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2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running backs for Week 8

What can we expect from Chase Edmonds and Latavius Murray this week?

By NHB
New Orleans Saints v Chicago Bears Photo by David Banks/Getty Images

Dalvin Cook takes the top spot over Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley. Backups, Latavius Murray and Chase Edmonds, find themselves in the Top 12, knocking Nick Chubb and Todd Gurley II to the RB2 ranks. Detroit Lions backup Ty Johnson assumes bell cow duties in Kerryon Johnson’s expected multi-week absence, making him a rock-solid RB2 for the foreseeable future. The loss of Patrick Mahomes likely spells a shift in Kansas City towards a run-based attack — and LeSean McCoy is the main beneficiary. He’s a mid-tier RB2. Eagles backs, Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders, slightly take the edge over Melvin Gordon III’s rusty play in the RB3 zone.

Week 8 Byes: The Baltimore Ravens and the Dallas Cowboys

Week 8 Running Back Rankings

Rank Running Back Team Opponent High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s
Rank Running Back Team Opponent High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s
1 Dalvin Cook MIN WAS Short week be damned. Cook should have no issue pulverizing this defense.
2 Christian McCaffrey CAR at SF The stark disparity in opposing defenses between CMC and Cook drops CMC to No. 2.
3 Saquon Barkley NYG at DET Barkley should demolish the injury-plagued Lions' defense if he can play.
4 Chris Carson SEA at ATL Expect 20+ touches against Atlanta's impossibly bad defense.
5 Leonard Fournette JAX NYJ The return of CJ Mosley is noteworthy but Fournette's workloads make him a matchup-proof RB1.
6 James Conner PIT MIA Pittsburgh gave the keys to the offense to Conner in their last game -- they were on bye last week -- and we can expect more of the same against the generous Miami defense.
7 Latavius Murray NO ARI HC Sean Payton fed Murray 27 carries and 6 targets in a tough matchup against the Bears last week. This week, the Saints face the swiss cheese Cardinals defense. Murray should feast as a locked-in RB1, as the Saints are likely to bench Alvin Kamara to let him rest both his high-ankle sprain and injured knee through Week 8 and their Week 9 bye.
8 Derrick Henry TEN at TB Tampa Bay plays stout run defense but the installation of Ryan Tannehill helps the Tennessee offense as a whole and Henry's 20+ touch workload locks him into RB1 consideration.
9 Aaron Jones GB at KC KC's run defense is atrocious and Green Bay's newfound usage of early down passing bodes well for all involved. Shorter distances to go on 2nd and 3rd means more work for Jones in high leverage situations. He soundly out-touched Jamaal Williams last week.
10 Chase Edmonds ARI at NO Edmonds will be there to go tit-for-tat with Latavius Murray. David Johnson is considered day-to-day, but as Dr. David Chao like to point out, that generally means "week-to-week".
11 Le'Veon Bell NYJ at JAX The return of Sam Darnold lifts everyone up and Bell's got smooth sailing from here on out (at JAX, at MIA, NYG, at WAS, OAK, at CIN, MIA, at BAL, and PIT -- through Week 16).
12 Marlon Mack IND DEN The Broncos can't stop the run. Mack should see 20 totes or more against them.
High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s
13 Nick Chubb CLE at NE Chubb's 20 touch workload keeps him an RB1/2 borderline, facing the NFL's best defense.
14 Todd Gurley II LAR CIN Cincy's sloth-style defense has no shot at slowing Gurley, even if he's on a limited workload.
15 Sony Michel NE CLE Cleveland's defense has been very generous to opposing running backs. Michel should have no issue returning high-end RB2 value.
16 Josh Jacobs OAK at HOU Houston's run defense is unimposing and Jacobs looked great last week. Bill O'Brien can't wait to have a running back battle with Oakland and should provide a game script amenable to Jacob's usage.
17 Tevin Coleman SF CAR Coleman's usage is of the lead back variety and Carolina's run defense has been giving in the red zone, as of late.
