Lamar Miller broke out again in week 7, managing the most points among running backs in fantasy football with 35.60 points.
He was joined at the top by some other surprises, like Darren McFadden with the fourth-most points, Danny Woodhead with the fifth-most points and Charcandrick West with the seventh-most points.
Other notes from week 7 showed that Todd Gurley has jumped into the must-start list, alongside T.J. Yeldon. Both rookies are bell-cows and are routinely eclipsing the 100-yard barrier.
With week 8 now fully upon us, here’s our start ’em, sit ’em list for fantasy football running backs.
Daily fantasy start of the week
Justin Forsett vs. San Diego Chargers
We’re not sold on the Baltimore Ravens as a team, but this matchup should be one in which Forsett can exploit.
The Chargers haven’t been good on the defensive side of the ball, allowing the second-most rushing yards per game this season. And what usually happens is that San Diego digs a hole early forcing it to pass, since it has no running game.
That should be beneficial for Forsett owners, as the Ravens should get an early lead and will then try to slow down the game to keep the ball out of Phillip Rivers’ hands.
We’re anticipating several touches for Forsett, who didn’t get much going Monday against Arizona. That’s OK, since he should be well-rested and will garner touches in the rushing and passing game.
Look for Forsett to have a big day with a solid matchup.
Start
Chris Johnson vs. Cleveland Browns
With Johnson, we’re focusing less on his ability, and more on Cleveland’s complete lack of rush defense.
San Diego owns the second-worst rush defense in the NFL at 132.1 yards per game. The Browns are the worst, allowing 151 yards per game, outpacing the second-worst defense by almost 20 yards per game.
And it’s not as if Johnson hasn’t been impressive this season.
For a guy who wasn’t even signed to a team until the preseason, he’s been a quality performer for the Cardinals and for fantasy football owners.
Johnson turned in another double-digit day in week 7 against Baltimore, with 18.20 points. He rushed for 122 yards and one touchdown, giving him his third double-digit fantasy day this season.
Among running backs, he has the eighth-highest total, and that should continue to get higher as the Cardinals keep feeding him the ball. The Browns are a mess on defense, as this is the second straight year they have been unable to stop the run.
That will continue this week.
Charcandrick West vs. Detroit Lions
We weren’t giving up on West after a disappointing first crack as the featured back two weeks ago against the Minnesota Vikings. We liked West on our DFS team last week and he didn’t disappoint.
West garnered 18.90 fantasy football points in week 7 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it appears the Chiefs are fully committed to him as the featured back. That’s a good sign for anyone who either had him as a handcuff, or picked him up on the waiver wire.
The touches will keep coming in a Kansas City offense that refuses to throw deep, but will check down to running backs and receivers, and will hand the ball off more than 20 times a game. West had 22 carries and five targets in the passing game, and we’re thinking that number may even increase this week against the Detroit Lions.
Teams attempt more runs per game against Detroit than any other team in the NFL, which includes the Browns. That strategy is working, as teams are averaging 123.4 yards per game and have tallied a league-leading 10 rushing touchdowns.
Don’t pass on West this week.
Daily fantasy sit of the week
Eddie Lacy vs. Denver Broncos
Everyone believed Lacy would be a fantasy football monster this season, but so far, that hasn’t worked out.
Lacy has only one game where he’s reached double-digits in fantasy points, and that was week 1 against Chicago’s rush defense. He’s been passed over by James Starks on occasion and we’re worried there may be some injury issues creeping up with Lacy.
The Packers are coming off a bye week, so the extra rest likely did him well, but we’re not trusting him on our DFS roster until we see something more out of him.
And it doesn’t help that the Denver Broncos’ defense is just as hard on running backs as it is on quarterbacks. The Broncos are allowing the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game this season and with this game in Denver, we can’t imagine that number will change much.
Stay away from Lacy this week in DFS.
Sit
Darren McFadden vs. Seattle Seahawks
Run DMC is back. Or at least he was back for one game.
McFadden turned back the clock in week 7 against the New York Giants with 22.20 fantasy points on 152 yards rushing and one touchdown.
That should give McFadden owners some hope, but let’s not celebrate too quick. New York’s rush defense keeps getting worse as the weeks progress. A rush defense that once ranked at the top of the NFL, is now 12th from the bottom.
McFadden’s 100-yard performance was the third straight game where the Giants have allowed well over 100 yards rushing. So, let’s not get too carried away with the performance.
And this matchup just doesn’t work for the Cowboys. Seattle is still a top-10 rush defense and teams are averaging less than 4 yards per carry against the Seahawks.
There’s still too much uncertainty surrounding McFadden’s playing time and how many touches will get to start him against a team like Seattle.
Latavius Murray vs. New York Jets
We’re really down on Oakland’s matchup this week against the New York Jets.
Murray has been a good fantasy option this year, but last time we saw him against a stingy defense, he failed to produce.
In week 5 against Denver, he totaled 5.70 fantasy points. In week 1, against Cincinnati’s rush defense, he tallied 8 points.
So with a matchup against the New York Jets, we’re not taking any chances.
The Jets allow 71.5 yards per game, seven yards less than the second-best rush defense. Last week, the Patriots didn’t even attempt to run the ball, and focused only on passing.
With Sheldon Richardson back in the lineup for the Jets, it will become even tougher for teams to run the ball. Don’t expect anything out of Murray this week.
