Running backs remain king in fantasy football. While it seems like there are more elite quarterbacks and wide receivers than ever before, the number of consistent, reliable running backs is dwindling. This makes it all the more important to find value in running backs in fantasy football. To help you with that, each week I’ll take a look at a few backfields that stand out based on recent trends or new information we’ve learned.
Eight weeks into the season, it’s bizarre how complicated the rankings look. In the AFC, the 2-6 Patriots are somehow just two games out of a playoff spot, while in the NFC, 11 of 16 teams are .500 or better. With this level of parity, we’re in for a super fun part of the season where we’ll see which teams are serious about making a playoff push. Let’s take a look at some of my key insights into the backfield 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 had the lead in the first quarter of the season, the tides have recently turned. In recent weeks, Chase Brown has been used much more often than Moss and he will be the 1A in Cincinnati’s backfield for the second half of the season.
Brown has received double-digit carries for five consecutive weeks and is the RB12 during that stretch. His use of the passing game has been a little less pronounced than expected, but Brown seems to be receiving most of the valuable touches in this offense, making him a viable asset. This is still a confusing situation because, based on quick counts, Brown and Moss actually split the reps 50/50; Since Week 4, there has only been one game in which either Brown or Moss has played five or more snaps than the other.
Going forward, I would feel comfortable starting Brown as a lower RB2 while keeping Moss on my bench. Brown’s lack of endearing involvement limits his ceiling, but he should see enough volume to be a reliable fantasy starter. At 3-5, the Bengals need to be close to perfect to meet their lofty playoff expectations, and I expect Brown to play a big role in providing that offensive spark. Moss is unplayable in lineups based on his current volume, and should become a legitimate threat through the air if he wants to successfully co-exist with Brown in fantasy.
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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 kind to 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 on his own and scored twice close to the goal line. Achane and Mostert appear poised to split time on the field fairly evenly in this backfield. On Sunday, Achane saw 38 snaps to Mostert’s, and had just one carry.
Fortunately, Tagovailoa’s return means Achane can be deployed as a top-10 running back even if he doesn’t dominate the rushing share. Achane’s work in the passing game this year has been particularly valuable, and his explosiveness provides him with an exciting floor-ceiling combination. I would also enjoy playing Mostert as a spot starter. He’s a bit touch-reliant as he’s been fairly inefficient and doesn’t offer much as a receiver, but betting on the Tagovailoa-led Dolphins to score touchdowns isn’t the worst thing in the world. It appears that preseason darling Jaylen Wright has been cast aside and can be safely dropped now that Achane and Mostert are 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 rather surprising development, considering White was already in the fifth round of fantasy drafts before the season.
Mattison has actually been quite reliable in fantasy since taking over the starting role, mainly due to sheer volume. He has averaged over 15 carries per game over the last four weeks and was the RB22 during that span despite running for just 2.7 yards per carry. Meanwhile, White has been almost completely removed from the offense, with just five total carries since returning from injury in Week 6. White has also not had any impact in the passing game, meaning he can fairly be treated as the number one . 3 running backs in this offense behind Mattison and Ameer Abdullah.
Mattison has pushed his way into FLEX territory, and I’d be happy to start him in a heartbeat. I don’t recommend watching him play, but Mattison should be good for a safe 10 points each week. However, his upside is clearly severely limited by the greater ineptitude of the Raiders offense. White is clearly a droppable player now, and I expect his 32% Yahoo ownership to decline sharply in the coming weeks.
Denver Broncos
After a carousel of different running back options, it appears the Broncos have finally settled on their favorite running back usage as they continue to exceed expectations. Javonte Williams was the team’s best running back, typically playing about 60% of the snaps and getting about 15 carries per game. Jaleel McLaughlin has served as a change-of-pace option, with a 30% share that typically doesn’t exceed 10 touches. McLaughlin has actually been more effective than Williams, with higher numbers in yards per carry, missed tackles per carry and breakaway runs. With Audric Estimé barely playing and Tyler Badie on IR, Williams and McLaughlin are the only fantasy-relevant players in this backfield.
I think Williams has cemented himself as a lower RB2 player each week, and he’s a higher version of the aforementioned Alexander Mattison. The Broncos’ offense isn’t quite good enough to propel Williams to fantasy stardom, but against softer defenses he’s an underrated option.
The Broncos are quietly 5-1 in their last six games and will have to rely on Williams to back Bo Nix to a playoff surge. McLaughlin is worth selecting, but is currently unstartable. I’d like to see him get more involved in the passing game, which could happen in the coming weeks as the Broncos may be in pass-first play scripts against the Ravens, Chiefs and Falcons. But keep McLaughlin on the bench for now.
Seattle Seahawks
Zach Charbonnet played 45% of snaps on Sunday to Kenneth Walker II’s 55%, which was a shift because Walker has typically dominated the snap share when healthy. There probably isn’t much to read here, as the Seahawks were way behind the Bills and may have wanted to avoid Walker getting hurt.
I’m not concerned at all about Walker’s fantasy value and would still treat him as a weekly top-15 option, but I would 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 certainly still be included in all formats.
