Injury issues created some problems at running back last week, and they've carried over to our Week 8 fantasy RB rankings. Aaron Jones (calf), Joe Mixon (foot), and Miles Sanders (hamstring) were all ruled out prior to their games, and while their absences created opportunities for Jamaal Williams, Giovani Bernard, and Boston Scott, respectively, fantasy owners will be hoping to get them back in Week 8.
For now, we're leaving Mixon and Sanders -- along with Mark Ingram (ankle), Devonta Freeman (ankle), and Phillip Lindsay (concussion) -- out of our rankings. (Update: Lindsay is back in.) That's the bad news. The good news is that we're keeping in Chris Carson (foot) and putting Christian McCaffrey (ankle) and Dalvin Cook (groin) back in for now, which really strengthens the top of our rankings. (Update: McCaffrey has been removed after he was ruled out.)
WEEK 8 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
In Week 8, the Ravens, Vikings, Colts, and Dolphins will be returning to action, which means Cook, Gus Edwards, JK Dobbins, Jonathan Taylor, and Myles Gaskin will be back. Meanwhile, the Texans, Cardinals, Jaguars, and Washington are going on bye, so David Johnson, Kenyan Drake, Chase Edmonds, James Robinson, and Antonio Gibson will all be unavailable. Overall, this is mostly a wash for our rankings, and they may even get a little bit stronger because Cook is a top-five play if healthy.
WEEK 8 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
The rankings are also getting a bit stronger because certain players are emerging from what had previously been even rotations. D'Andre Swift continues to get more chances in Detroit, so the talented rookie will be a solid RB2 moving forward. However, there are still some frustrating committees, with the Chargers (Justin Jackson/Joshua Kelley), Jets (La'Mical Perine/Frank Gore), Bills (Devin Singletary/Zack Moss), and 49ers (JaMycal Hasty, Jerick McKinnon, possibly Tevin Coleman), all causing issues in the RB3 tier.
WEEK 8 DFS TOURNAMENT LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
While the Ravens will be returning this week, it might be best to avoid their RB rotation if possible. They have a tough matchup with the Steelers, and there are questions as to who will lead the backfield if Ingram is out (and, honestly, even if he's healthy). You can use Baltimore's backs as flexes, but there are other options with more upside and fewer questions this week.
WEEK 8 DFS CASH LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
Reminder: As always, we expect to make plenty of changes to these RB rankings throughout the week, so check back for updates.
MORE WEEK 8 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
Week 8 Fantasy RB Rankings (Standard)
These rankings are for non-PPR leagues.
WEEK 8 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Derrick Henry, TEN @ CIN |
| 2 | Dalvin Cook, MIN @ GB. Cook (groin) missed his final game before the bye, but if he returns, he'll have a great matchup against a Packers defense that has allowed the second-most fantasy points per game (FPPG) to RBs this season. |
| 3 | Alvin Kamara, NO @ CHI |
| 4 | Todd Gurley, ATL @ CAR |
| 5 | Kareem Hunt, CLE vs. LV |
| 6 | Jonathan Taylor, IND @ DET |
| 7 | Josh Jacobs, LV @ CLE |
| 8 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire, KC vs. NYJ. Edwards-Helaire has a great matchup against the Jets in Week 8, but he is clearly splitting touches with Le'Veon Bell. CEH out-touched Bell 9-6 against the Broncos, but in what is a revenge game for Bell against his former team, the rookie could see less work, especially if Bell gets going early. |
| 9 | Ronald Jones II, TB @ NYG. See Leonard Fournette below. |
| 10 | Mike Davis, CAR vs. ATL. With Christian McCaffrey (ankle) out, Davis will be a top-10 play against an Atlanta team that has allowed a league-high four receiving TDs to RBs, including one to Davis when they played a couple of weeks ago. |
| 11 | Ezekiel Elliott, DAL @ PHI. In two games without Dak Prescott, Elliott has totaled 131 scrimmage yards, hasn't scored, and has fumbled twice. With Ben DiNucci presumably starting in place of an injured Andy Dalton (concussion) in Week 8, Elliott's upside is lower than usual since the Eagles will be able to sell out to stop him. He still has to be considered an RB1 for now, but if the Cowboys struggle to move the ball again and his offensive line can't get healthy, Zeke may be further downgraded. |
| 12 | Darrell Henderson, LAR @ MIA |
| 13 | Jamaal Williams, GB vs. MIN |
| 14 | Chris Carson, SEA vs. SF |
| 15 | Giovani Bernard, CIN vs. TEN. With Joe Mixon (foot) out last week, Bernard was able to log 96 scrimmage yards and a TD on 18 touches for the Bengals. If Mixon can't play again, Bernard will be an RB2 who makes up for his lack of between-the-tackles ability with his receiving skills. |
| 16 | Myles Gaskin, MIA vs. LAR |
| 17 | James Conner, PIT @ BAL |
| 18 | David Montgomery, CHI vs. NO |
