David Johnson's Week 7 proved why fantasy football can be so frustrating, and it might not get easier for Johnson owners heading into Week 8. Johnson played two weeks ago through a back injury and had a big game. He was listed on last week's injury report with an ankle injury, but he was practicing and was active for Sunday's game. He received the Cardinals' first carry. But after that, it was all Chase Edmonds as Johnson hung out on the sideline, only to be used in emergencies, according to Kliff Kingsbury (after the first carry). Weird and frustrating for everyone who played Johnson once he was active. He's obviously not right, and that's a big question mark in our Week fantasy 8 RB rankings.
We've got a few more Johnsons carrying our running back worries this week. Kerryon Johnson left the Lions' game Sunday in the first quarter with a knee injury and was placed on IR earlier this week. Backup Ty Johnson figures to get a lot of work in a favorable Week 8 matchup with the Giants.
WEEK 8 NON-PPR RANKINGS
Quarterback | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
It wasn't all bad in Week 7. Saquon Barkley returned from injury and scored a touchdown. So did Todd Gurley, whose six points came on a difficult catch down the right sideline. As expected, though, Alvin Kamara missed out on New Orleans' game, which allowed Latavius Murray to star and continue to prove the Bears' defense isn't as intimidating without Akiem Hicks.
That Chicago insight is important since the Chargers play the Bears in Week 8. Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler aren't quite in auto-start territory, so their matchup does matter. L.A. has been bad offensively, but Philip Rivers managed to throw two touchdowns to Ekeler and one to Gordon in Week 7. If you're choosing one, we prefer Gordon in standard leagues and Ekeler in PPR leagues.
WEEK 8 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
We also gained knowledge on the Packers' backfield split in Week 7, as both Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams also scored touchdowns through the air. After a bad drop a week earlier, Jones made a tough catch for his score. Both look like fantasy starting options in a favorable Week 8 matchup in Kansas City.
WEEK 8: Waiver wire | FAAB planner | Trade values | Snap counts
Week 8 byes claim two starting fantasy running backs in Ezekiel Elliott and Mark Ingram. With Ty Johnson and Edmonds possibly available on your waiver wire, along with Mark Walton of the Dolphins, you can probably find an able fill-in if one doesn't already exist on your roster.
Week 8 DFS Lineups:
Y! Cash | Y! GPP | FD Cash | FD GPP | DK Cash | DK GPP
Reminder: These rankings will be adjusted throughout week, so check back often for the latest updates and analysis!
MORE WEEK 8 DFS: Stacks | Values | Lineup Builder
LISTEN TO THE SN FANTASY WEEK 8 PREVIEW PODCAST BELOW
Week 8 Fantasy RB Rankings
These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues.
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Saquon Barkley, NYG @ DET |
| 2 | Dalvin Cook, MIN vs. WAS |
| 3 | Christian McCaffrey, CAR @ SF |
| 4 | James Conner, PIT vs. MIA. We don't really know anything about Conner's Week 6 quad injury because of the Steelers' bye. Obviously, this is a matchup you want every part of as long as Conner is good to go. |
| 5 | Todd Gurley, LAR vs. CIN (in UK) |
| 6 | Le'Veon Bell, NYJ @ JAX |
| 7 | Chris Carson, SEA @ ATL |
| 8 | Leonard Fournette, JAX vs. NYJ |
| 9 | Marlon Mack, IND vs. DEN |
| 10 | Derrick Henry, TEN vs. TB |
| 11 | Aaron Jones, GB @ KC. A week after Jones dropped an easy touchdown, he caught a difficult one. He's still the top back in Green Bay, and he gets to face a Chiefs' defense allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to running backs. |
| 12 | Josh Jacobs, OAK @ HOU. Two-straight weeks of more than 20 carries and 120 rushing yards make Jacobs a must-start until his production and/or usage go down. |
| 13 | Nick Chubb, CLE @ NE. Chubb has been too good to sit, even in a tough matchup with New England. |