18 Ty Johnson DET NYG With Kerryon Johnson unlikely to play, Ty steps into a bell cow role in a beautiful matchup against the hapless Giants' defense.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB2s
19 Phillip Lindsay DEN at IND Although Royce Freeman got the touchdown last week, Lindsay is still likely the 1A back in the Denver backfield.
20 Devonta Freeman ATL SEA Freeman should be well rested after being ejected in last week's game against the Rams. Seattle's defense has been largely unimposing.
21 Carlos Hyde HOU OAK Hyde's a lock for 20 inefficient touches against a weak Raiders defense. The usage and matchup keep him in the RB2 realm.
22 LeSean McCoy KC GB We can expect the Chiefs to lean heavily on McCoy as the teams alpha rushing back. Green Bay's run defense has been lackluster.
23 Austin Ekeler LAC at CHI Melvin Gordon III is foolishly being used as the lead back and this is a moderate matchup. We're betting on play making ability here.
24 David Montgomery CHI LAC The Chargers' run defense has been a sieve.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3s
25 Matt Breida SF CAR Breida's Week 7 produciton was thrown off after he missed time being evaluated for a concussion. He should see 12-15 touches in a middling matchup.
26 Ronald Jones II TB TEN Tennessee's middle-of-the-road run defense caps Jones' upside but 15 touches should keep in on the high-end flex radar.
27 Royce Freeman DEN at IND If not for the return of Colts' linebacker Darius Leonard, Freeman would have been ranked as an RB2.
28 Jamaal Williams GB at KC Expect 30-40% of the backfield touches in a great matchup.
29 Jordan Howard PHI at BUF The Eagles' paltry secondary should permit a high-scoring from Buffalo. That will keep the Eagles' offense putting the pedal to the medal. Expect Miles Sanders to rack up receptions between the 20s and Howard to get the red zone work.
30 Miles Sanders PHI at BUF See above.
31 James White NE CLE White remains a lock for 10 or so .5PPR points every week.
32 Melvin Gordon III LAC CHI Who's ready for 15-20 carries at 2.3 yards per attempt? The usage keeps his touchdown-based boom/bust flex consideration alive.
33 Devin Singletary BUF PHI Philly's terrifying run defense puts the kibosh on a Singletary ceiling game. Expect him to take back lead back duties from Gore sooner, rather than later though.
34 Joe Mixon CIN at LAR Andy Dalton was the team's leading rusher last week, against a Jacksonville team that's been largely friendly to opposing rushers.
35 Damien Williams KC GB Williams is still likely the nominal starter.
36 Mark Walton MIA at PIT Walton looks to have taken over as Miami's lead back.
Low Floor/Low Ceiling RB4s
37 Frank Gore BUF PHI This backfield should operate eerily similarly to Philly's but with the 20-to-20 runner as the flex favorite
38 Duke Johnson Jr. HOU OAK Duke should post low-end flex numbers, even on limited touches, against the Raiders weak defense.
39 Darrell Henderson Jr. LAR CIN Henderson should see 10+ touches in this likely blowout.
40 Adrian Peterson WAS at MIN He's fighting a sprained ankle as he prepares for one of the toughest run defenses in the league. This is not a good week to start AD.
41 CJ Prosise SEA at ATL A 2nd-flex option in PPR leagues, facing the bad Falcons defense.
42 Peyton Barber TB TEN Expect 8 carries for Barber in an unimposing matchup.
43 Tarik Cohen CHI LAC Cohen should see 7-10 touches, most of them being targets.
44 Kenyan Drake MIA at PIT Drake will still be sprinkled in as an attempt to showcase his ability as the trade deadline approaches.
45 Alexander Mattison MIN WAS Facing Washington at home is the type of matchup where one can toss Mattison in a 2nd flex spot out of desperation.
46 Wayne Gallman NYG at DET Gallman should speel Barkley a bit.
47 JD McKissic DET NYG McKissic's in line for 7 or so touches as the No. 2 RB in Detroit this week.
48 Dare Ogunbowale TB TEN He continues to look great and his passing game ability may be called upon if the Titans can get rolling.
Aaron Jones vs. Jamaal Williams touches, Carolina Panthers’ run defense, Cincinnati Bengals’ Week 7 rushing results, Melvin Gordon III’ yards per attempt.

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