| 19 | Boston Scott, PHI vs. DAL. Miles Sanders (knee) missed the Eagles' win over the Giants and was expected to be out one to two games. With the Eagles on bye in Week 9, it would make sense to sit Sanders and give Scott a chance to prove himself against a weak Cowboys defense. Scott had 92 yards and a TD on 15 touches against the Giants and should be able to put up similar numbers against a Cowboys defense that has allowed the second-most yardage to RBs this season (1,015 yards). |
| 20 | D'Andre Swift, DET vs. IND. Swift is emerging slowly but surely as the lead back in Detroit. He out-touched Adrian Peterson 13-12 against the Falcons and racked up 48 yards and a TD for the team. Swift has scored in three straight weeks, be it on the ground or through the air, but he may find trouble moving the ball on a Colts team that allows fewer than 15 FPPG to RBs. Still, Swift's receiving floor (at least four targets in five-of-six games) will make him a solid RB2 in standard and a definite top-20 play in PPR. |
| 21 | Phillip Lindsay, DEN vs. LAC. Lindsay (concussion) has a chance to play against the Chargers. It's unclear if he actually will or if his workload will be a bit diminished because of his injury, but he can easily be trusted as a top flex option or potential RB2 if he does play, as it looks like he's better and will be as (or more) involved than Melvin Gordon. |
| 22 | Le'Veon Bell, KC vs. NYJ. Bell looked good in his first game with the Chiefs. He averaged 6.5 yards per carry in a blowout of the Broncos and should be positioned to get plenty of touches moving forward. The Jets released Bell a couple of weeks ago, so this is undeniably a revenge game for him. The Chiefs may look to get him involved in the game plan early and often to expose a Jets defense that has allowed the seventh-most rushing yards to RBs this season (735). |
| 23 | Wayne Gallman, NYG vs. TB. Devonta Freeman (ankle) left the Giants' Thursday night loss to the Eagles with an ankle injury and didn't return. His status moving forward is unclear, but after Gallman rumbled for 34 yards and a TD on 10 carries while adding 20 yards on five catches, he may be given a chance to serve as the lead back. Unfortunately, Gallman will face a Tampa defense that allows the fewest rushing yards to RBs on the season (48.7) so he can't be considered anything more than a low-end RB2. |
| 24 | Damien Harris, NE @ BUF. Harris was one of the tiny bright spots of the Patriots' loss to the 49ers. He ran for 58 yards on 10 carries and added 12 yards receiving to complete a 70-yard day. Given their lack of receiving weapons, the Patriots should look to lean on the run, and Harris is well-positioned to take advantage of a Bills run defense that has allowed the ninth-most rushing yards to RBs this season (732) and just let La'Mical Perine and Frank Gore rack up 99 rushing yards against them. |
| 25 | Melvin Gordon, DEN vs. LAC. See Phillip Lindsay above. |
| 26 | Gus Edwards, BAL vs. PIT. Mark Ingram (ankle) may not be ready to go in Week 8. If that's the case, one part of the Ravens' three-headed monster of a backfield will be taken out and it will open the door for either Edwards or JK Dobbins to emerge in a large role. Edwards led Baltimore with 14 carries against the Eagles before the bye, and though he had only 26 yards, he did find the end zone. He could be in for a similar day against an excellent Steelers run defense that has allowed only 351 rushing yards to RBs this year, but he can still be trusted as a high-end RB3/flex because of his volume. |
| 27 | La'Mical Perine, NYJ @ KC. Adam Gase was finally able to get Perine more involved in the Jets' game plan. He had 13 touches to Frank Gore's 11 and totaled 55 yards on the day along with a TD. Perine should continue to be involved in the Jets' game-plan after playing 70 percent of the snaps, so he may be a good play against a Chiefs defense that has allowed 833 rushing yards to RBs this year, good for third most in the league. |
| 28 | Joshua Kelley, LAC @ DEN. Kelley was the leader in backfield touches for the Chargers on Sunday with 12 carries for 29 yards and five catches for 24 yards. That said, Justin Jackson totaled 55 yards on 10 touches, so this situation seems likely to seesaw each week between the two backs. The Broncos are allowing just 12.9 FPPG to RBs this year, so trusting either Kelley or Jackson would be a risk this week. |
| 29 | Justin Jackson, LAC @ DEN. See above. |
| 30 | Devin Singletary, BUF vs. NE. Singletary hasn't performed well in his second season and is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry and has found the end zone once all season. He's not doing much in the receiving game either and is averaging only 15 receiving yards per game in his past four outings. The Patriots have struggled against RBs in recent weeks and just let Jeff Wilson Jr. gash them for over 100 yards and three TDs, but Singletary's subpar performance and carry split with Zack Moss makes him a flex play at best this week. |
