If you’re reading this, I assume you survived the first week of your fantasy playoffs or had a bye. Congratulations on that. Stay sharp and look to add, or block an opponent, on the right backfield pieces this week.

Aaron Jones , RB GB - With Jamal Williams nursing a knee injury Aaron Jones did Aaron Jones things (16-134-1/6-58). It’s so weird how he’s the best RB in football when his usage goes up. I can’t figure it out. No one in the Packers organization can, that’s for sure. Alas, Williams will remain a thorn in our sides until he’s on a different team.

Boston Scott , RB PHI - Remember last week when people argued the Eagles rotation would be at an end since Boston Scott was the only real alternative to Miles Sanders? Guess who played 44% of the snaps? True, Sanders was dinged in-game and visited the locker room. Scott was still in there plenty as the Birds came from behind. Philly. Is. A. Rotation. Always.

Spencer Ware , RB KC - I did not think the backfield mix in KC could get worse. Cue Spencer Ware signing and playing 40% of snaps week one. This is the Bermuda triangle of backfields. Damien Williams is probably back soon to boot. I’m only writing about it so you can stop speculating on options from it. 

Kenyan Drake , RB ARI - The Drake’s usage has slowly slipped as David Johnson has presumably become healthier. It’s still bizarre that DJ is only playing a handful of snaps (22 this week) instead of being shut down. At any rate, barring further injury to DJ the good life as a Drake speculator has hit the skids.

Marlon Mack , RB IND - Mack handled 26 snaps (41%) in his return from a fractured hand. That makes sense for easing him back some but also as the Colts trailed Nyheim Hines was called on for 35 snaps. Mack got the goal-line TD. Look for his workload to ramp up the next two weeks.

Austin Ekeler , RB LAC - Is Austin Ekeler the Chargers MVP? He’s been integral to most of their wins. The mighty mite gave us over 100 yards on both the ground and the air on only 31 snaps. Talk about efficiency. The Bolts would do well continue integrating him into the offense through the end of the year and featuring him in 2020.

J.D. McKissic , RB DET - I write about this backfield seemingly every week. It’s been that kind of season for Detroit. They seem to value McKissic at some small level with 15+ snaps most weeks. The logical add with Bo Scarbrough nursing sore ribs seems like Ty Johnson. The galaxy brain add may be McKissic who has a clear part of the playbook designed for him, most of which are passes. The Lions will be trailing often.

Todd Gurley , RB LAR - The Rams aren’t playing Gurley that many more snaps. His count usually hovers around 50. They are calling his number more often, though. The early 15-20 touch limit he had seems to have grown to 20-27. His fantasy day still goes as his end zone visits do. There’s a little more floor here, however.

Patrick Laird, RB MIA - DFS Twitter’s favorite rookie gave us 59 mediocre snaps (82%). The Fish are out of RB options. He is cheap in Daily Fantasy but only pays with a TD or crazy targets. It’s hard to be confident either occurs.

DeAndre Washington , RB OAK - The Raiders have waived the white flag on 2019. They’ve been blown out in three straight and just want the beatings to end. Washington was the carrier of said white flag. He had a fine day in the boxscore with 96 all-purpose yards and a TD. That’s a testament to just how little the Raiders tried to compete in this one, though. Be careful going nuts here. Bad teams have bad backfield production more often than not.