67% of the carries. And Warren averaged over a 100 yards against this defense a week ago. So, that'll close out our entry.
I'm going to be doing these four picks straight. So, 10 bucks to win, you know, nearly 10x our money. And you should have some profit boost tokens in your lobby. And of course, if you guys are new to Underdog, you can sign up down below using the link in the pin comment. Promo code FSE. Sign up. When you make your first play of $5, you will get $100 in bonus funds, and you'll also get a 50% deposit match on your first deposit, plus this Jordan Love gimme pick that you can add into this entry to boost it to nearly a 20x if it ends up hitting.
So, moving into my number 19 running back, we have Alvin Kamara versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They are 17th against fantasy football running backs. A lot of that coming in the receiving game, which is of course Alvin Kamara's forte. With Kamara um losing Kendre Miller in this backfield this past week. Kendra Miller out for the season with a torn ACL. Kamara did see his biggest workload of 2025, playing 85% of the snaps, 69% of the carries, and 68% of the routes. It did result in just 5.9 fantasy points. Does that workload continue or does Devin Neal eat into it? I would imagine Devin Neal is a larger part of the game plan this week knowing that it's not Dame that Kendre Miller left. Bucks are hard to run up the middle against. The way to beat them is through the air, which is what we saw Jir Gibbs do. And of course, David Montgomery has a down performance as the main early down ball carrier between the tackles there.
So number 20 running back for me is Chuba Hubbard versus the Buffalo Bills. They are 27th against the run. In his first game back from a multi-week absence, Chuba Hubbard outsnapped Rico Dowdle, who in previous games was the NFL's leading rusher over the last two weeks before that and the RB1 overall in back-to-back fantasy weeks. So, Chuba Hubbard coming out after a multi-week calf injury absence and being the starting running back in terms of snaps and also he ran more routes than Rico Dowdle, 47% of the routes, saw some targets. This is a game script that with Andy Dalton starting who will probably check the ball down a little bit more um without Bryce Young out there against the Bills who are favored by a touchdown. Chuba Hubbard is the running back that you want of these two Carolina running backs and I do expect actually Chuba Hubbard's workload to increase probably this week knowing that he is now another week removed from that injury absence.
Number 21 running back is Rhamondre Stevenson versus the Cleveland Browns. They are first against fantasy running backs. The hardest matchup in football. Two huge bumps in workload though for Rhamondre Stevenson since Antonio Gibson's injury. The Cleveland Browns are the only team in football allowing fewer than 80 total yards to entire running back cores per game. So, this is a team that is very, very good against fantasy running backs. So, tough matchup for Rhamondre Stevenson, but given his workload, you do probably have to throw him out there.
Running back 22 for me. Closing out this tier, Ja'Marr Chase Merritt, Bills against the Kansas City Chiefs, seventh against fantasy football running backs. And again, we are seeing this trend with Bills and this is why I haven't been able to trust him and why I've been lower on him all season than most people seem to be. They refuse to give him more than really like 50% of the snaps as long as Chris Rodriguez and Jeremy McNichols are active. The blip on the radar in week six was the game that Chris Rodriguez was out for. So despite having the big game in week five, good workload in week six, we've seen him regress from a usage standpoint. And of course, Bills fumbled twice in that week six Monday Night Football game and failed to seize that workload. So he is a top, you know, 22 running back for me, but not a must-start by any means.
Let's move into the high-end RB3s. These guys are probably going to find some lineups this week given the byes that we have.
Jordan Mason was on Thursday Night Football against the Chargers. Uh Aaron Jones actually outsnapped him in his return. 26 snaps for Aaron Jones, 17 snaps for Jordan Mason, 53% to 35%. Not to mention four targets to one and 50% of the routes to 28%. So it's expected that in a negative game script, Aaron Jones would outsnap Jordan Mason because he's the pass-catching back. But given how bad this team is right now, I hope you sold Jordan Mason high two weeks ago when we told you to because he definitely is on the downslope with Aaron Jones coming back healthy here.
Number 24 running back for me on the week is Isiah Pacheco versus the Washington Commanders. They are 15th against fantasy football running backs. Kareem Hunt, as I talked about in the injury section, is practicing in a limited capacity. If he were to be out, that would probably upgrade Pacheco to a top 20, top 22 type of play just ahead of that Rhamondre Stevenson and Bills range. Um, but that's on Monday Night Football. So, we'll have to wait on that designation. I would expect Kareem Hunt to be questionable. Pacheco finally got some red zone work last week. I did sell high on him in the Flock League. If you guys watch the vlog there, I sold Isiah Pacheco plus Dak Prescott for Caleb Williams and Kenneth Walker. To me, that was an upgrade at the running back position, but knowing that I sold him, he's probably naturally going to go for like 25 fantasy points. So make sure you have Pacheco out there if you need him.
