The New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers are the only teams on bye in Week 8, so most running backs should be available to play unless you were desperately counting on Frank Gore or Andre Williams to carry your team.
Fantasy football waiver wire: 6 running backs to target for Week 8
Another wave of injuries means more in-demand running backs on the waiver wire. Here are the people you should be targeting.
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Elsewhere, there was an injury plague in Buffalo and backfield shuffles in Jacksonville and St. Louis, making for a new round of intriguing waiver wire talent. Here are six running backs owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues you should be looking at this week.
Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers (35 percent): What you see is what you get with Stewart, and what you get is a serviceable flex starter who won't elevate your fantasy lineup but won't kill it either. Stewart is the unquestioned starter with DeAngelo Williams still out, and he turned 15 touches into 62 total yards against the Green Bay Packers.
Stewart might have done more if the Panthers didn't go down big early and had to abandon the run, but it was acceptable by his standards. He remains a low-ceiling option when Carolina hosts the Seattle Seahawks next week.
Tre Mason, St. Louis Rams (17 percent): The changing of the guard is complete in St. Louis. The former Auburn star handled the majority of work in the Rams' gutty win over the Seahawks, getting 18 touches and running for 85 yards, including his first NFL touchdown.
Mason led the backfield with 26 offensive snaps, while Benny Cunningam handled 17. Zac Stacy, meanwhile, was an afterthought with just one snap and no touches. Mason should be the clear No. 1, but his non-involvement in the passing game means Cunningham still has handcuff value. Stacy is no longer worth owning in 12-team leagues.
Denard Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars (8 percent): Don't look now, but the Jaguars finally found a running game. Robinson got the start against the Cleveland Browns after Storm Johnson's failed audition in Week 6, and responded with 127 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. The former Michigan quarterback seems to be settling in nicely as a running back after entering the NFL without a real position. "Shoelace" has a much tougher matchup with the Miami Dolphins run defense this week, so keep your expectations in check.
Bryce Brown, Buffalo Bills (6 percent): It's next man up in the Bills' backfield after Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller both went down in Week 7. Spiller broke his collarbone and is done for the year, while Jackson is week-to-week with a groin injury.
Brown should be active for the first time in 2014 against the New York Jets. Formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles, he showed some promise filling in for an injured LeSean McCoy, but when McCoy came back Chip Kelly didn't have any real plans for him and shipped him off to Buffalo. He carries RB2 appeal if the Bills give him a majority of the workload.
Anthony Dixon, Buffalo Bills (4 percent): However, Dixon still has to be accounted for in the Bills' backfield. He stepped up against the Minnesota Vikings, recording 66 total yards on 16 touches. The Bills could end up mixing-and-matching the two backs to see what works against the Jets' normally stout run defense. Dixon and Brown are just roster stashes for now until we see how Buffalo will use them.
Stepfan Taylor, Arizona Cardinals (1 percent): Taylor vultured two touchdowns from Andre Ellington against the Oakland Raiders. Ellington later revealed that he did this as a favor to Taylor, who has been handling most of the practice reps while Ellington rests his foot injury. We may have already seen Taylor's best game of the year, but he could keep getting goal line work with Ellington nursing sore ribs. Consider him a speculative add in 16-team leagues.