| 31 | Leonard Fournette, TB @ NYG. It looks like we're back to a frustrating carry split in Tampa Bay with Fournette out-touching Ronald Jones 17-14 against the Raiders. Fournette gained more on the ground than Jones (60-34) but Jones found the end zone and will likely continue to be relied on as the de facto top back with Fournette being more of a change-of-pace and pass-catching back. Fournette could be an RB2 in PPR leagues, especially since the Giants give up the fourth-most receiving yards (361) and second-most receiving TDs (3) to RBs. |
| 32 | Tevin Coleman, SF @ SEA |
| 33 | Frank Gore, NYJ @ KC. Gore's snap share dropped to 28 percent last week, but he still got 11 carries and turned them into 60 yards. It was one of his best games of the season. He could find the end zone against a weak Chiefs run defense, but predicting whether he or Perine will get the goal-line carries is a dangerous game. |
| 34 | Zack Moss, BUF vs. NE. After playing just 14 snaps against the Chiefs, Moss went back to having roughly a 50-50 split with Singletary at the RB spot. He racked up 72 total yards against the Jets and looked better than Singletary getting the job done there. Perhaps he'll overtake Singletary with a good game against the Patriots, but until he can do that, the two will be flex considerations in a frustrating split. |
| 35 | Jerick McKinnon, SF @ SEA. It would've been nice of Kyle Shanahan to give us a heads up about McKinnon's "rest day" against the Patriots. That said, with just him and JaMycal Hasty confirmed to be healthy, McKinnon should be a solid play against a Seahawks defense that allows 28.7 points per game, but after last week, we're considering him a flex play, just to be safe. |
| 36 | Adrian Peterson, DET vs. IND. Peterson is averaging just 3.05 yards per carry in his past four games and is losing touches rapidly to D'Andre Swift. Peterson will still get some work to help keep Swift fresh, but his days as a lead back in Detroit appear to be numbered. |
| 37 | JK Dobbins, BAL vs. PIT. Dobbins will be behind Edwards in Baltimore's RB rotation this week, but Dobbins should still get carries. He had nine the last time the Ravens played and could see some work as a receiver, too. He has averaged 3.3 targets per game his last four outings, so with Ingram likely out this week, Dobbins could end up being the top receiving back for the Ravens. |
| 38 | DeeJay Dallas, SEA vs. SF |
| 39 | James White, NE @ BUF. The 49ers keyed in on taking away White, Cam Newton's safety valve, and limited him to one catch for three yards on the day. White should have more success finding space against Buffalo, as the Patriots will probably look to get the ball in his hands out of the backfield often. White had 12 catches for 81 yards against the Bills last year, so his value in PPR formats is high. |
| 40 | Alexander Mattison, MIN @ GB. Mattison could end up being a top-10 play if Dalvin Cook can't go. The Packers have given up 10 total TDs to RBs this year. That's the most in the NFL. Even if Cook does return, Mattison could end up vulturing a score from him. That can't be counted on, but if bye weeks are hitting you hard, Mattison could be worth a flier. |
| 41 | Malcolm Brown, LAR @ MIA |
| 42 | A.J. Dillon, GB vs. MIN |
| 43 | Corey Clement, PHI vs. DAL. Clement had 21 yards against the Giants last week while playing 22 percent of the snaps with Miles Sanders out. The matchup with Dallas is a better one for Clement and if he gets a few more touches in relief of Boston Scott, he could be a top-40 play and a low-end PPR flex. |
| 44 | Latavius Murray, NO @ CHI. Murray's streak of out-carrying Alvin Kamara ended in Week 7 against the Panthers. Murray racked up 47 yards against a weak run defense, but he doesn't have a lot of upside against a tough Bears run defense. |
| 45 | Nyheim Hines, IND @ DET. The Lions defense has tightened up in recent weeks, but they have allowed nine total TDs to RBs this season, good for the second-most in the NFL. Hines should be involved in this matchup as a receiver and could have a chance to find the end zone. |
| 46 | Jordan Wilkins, IND @ DET |
| 47 | JaMycal Hasty, SF @ SEA |
| 48 | Benny Snell, PIT @ BAL. Snell has vultured goal-line TDs from James Conner in consecutive weeks. That's not enough to start him, but it is enough to make him a valuable handcuff to own. |
| 49 | Dion Lewis, NYG vs. TB. Lewis fumbled on his first touch of the Giants-Eagles game, but maybe he'll earn more touches if Devonta Freeman (ankle) is out. Still, this is a tough matchup and Lewis is more of a receiving back anyway, so it's hard to roll with him at this point. |
| 50 | Brian Hill, ATL @ CAR |
| 51 | Matt Breida, MIA vs. LAR |
| 52 | Tony Pollard, DAL @ PHI |
| 53 | Kerryon Johnson, DET vs. IND |
| 54 | Jeremy McNichols, TEN @ CIN |
| 55 | Rex Burkhead, NE @ BUF |
| 56 | Jalen Richard, LV @ CLE |
| 57 | Darrel Williams, KC vs. NYJ |
| 58 | Anthony McFarland, PIT @ BAL |
| 59 | D'Ernest Johnson, CLE vs. LV |
| 60 | Royce Freeman, DEN vs. LAC |
| 61 | Cam Akers, LAR @ MIA. The Cam Akers game has to come at some point for the Rams, right? ... Right...? |
| 62 | Lynn Bowden Jr., MIA vs. LAR |
