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 that stick out based on recent trends or new information we learned.
We are halfway through the fantasy regular season, which means it is time to start gearing up for the home stretch. There are trades flying around the NFL, players coming off IR, and a lot of roster movement that could impact your fantasy teams. Let’s get into some of my top backfield takeaways heading into Week 8 of the NFL season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Ravens and Buccaneers combined for 82 points on Monday night, which meant great things for fantasy football. The Bucs’ running backs were no exception, as Rachaad White and Bucky Irving both had great performances.
White, in his first game back from injury, continued to be the starter, leading the team with 10 carries. The Bucs were in a pass-first game script which favored White, who also notched six catches for 71 yards and two scores through the air. Irving was solid in his own regard, totaling 77 yards on 12 touches and scoring from one yard out. After an incredible Week 6 performance, Sean Tucker was used sparingly this week, with just five carries and 16 snaps.
I’m optimistic that both White and Irving will remain startable in fantasy moving forward. The Bucs will likely be in even more pass-heavy situations with matchups against the Falcons, Chiefs, and 49ers over the next three weeks, which means White can be played as a top-24 back in PPR. Baker Mayfield might be especially reliant on White given Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both left the game with injuries against Baltimore. Irving has seemingly taken over the goal-line and short-yardage work making him a valuable FLEX play as well. This leaves Tucker as the odd man out, and he is worth rostering only in deeper leagues.
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Cleveland Browns
Nick Chubb made his return from the knee injury he suffered early last season, and served as the Browns RB1 with Jerome Ford out. Chubb wasn’t particularly efficient in his season debut, turning 11 carries into just 22 yards, but he did get into the end zone to salvage his fantasy day.
The Browns offense as a whole could see an improvement in the coming weeks, as quarterback Deshaun Watson is out for the season with a torn Achilles, leaving Jameis Winston in line to start Week 8. While Winston is a volatile player, he has supported great fantasy offenses in the past and should be an upgrade over Watson, who ranked bottom-five in most quarterback metrics.
It is unclear how the Browns will split carries once Ford returns from his hamstring injury. Of the Browns’ four running backs (Chubb, Ford, D’Onta Foreman, and Pierre Strong), only Ford has been impactful in the passing game, which gives him a leg up.
For now, I would be comfortable starting Chubb as a lower-end RB2 each week. I would expect the Browns to limit his workload a little bit in the short term to help him ease back into things, but if Chubb is anything like his old self he will be a valuable fantasy asset. Ford is still worth rostering as he could be a valuable PPR option if Winston leads a more pass-heavy Browns offense, but Foreman and Strong should stay on the waiver wire.
Miami Dolphins
With De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert both healthy, the Dolphins’ running back usage on Sunday was a lot more similar to 2023 than earlier this season. Achane had 15 carries while playing 58% of snaps, and Mostert saw 11 carries on 33% of snaps. Both of them were efficient, but underwhelming in fantasy because of the larger offensive struggles in Miami. However, it appears quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will be coming off IR and starting this week, which raises the floor and ceiling of all members of the offense.
I am not too worried about Achane’s reduced usage. He obviously showed he was capable of producing on a smaller workload last year, and it is certainly possible that the Dolphins didn’t want to give him the lion’s share of the volume in his first game back from a concussion.
With that being said, I would be on the lookout for Mostert on your waiver wire. Teams might have dropped him the past few weeks while he was hurt, but with a healthy Tagovailoa, Mostert should be on your team as insurance for Achane, if nothing else. If the Dolphins do end up splitting carries more equally, Mostert would also have FLEX appeal based on the Dolphins’ offensive production.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers gave us a few fun weeks by replacing Bryce Young with Andy Dalton, but it looks like Dalton too has come crashing down to Earth. After winning his first start, Dalton has lost four straight games, capped off by a 40-7 blowout on Sunday. I would not be surprised at all if the Panthers look to usher in a full youth movement in the next few weeks, replacing Dalton for Young and getting their rookies more involved. This would mean Jonathon Brooks, who was designated for return off the PUP list last week, could soon eat into Chuba Hubbard’s workload significantly.
Hubbard has been one of the few bright spots for Carolina so far, and actually ranks fifth in the league in rushing yards. However, he is a free agent after this season and doesn’t really fit the timeline of the Panthers team, so I would guess he gets phased out a little bit down the stretch.
I would avoid starting both Hubbard and Brooks if Young becomes the starter again. The Panthers offense was historically awful with Young under center the first two weeks of the year, and I can’t imagine they support two fantasy-relevant running backs. While Brooks is out, Hubbard should be a fine low-end RB2 off volume alone, but I would certainly not enjoy starting him unless Dalton is the quarterback.
New York Giants
In the Giants first game playing both Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary, it was Tracy who led the team in opportunities. Tracy played 67% of snaps to Singletary’s 21%, and had three more touches. Considering how low the ceiling of the Giants offense is, I am not too excited about starting either Tracy or Singletary in fantasy.
Tracy, with his background as a receiver in college, would be my preferred option of the two, as he should offer a decent PPR baseline. The main draw for Singletary was extreme volume, and without that, I doubt he stays above fantasy football’s Mendoza Line. Ideally, I’d keep both Tracy and Singletary on my bench.