It was the week of forgotten RBs going bonanza. Weather and injuries created some enhanced opportunities across the NFL in week 8. The next two weeks are going to sting of some with byes so keep your finger on the pulse of some of these workloads.
David Montgomery , RB CHI - Did you have David Montgomery on the bench for his big 27-135-1 day? Yeah, me too. There’s no way to trust this offense at all. If we could have a reasonable expectation that Monty would see 15 or so touches he’d be a start even in a tough spot against the Eagles this week. Sadly, we can’t know what is going on Matt Nagy’s brain as Trubinsky-madness sets in.
Tevin Coleman , RB SF - Another guy going off on a lot of benches here. Maybe it was the cross country flight but the Panthers did not bring their A-game. San Francisco wants to focus their offense on a ground attack whenever possible and they have the blocking to do it most weeks. This was somewhat of a perfect storm for Coleman with Matt Breida and Jeff Wilson getting injured in game. It’s never ideal for a back to split work but if this backfield can get to a two way share it’s palatable.
Nick Chubb , RB CLE - With Kareem Hunt ’s suspension up after this week it was not ideal timing for Chubb to have a two fumble game. Neither was a particularly egregious fumble but it’s on everyone’s mind now. More concerning than that is Dontrell Hilliard getting a large chunk of passing snaps. The Browns have been trailing seemingly forever so maybe it was a matter of not wearing Chubb down. Signs point to Hunt having a role, however. That is not what you want as a Chubb owner.
Ty Johnson, RB DET - We all got trolled by the Lions on the biggest free-agent add of the fantasy football season. Keeping the kid gloves on their best back to replace Kerryon is peak Lions and why this team will go nowhere with the current staff. He did salvage a shred of value on 40% of the carries. Maybe the goons running that offense start to see the light as the season wears on. It’s a hard thing to bet on though. You’re using him at Oakland this week where you’re desperate. Otherwise, hold him on your bench to see how it shakes out.
Mark Walton , RB MIA - After shipping Kenyan Drake to Arizona the starting job that was already half Walton’s became his in full. That could have been a good thing in one of the only games the Fins were competitive at Pittsburgh Monday night. He dropped an underwhelming 11-35 with 3 catches. The tinfoil hats were out after Miami gifted the game back to the Steelers. Keeping the ball in Ryan Fitzpatrick ’s hands would certainly be a way to do that. Walton will continue to lead the back rotation and can maybe salvage some PPR value.
Darrell Henderson, RB LAR - With Malcolm Brown out, and Todd Gurley ’s work continuing to be capped, Hendo got 48% of the RB snaps. His investors would be thrilled with that pre-season. Sean McVay has turned into Jay Gruden, however, as the Rams offense is now completely vanilla ball control. No back on this team will be able to shine without consolidating the work.
Aaron Jones , RB GB - Look, I’m a huge Jones fan and own more shares than any other RB in best ball. You can’t go overboard with the Kamara-like comps if you take his full body of work this season into account. It’s not his fault that Matt LaFleur wasn’t utilizing him properly. He’s shown how good of a receiver he is. We just can’t count on LaFleur to keep that emphasis going week to week. There will be booms and busts. The silver lining of this timeshare is the Jones has a nose for the endzone and is the preferred red zone back.
Leonard Fournette , RB JAC - What a fascinating clash of regression narratives take place in Fournette’s season. He’s had more goal-line work than anyone and yet has only scored a single touchdown. Positive TD regression is coming! Or so Twitter tells me. He’s also produced a ridiculous portion of his yardage on a handful of big runs turning 18-10 into 19-76. That doesn’t tend to be sustainable. Hopefully his regressions meet in the middle and he maintains his current value.
Joe Mixon , RB CIN - Without looking under the hood you might blame Mixon’s busted season on an offensive line that’s in shambles. The real culprit is opportunity. He hasn’t surpassed 42 snaps in any game. Some of that results in overly conservative play calling. Some comes from the negative game script Cincy is always in and snaps lost to scatback Gio Bernard. Maybe the staff is doing their best to keep Mixon fresh after prior injuries. At the end of the day, it paints a bleak picture for his future as a Bengal.
Damien Williams , RB KC - Whether it was McCoy’s typical 12 touch cap being reached, or McCoy’s late fumble, Williams showed some juice on a fourth-quarter drive that resulted in him scoring a TD. McCoy isn’t going away but maybe this reminds the play-callers why they liked the electric back in the first place. His snaps have never recovered to the 45 he played week one. If he can approach that number again there’s value here. Especially when Pat Maholmes returns.
Zach Zenner , RB ARI - Twitter darling Zach Zenner has found new life in the desert. With David Johnson and Chase Edmonds on the shelf, he’s going to see snaps. Kenyan Drake will get the main looks but hasn’t had even a full week of practice to absorb the up-tempo scheme and signals. The offensive line is a nightmare for a guy like Zenner that gets what’s blocked.