Rico Dowdle versus the Buffalo Bills. Again, Chuba Hubbard did outsnap him in his first game back. That is kind of a bad sign in my opinion for Rico Dowdle's workload going forward. But he did get more carries than Chuba Hubbard in that game. But again, I suspect that now that Chuba Hubbard is back from his injury, it's his second game back. He probably will outsnap Rico Dowdle even more than he did in the previous week. But this is an easy run defense. If the Panthers can keep this game close, I would expect the uh Panthers to be able to run the ball very well because they're a top six rushing team in EPA per play right now.
Tyjae Spears, great, great workload increase after the bye. This is something that we were all looking forward to seeing because Nick Chubb is washed and can't really do a whole lot. Tyjae Spears after the bye comes out 61% of the snaps, 67% of the carries, 43% of the routes. And again, it was a negative game script, right? They were losing to the Seahawks pretty much the entire game. But does that continue in this game environment, which should be a close game. If this is a close game within three to five points for the most part, the entire game, I would love to see what Tyjae Spears' workload looks like because that was a great step in a positive direction last week.
Tony Pollard at the Indianapolis Colts. We thought that it might be Taj Spears season, but uh Tony Pollard does come out and play the majority of the snaps, 59% 50% of the carries, 51% of the routes. Does have a 30% targets per route run. 12.1 fantasy points. Again, I would expect this Tony Pollard, Taj Spears workload to look very similar to Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle, only this is a much worse offense and a much worse tandem of running backs. So, these are guys that are basically flex plays at best.
Tyler Allgeier versus the Miami Dolphins. Like I said, Kirk Cousins is probably going to start. Tyler Allgeier is entering this game with what looks like a hip-pointer injury, but given the game environment, the fact that the Falcons should win this game. Um, and the fact too that Miami is one of the worst run defenses in the league and Allgeier has scored a touchdown in every single Falcons win this season. I do think Tyler Allgeier is a playable top 28 running back this week given all the byes that we have.
Now, getting into the you're desperate tier is what I'm calling this. I would say that these are flex plays, but generally you don't want to be starting these guys. It's just that you probably are given all the receiver injuries we have, all of the running back byweeks we have. I would say just a quick note, if you guys are wondering, should I start any of these players or should I start like streamable tight ends like Cole Kmet, Dalton Schultz, Juwan Johnson, Cade Otton, those type of guys, I would rather start those tight ends than pretty much everybody that I have in this tier. But if you do need an RB2 for the week or whatever the case is.
Taj Spears versus the Colts. Again, you got to hope for some receiving work there in a negative game script on the road against a six-and-one football team.
Nick Chubb against the 49ers. If that game can stay close, maybe Nick Chubb punches in a touchdown.
Tyrone Tracy at the Philadelphia Eagles. Again, he is working into the snap share a little bit more with him and Cam Akers. And it is a decent matchup.
R.J. Harvey versus the Cowboys. If the Broncos are winning this game, it's a good chance that Harvey will see some workload.
Isaiah Davis and Kenneth Gainwell both could see some work. Isaiah Davis knowing that Bree Hall is entering the game with um some injury concerns. And then Kenneth Gainwell knowing that he could be the receiving back in this one.
Kyle Pitts, easy matchup. DeAndre Swift entering this game with an injury. He could definitely be thrown out there.
Aaron Jones of course already played on Thursday night, but we saw him get back to his receiving workload. And then if you're absolutely desperate, I suppose Trevon Henderson is playable. It's just that Cleveland is very good against fantasy football running backs. Even despite Trevon being more of a receiving back, they are good against those as well.
So, those are my top 37 running backs for the week. Hopefully, you guys got some value from this. If you did, leave a like down below. Subscribe to the channel if you're new around here if you want to tail our pick entry, the four picks that we built out in this one. You can definitely check that out using the link down below in the pin comment. Sign up over on Underdog Fantasy. Use that promo code FSE. Tail our picks, make your first deposit, 50% back on your first deposit up to $1,000. And when you play your first $5 play, you get $100 back in bonus funds. You also can play all of the profit boost that they have over there. They have one for MMA tonight. There is, of course, NBA and NHL action going on. My Blue Jays take down the Dodgers in World Series game one. So, lots of sports action going on across the landscape right now. I think this might be one of the best weekends of sports we've seen in the last little bit. So definitely check that out if you guys are interested.
If you want all of our rest of season rankings, weekly rankings, dynasty rankings, dynasty trade value charts, my team's feature, trade calculator, trade finder, all the tools over there on flockfantasy.com. Make sure to use the promo code FSE when you sign up. Start your 7-day free trial. Check out all the value before you purchase anything. And of course, you can ask us start-sit questions, trade questions, all that good stuff over there. So check that out. That'll be linked down below in the description. But with that being said, peace out and I'll talk to you soon. You beat me. You beat me.