Running backs remain king in fantasy football. While it feels like there are more elite quarterbacks and wide receivers than ever before, the amount of consistent, dependable running backs is dwindling. This makes it all the more important to find value at running back in fantasy football. In order to help you do that, I will be taking a look at a few backfields each week who stick out based on recent trends or new information we learned.
Eight weeks into the season, it’s crazy how convoluted the standings appear. In the AFC, the 2-6 Patriots somehow find themselves just two games out of a playoff spot, while in the NFC, 11 out of 16 teams are .500 or better. With this level of parity, we are in for a super fun stretch of the season as we’ll see which teams are serious about making a playoff push. Let’s get into some of my top backfield takeaways after Week 8 in the NFL, with an emphasis on teams looking to turn things around.
Cincinnati Bengals
After Zack Moss looked like the Bengals lead back during the first quarter of the season, the tides have recently turned. Over the last few weeks, Chase Brown has been utilized far more than Moss and is set up to be the 1A in the Cincinnati backfield for the back half of the season.
Brown has received double-digit carries for five straight weeks and is the RB12 during that stretch. His passing game usage has been a little less pronounced than expected, but Brown seems to receive most of the high-value touches in this offense which makes him a viable asset. This is still a confusing situation because on a snap count basis, Brown and Moss actually split reps 50/50; since Week 4, there has been just one game where either Brown or Moss has played five or more snaps than the other.
Moving forward, I would feel comfortable starting Brown as a lower-end RB2, while keeping Moss on my bench. Brown’s lack of pass-catching involvement limits his ceiling, but he should see enough volume to be a dependable fantasy starter. At 3-5, the Bengals need to be almost perfect to live up to their lofty playoff expectations, and I expect Brown to be a big part of providing that offensive spark. Moss is not playable in lineups based on his current volume, and would need to become a legitimate threat through the air if he wants to coexist successfully in fantasy with Brown.
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Miami Dolphins
Tua Tagovailoa made his return after a five-week stint on IR due to a concussion and immediately breathed life back into a struggling Dolphins offense. Although the Dolphins lost to the Cardinals, they scored a season-high 27 points which was quite friendly for the running backs.
De’Von Achane returned to his dominant form, rumbling for an efficient 97 yards on 10 carries and adding six catches for 50 yards and a score through the air. Raheem Mostert was effective in his own right, punching in two scores near the goal line. Achane and Mostert seem poised to split time on the field in this backfield fairly evenly down the stretch. On Sunday, Achane saw 38 snaps to Mostert’s 30, and had just one more carry.
Thankfully, Tagovailoa’s return means Achane can be fired up as a top-10 running back even if he isn’t dominating the snap share. Achane’s work in the passing game this year has been notably valuable, and his explosiveness offers him an exciting floor-ceiling combination. I would be comfortable playing Mostert as a spot-starter too. He is a bit touchdown dependent, as he has been fairly inefficient and offers little as a receiver, but betting on the Tagovailoa-led Dolphins to score touchdowns isn’t the worst thing in the world. It looks like preseason darling Jaylen Wright has been cast to the side, and he can be safely dropped with Achane and Mostert both healthy.
Las Vegas Raiders
Alexander Mattison has completely overtaken Zamir White in the Raiders offense and is now their bell-cow running back. This is a fairly surprising development, as before the season, White was going as early as the fifth round of fantasy drafts.
Mattison has actually been pretty reliable in fantasy since taking over the starting role, mostly on the back of sheer volume. He has averaged over 15 carries a game in the last four weeks, and has been the RB22 during that time period despite running for just 2.7 yards per carry. Meanwhile, White has been almost entirely phased out of the offense, with only five total carries since returning from an injury in Week 6. White has also failed to make any impact in the passing game, meaning he can honestly be treated as the No. 3 running back in this offense behind Mattison and Ameer Abdullah.
Mattison has worked his way into the FLEX territory, and I’d feel fine starting him in a pinch. I don’t recommend watching him play, but Mattison should be good for a safe 10 points every week. However, his upside is obviously severely limited by the larger ineptitude of the Raiders offense. White is firmly a droppable player now, and I expect his 32% Yahoo ownership to decline steeply in the coming weeks.
Denver Broncos
After a carousel of different running back options, it seems like the Broncos have finally settled into their preferred running back usage as they continue to exceed expectations. Javonte Williams has been the team’s top running back, typically playing about 60% of snaps and getting about 15 carries a game. Jaleel McLaughlin has served as a change-of-pace option, with a 30% snap share typically no more than 10 touches. McLaughlin has actually been more effective than Williams, boasting higher marks in yards per carry, missed tackles forced per carry, and breakaway runs. With Audric Estimé hardly playing and Tyler Badie on IR, Williams and McLaughlin are the only fantasy relevant players in this backfield.
I think that Williams has cemented himself as a lower-end RB2 play each week, and he is a higher-upside version of the aforementioned Alexander Mattison. The Broncos offense isn’t quite good enough to support Williams to fantasy stardom, but against softer defenses, he is an underrated option.
The Broncos are quietly 5-1 in their last six games and will need to rely on Williams to support Bo Nix to a playoff surge. McLaughlin is worth rostering but is not startable at the moment. I would like to see him get more involved in the passing game, which could happen in the next few weeks as the Broncos might be in pass-first game scripts against the Ravens, Chiefs, and Falcons. For now though, keep McLaughlin on your bench.
Seattle Seahawks
Zach Charbonnet played 45% of snaps to Kenneth Walker II’s 55% on Sunday, which was a shift as Walker has typically dominated the snap share when healthy. There is most likely not a whole lot to read into here, as the Seahawks were down big to the Bills and may have wanted to avoid getting Walker injured.
I am not at all concerned about Walker’s fantasy value and would still treat him as a weekly top-15 option, but I’d also check my waiver wire this week to see if Charbonnet is available. He offers some value as a pass-catcher and was elite when Walker missed time, so he should definitely still be rostered in all formats.