Welcome to Week 8 of the NFL season and the next edition DFS RB Coach! It was a bit of a mixed bag of results this week.  I did have the top scoring back, D’Onta Foreman (32.3 points), and the second highest scoring back, Jahmyr Gibbs (27.6), but Josh Jacobs (5.1) was a complete let down. Kenneth Walker (13.1) was super chalky and he was fine, but far from exciting. Enough about last week though, let’s look to keep that momentum going into Week 8. The game between the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins comes in as our highest game total, but at just 47, it’s nothing crazy, but still worth keeping in mind. It’s time to start putting those DraftKings and FanDuel lineups together and hit the big paydays! Let’s dive into my favorite RB plays!

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Week 8 Plays

NFL DFS RB Top Plays

Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

I try to limit the amount I choose CMC, because it feels like a cheat code with how good he is, but at a cost that breaks the bank. This is just the second time of the year I have included CMC though, so that’s not too bad, and the last time I did, he scored a season-high 48.7 ppr points, so let’s hope for a repeat. He should be a bit healthier heading into this matchup with the Bengals than he was against the Vikings and the 49ers offense is bound to get back on track at some point, so why not this week. The Bengals rank as a solid matchup and I think we can expect CMC to get back over the 20 point plateau. 

Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

Kamara hasn’t looked all that good, to be honest, but it doesn’t matter if he keeps scoring at the rate he is. He has averaged just 3.6 YPC in three straight games and only has 1 rushing touchdown through four games with zero receiving touchdowns. All of which is bad and he doesn’t look anything like the explosive guy he used to. So how is he remotely good or scoring points? Insane reception totals is how. He has had games of 13 receptions on 14 targets, 7 receptions on 8 targets, and 12 receptions on 14 targets. That is crazy passing work and with that number of receptions, he is a great play in PPR formats, even if he is a shell of himself at this point. The Colts rank as a top-5 matchup for running backs this year as well. 

 

NFL DFS RB Mid-Tier Plays

Breece Hall, New York Jets

The Jets took the training wheels off Hall and he has scored 31.4 and 20.3 points in the two games after the training wheels were removed. He is a very talented back and he can get it done on the ground and through the air, as evidenced by the fact that he has three or more receptions in three straight games while catching 11 of 12 targets in that span. The Giants rank as a good matchup for backs this season and I really can’t see the Giants offense doing anything against the Jets defense, so I think the Jets will be able to and want to lean heavily on their ground game, centered around Hall.

Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots

Stevenson has been… terrible. To put it bluntly. He is averaging just 3.1 YPC and hasn’t had over 59 yards rushing in a SINGLE game all year. I will give him a slight benefit of the doubt on that, because Mac Jones is a dumpster fire and there is no threat of a passing game. I still don’t love RS this week as a rusher, even though Miami’s defense isn’t great. What I do love though is the fact that he has 11 catches on 12 targets over the last two games. That has led to him scoring 18.0 and 14.5 points over the last two weeks. Given the matchup and the hefty work in the passing game recently, I am willing to take a chance on RS this week. 

Kareem Hunt, Cleveland Browns

Hunt is going to be extremely chalky this week, but I do think it’s an example of good chalk. He has scored 16.1 and 15.1 points over the last two games while backing up Jerome Ford and now Ford has been ruled out for this week, launching Hunt into the starting role. We can probably expect 15+ carries for Hunt in this game to go along with a couple passes, and will get goal line work as evidenced by the fact he has three rushing touchdowns over the last two games. The Seahawks defense isn’t very good and they rank as an average matchup for running backs. Add to all that, the fact that Hunt has a cheap price tag, and he becomes kind of a no-brainer play.

UPDATE: Ford is somehow playing. Hunt becomes strictly a GPP play, but not completely out of play. 

 

NFL DFS RB Value Plays

Devin Singletary, Houston Texans

This one pains me a bit, as I like Dameon Pierce (and he could do well this week), but Singletary just makes so much sense as a play right now. His price tag has dropped and he is nearly the minimum at this point, despite his usage being on the rise. He had a season-high 12 carries last game and vastly outplayed Pierce in that game. He also gets more receiving work than Pierce, albeit neither really gets much at all. Most importantly, the Panthers rank as a top-2 matchup in the league for running backs this season. I think you can go either direction with the Texans backfield this week, but I do expect Singletary to be the more popular play based on pricing. 

 

NFL DFS RB Fades

Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans

Henry just… isn’t that good anymore. He is being priced like he is an elite back, but he simply is not that. He has ONE game with over 20 points. He has ZERO games with over 28 points. He has a game with 2 points and a game with 9 points. There really just isn’t anything exciting here with Henry and I honestly have no clue why he is priced this high still. This game will likely be an ugly low-scoring game, like most of the Falcons games are, and the Titans offense isn’t a firepower by any means either. I think this game will just be bad for DFS purposes and I don’t see Henry doing much of anything.