Getty Jamaal Williams #30 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates after scoring a touchdown.
Welcome to our Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Running Back edition for Week 8 of the NFL season. In this column, we feature a former top-five pick looking to resurrect his fantasy stock. Plus, a hot waiver-wire add looking to keep his high-end production rolling.
* Reminder: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is intended to present you with the non-obvious choices for your fantasy lineup. We dig deep into player matchups, scoring trends, and other factors to best help you with your fantasy decisions. Superstars such as Christian McCaffrey will not be found in this column. If you’re looking for players of that caliber check out our weekly fantasy football running back rankings.
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RB: Start ‘Em
Start of the Week: Jonathan Taylor at DET
Taylor has topped 15.0 points in back-to-back weeks and has touched the ball at least 14 times in every game since taking over for Marlon Mack as Indy’s featured back. All of Detroit’s past three opposing starting RBs have topped 15.29 points, combining for an average of 19.46 points. Furthermore, the Lions have allowed six total TDs to the position since Week 4.
Jamaal Williams vs. MIN
Aaron Jones has once again been ruled out, leaving Williams as the clear-cut option in Green Bay’s backfield. Williams logged 55 offensive snaps and out-touched fellow running back A.J. Dillon 23-5 this past Sunday. Starting RBs average a solid 17.4 points against the Vikings this season. They’ve also allowed five-plus receptions to the position group on four occasions this season. Williams posted 8.2 points and hauled in four receptions against Minnesota in Week 1 on just 31 snaps, don’t be surprised if he comes close to at least doubling all those numbers this Sunday.
Boston Scott vs. DAL
We rolled the dice on Scott as our sleeper choice a week ago, and he rewarded us with 18.2 points. Still, his struggles to compile yards on the ground remained an issue, as he’s now averaged less than 4.0 ypc in all but one game this season. The good news, the Cowboys are one of only two teams to surrender 1,000-plus rushing yards thus far this season and have allowed at least 95 rushing yards to opposing lead-backs in three consecutive games.
Darrell Henderson at MIA
Henderson exited this past Monday’s game with a calf injury but appears good to go for this week’s mouth-watering matchup against the Dolphins. Miami allows an average of 124 rushing yards per game this season while having surrendered five rushing TDs to RBs over their past four games. Henderson has averaged nearly 17 touches over five of his past six games and looks to have a tight grip on the Rams’ lead-back duties.
Sleeper: Leonard Fournette at NYG
Fournette’s return last week has once again turned Tampa Bay’s backfield upside down. Yes, the Bucs blew out the Raiders a week ago, but Fournette’s touches were far from garbage time numbers. 10 of his 17 touches (team-high) came in the first 30-minutes of play. Fournette appears to be Tampa’s preferred receiving back over Ronald Jones, who has struggled with drops throughout his career. Over the past two weeks, the Giants have allowed a combined 13 receptions, 114 receiving yards and one touchdown.
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RB: Sit ‘Em
Sit of the Week: Joshua Kelley at DEN
Justin Jackson appeared to surpass Kelley as the Chargers’ lead-back. However, whether it was his lingering knee injury or simply preference, Kelley once again found himself dominating backfield touches in Week 7. Unfortunately, he also once again found his production to be lacking. He’s now averaged 2.8 ypc or fewer in four of his last five games and hasn’t sniffed the end zone since Week 1. The Broncos allow the fourth-fewest points and the second-fewest rushing TDs to opposing RBs this year.
Devin Singletary at NE
We may currently be in the midst of a changing of the guards in the Bills backfield, as rookie Zack Moss logged just five fewer snaps than Singletary a week ago. Singletary has also done himself no favors scoring just 6.70 points or fewer in three consecutive weeks. The Patriots have actually been quite susceptible to the run since returning from their Week 5 bye. However, Singletary simply can’t be trusted at this point.
Carlos Hyde vs. SF
Week 8 is lining up to be a redemption game for Hyde, who is expected to take over for the injured Chris Carson this Sunday, just in time to face off with his former team. Problem is, Hyde’s own availability is in question, as he’s dealing with a hamstring ailment. If he does play, the matchup is far from welcoming. The 49ers haven’t allowed a rushing TD to a RB since Week 1, while only one opposing RB has topped 63 rushing yards against them all year.
Buyers Beware: JaMycal Hasty at SEA
Despite carrying some hype heading into last week, Jerick McKinnon was a sit for us. That choice proved to be the correct one, further cementing the notion that the only thing you can truly know about how Kyle Shannahan will handle his RBs is that you can never truly know how he will handle his RBs. Hasty, who has carried the ball nine times in each of the past two weeks, appears to be the next man up with Jeff Wilson landing on IR. However, Tevin Coleman’s pending return further complicates things in the Niners’ backfield. Furthermore, Seattle hasn’t allowed a RB to top 65 yards rushing all season long.