| 14 | David Montgomery, CHI vs. LAC |
| 15 | Sony Michel, NE vs. CLE |
| 16 | Devonta Freeman, ATL vs. SEA. Freeman didn't do his fantasy owners any favors by getting ejected early in Week 7, but he should be back to face a Seattle defense that hasn't been anything special against RBs, allowing 4.3 yards per carry to backs. |
| 17 | Latavius Murray, NO vs. ARZ. |
| 18 | Jamaal Williams, GB @ KC. Williams saw enough usage (seven touches, 31 total yards, TD) behind Jones in Week 7 to make them both playable in a favorable Week 8 matchup. |
| 19 | Tevin Coleman, SF vs. CAR |
| 20 | LeSean McCoy, KC vs. GB |
| 21 | Ty Johnson, DET vs. NYG. If Kerryon Johnson is out, Ty will be a good RB2 play against a Giants defense that's allowed the third-most fantasy points to running backs in 2019. |
| 22 | Chase Edmonds, ARZ @ NO. |
| 23 | Melvin Gordon, LAC @ CHI. Chicago's run defense isn't special anymore with Akiem Hicks on IR. Playing Gordon comes down to whether you trust L.A. to not continue imploding. He'll probably get you 60 yards and a touchdown. |
| 24 | Joe Mixon, CIN vs. LAR (in UK). Mixon seems to have more double-digit carry, single-digit rushing yards games than anyone. Something about that, combined with running near Aaron Donald in London, doesn't add up to a great Week 8 scenario, but it's still a decent matchup on paper and Mixon should get decent volume. |
| 25 | Phillip Lindsay, DEN @ IND |
| 26 | Carlos Hyde, HOU vs. OAK |
| 27 | Royce Freeman, DEN @ IND. Freeman seemed the preferred back at times to Lindsay on Thursday Night Football, and he finally found the end zone. Freeman and Lindsay still rotate too much to have them far apart in the rankings. Indy has been a good rush defense and got star LB Darius Leonard back in Week 7, too, so it's not a great matchup. |
| 28 | Jordan Howard, PHI @ BUF |
| 29 | Frank Gore, BUF vs. PHI |
| 30 | James White, NE vs. CLE |
| 31 | Jaylen Samuels, Jr., PIT vs. MIA. |
| 32 | Mark Walton, MIA @ PIT. Walton might've leapfrogged Kenyan Drake even before the latter eventually gets traded. The Dolphins' starting RB spot is no better than a FLEX option, but that's better than nothing. Update: Drake isn't traveling. Kalen Ballage could get some carries. |
| 33 | Austin Ekeler, LAC @ CHI. If the Chargers keep lining Ekeler up as a WR as much as they did in Week 7, we're going to have to recalibrate him in our rankings going forward. |
| 35 | Adrian Peterson, WAS @ MIN |
| 36 | Miles Sanders, PHI @ BUF |
| 37 | Ronald Jones, TB @ TEN |
| 38 | Matt Breida, SF vs. CAR. Breida is clearly second fiddle to Tevin Coleman, but at least it looks like the possible concussion that kept him out of some of Sunday's second half won't be an issue going forward. |
| 39 | Duke Johnson Jr., HOU vs. OAK |
| 40 | Damien Williams, KC vs. GB |
| 41 | Devin Singletary, BUF vs. PHI. Frank Gore outcarried the rookie, 11-7, in Singletary's return from a hamstring injury. The veteran also averaged more yards per carry than Singletary. This will continue to be a timeshare where Gore gets slightly more touches. |
| 42 | Nyheim Hines, IND vs. DEN |
| 43 | Tarik Cohen, CHI vs. LAC |
| 44 | Wendell Smallwood, WAS @ MIN |
| 45 | Peyton Barber, TB @ TEN |
| 46 | Alexander Mattison, MIN vs. WAS. This is a fantastic matchup, and Mattison continues to look awesome. It's just tough to speculate and play him on Thursday night in hopes of scraps when you won't really know the injury situations of some of those big name backs yet. |
| 47 | Darrel Williams, KC vs. GB |
| 48 | Darrell Henderson, LAR vs. CIN (in UK) |
| 49 | Dare Ogunbowale, TB @ TEN |
| 50 | Kalen Ballage, MIA @ PIT |
| 51 | Raheem Mostert, SF vs. CAR |
| 52 | Giovani Bernard, CIN vs. LAR (in UK) |
| 53 | Rex Burkhead, NE vs. CLE |
| 54 | Jordan Wilkins, IND vs. DEN |
| 55 | Ty Montgomery, NYJ @ JAX |
| 56 | J.D. McKissic, DET vs. NYG |
| 57 | C.J. Prosise, SEA @ ATL |
| 58 | Rashaad Penny, SEA vs. ATL |
| 59 | Dion Lewis, TEN vs. TB |
| 60 | Dontrell Hilliard, CLE @ NE |
| 61 | Wayne Gallman, NYG @ DET |