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USATSI

We entered Week 7 with all kinds of questions about Tampa Bay's running back room. I'm not sure we're leaving Week 7 with enough answers. On Monday night, we saw 16 touches for Rachaad White, 12 for Bucky Irving, and six for Sean Tucker. This was a highly unusual game, where the Buccaneers ran 78 plays and lost their top two wide receivers to injury. The percentages paint an even messier picture moving forward.

In terms of target share, White saw a 13% share, with Irving at 6.7% and Tucker at 4.4%. That's mostly bad news for Irving and Tucker, as I would consider anything below eight percent a negative for running backs in PPR. Rush share was even worse, with White at 33%, Irving at 30%, and Tucker at 16.7%, but continuing to be by far the most efficient rusher. In a normal week, those ratios aren't going to make anyone a starting running back.

The question is, what does a normal week look like for this team if they're without Chris Godwin and Mike Evans for the foreseeable future? It may very well mean more rushes and more running back targets. It may also mean that this is a much worse offense that doesn't score as often.

For Week 8, I'm viewing White and Irving as high-end flexes, and I'm trying to continue stashing Tucker for at least one more week. Eventually, one of these backs may fall out of the rotation or get hurt, and then two of them could be very valuable in an offense with a lot of available opportunities. 

Now, let's get to the rest of the Week 8 RB Preview:

Week 8 RB Preview
RB Preview
Who's Out

The following players are not being projected to play in Week 8 at this time. Here's what it means:

JAC Jacksonville • #1
Age: 25 • Experience: 4 yrs.
RB Preview
Numbers to know
  • 26 -- Kareem Hunt has averaged 26 touches in his two games with the Chiefs. I'm not sure how long he can hold up, but he's a must-start for as long as that is.
  • 79% - Alexander Mattison had a 79% rush share in Zamir White's first game back. Mattison is the clear lead back in Las Vegas now.
  • 4.57 -- Tank Bigsby is averaging 4.57 yards after contact per rush attempt, the best mark in the league. It will be hard for Doug Pederson to go away from him.
  • 13.6% -- Chase Brown's 13.6% explosive rush rate ranks third amongst backs with at least 35 rush attempts. Don't fret over one bad week.
  • 25.6% -- Najee Harris' avoid rate is up to 25.6%, by far the best mark of his career.
  • 9.7 -- Sean Tucker is averaging 9.7 yards per touch. 
RB Preview
Matchups that matter
Matchups that Matter
Projections powered by Sportsline
MIN Minnesota • #33
Age: 30 • Experience: 8 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
@ LAR MIN -3 O/U 48
OPP VS RB
22nd
PROJ PTS
15.5
RB RNK
10th
YTD Stats
RUYDS
443
REC
20
REYDS
190
TD
3
FPTS/G
16.6
KC Kansas City • #29
Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
@ LV KC -10 O/U 41.5
OPP VS RB
25th
PROJ PTS
15.9
RB RNK
19th
YTD Stats
RUYDS
249
REC
5
REYDS
36
TD
3
FPTS/G
17.2
LV Las Vegas • #22
Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
vs KC KC -10 O/U 41.5
OPP VS RB
1st
PROJ PTS
11.7
RB RNK
31st
YTD Stats
RUYDS
250
REC
17
REYDS
166
TD
4
FPTS/G
12.1
CLE Cleveland • #24
Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
vs BAL BAL -9.5 O/U 44.5
OPP VS RB
14th
PROJ PTS
11.1
RB RNK
32nd
YTD Stats
RUYDS
22
REC
1
REYDS
10
TD
1
FPTS/G
10.2
ARI Arizona • #6
Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
@ MIA MIA -3 O/U 48
OPP VS RB
26th
PROJ PTS
13
RB RNK
12th
YTD Stats
RUYDS
504
REC
14
REYDS
139
TD
3
FPTS/G
14
DEN Denver • #33
Age: 24 • Experience: 4 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
vs CAR DEN -8.5 O/U 43.5
OPP VS RB
32nd
PROJ PTS
13.4
RB RNK
16th
YTD Stats
RUYDS
301
REC
23
REYDS
166
TD
2
FPTS/G
11.1
RB Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 8 Adds (RB Preview)
PIT Pittsburgh • #30
Age: 26 • Experience: 3 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
vs NYG PIT -6.5 O/U 36.5
OPP VS RB
17th
RB RNK
36th
ROSTERED
52%
YTD Stats
RUYDS
105
REC
10
REYDS
54
TD
0
FPTS/G
5.3
In Russell Wilson's first start, Jaylen Warren played a season-high 51% of the offensive snaps and touched the ball 14 times. That didn't translate into Fantasy points in Week 7, but if he's getting double-digit carries and seeing three-plus targets on a weekly basis, Warren is going to be in flex consideration most weeks. And he could be a league winner if something happens to Najee Harris.
IND Indianapolis • #31
Age: 24 • Experience: 2 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
@ HOU HOU -6 O/U 46.5
OPP VS RB
4th
RB RNK
33rd
ROSTERED
20%
YTD Stats
RUYDS
128
REC
8
REYDS
47
TD
1
FPTS/G
5.3
We are hopeful Jonathan Taylor is coming back this week, and if he does, Goodson is nothing more than a handcuff. But it does look like he's supplanted Trey Sermon as the top option, and there's still a chance Taylor misses Week 8 or suffers a setback. He has scored double-digit Fantasy points in his last two games and has averaged 5.4 yards per carry on 40 carries over the past two seasons.
Stashes (RB Preview)
TEN Tennessee • #2
Age: 23 • Experience: 2 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
@ DET DET -11 O/U 45.5
OPP VS RB
2nd
RB RNK
NR
ROSTERED
51%
YTD Stats
RUYDS
114
REC
12
REYDS
76
TD
1
FPTS/G
7.4
Even if Spears is just a backup when he comes back, he's one of the most electric backups in the league. This is exactly the type of player who should be rostered in most leagues because he's one injury away from being a must-start running back in all formats.
RB Preview
DFS Plays
Top DFS Play
Projections powered by Sportsline
NYJ N.Y. Jets • #20
Age: 23 • Experience: 3 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
@ NE NYJ -7 O/U 41.5
OPP VS RB
31st
PROJ PTS
17.1
RB RNK
2nd
YTD Stats
RUYDS
348
REC
32
REYDS
307
TD
4
FPTS/G
17.1
Hall has had 41 touches in two games since the coaching change. He's topped 140 yards from scrimmage and 20 PPR Fantasy points in both games. This week, he faces a Patriots defense that has allowed the second-most Fantasy points to opposing running backs. Hall may just be the No. 1 running back this week, and his price is still being impacted by a couple of bad games earlier this year.
Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by Sportsline
TEN Tennessee • #20
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.
Weekly Breakdown
MATCHUP
@ DET DET -11 O/U 45.5
OPP VS RB
2nd
PROJ PTS
13.4
RB RNK
21st
YTD Stats
RUYDS
400
REC
18
REYDS
86
TD
3
FPTS/G
14.2
Pollard's Titans are 10.5-point underdogs on the road against a good Lions run defense. That's while he'll be low-rostered. The reason I'm playing him anyway is that he's averaging more than 20 touches per game in his last three outings, and he's twice shown six-target upside. Aaron Jones and Ken Walker have both topped 20 Fantasy points against this defense, and Pollard should get enough work to join them.
RB Preview
Heath's Projections

My full set of Week 8 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You'll find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 8. Projected stats for all starting running backs are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.