The running back position is not fun. We saw another go down last week with Houston Texans running back Arian Foster tearing his Achilles tendon. He will be out for the season to leave his fantasy owners with just three weeks of his stats.
Fantasy football waiver wire: 5 running backs to target in Week 8
Darren McFadden busted out for Week 7. We break down the fantasy implications.
With darkness comes light, though. We see a number of backs who can step up and help fantasy owners. Here they are:
Darren McFadden, Dallas Cowboys (owned in 36 percent of leagues)
He blew up. After a week filled with Christine Michael news, DMC was the guy. He carried the ball 29 times for 152 yards and one touchdown. He added two catches for 10 yards and was getting some serious work on the passing downs in a loss.
You obviously have to pick him up, but McFadden does have a bad schedule. He gets the Seattle Seahawks next week and the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 9.
Alfred Blue, Houston Texans (owned in 17 percent of leagues)
Foster is out for the season with an Achilles tear, so Blue is favored to be the lead back. He was already getting most of the red-zone work. He should be added in most leagues.
Matt Jones, Washington (owned in 48 percent of leagues)
He was supposed to get most of the work at tailback and he did, but it just did not translate to production. Washington running backs ran the ball just 16 times with Jones getting nine of those carries. He also added three receptions for 22 yards.
Washington gets a nice schedule coming with the New England Patriots in Week 8 and the New Orleans Saints in Week 9. Jones should be owned everywhere.
Khiry Robinson, New Orleans Saints (owned in 4 percent of leagues)
The Saints ran the ball a lot on Sunday. Robinson was tied with a team-high 14 carries on Sunday. Robinson turned those carries into just 28 yards to go with his one catch for three yards.
Clearly the Saints do not want to put much pressure on Drew Brees’ shoulder, so there should be more carries going to Robinson. He’s more of a 14-team pickup.
Chris Polk, Houston Texans (owned in 3 percent of leagues)
If Blue doesn’t put up numbers, Chicken and Shrimp should be next in line. Polk was the darling of the preseason, but there has been no indication of the former Eagle getting first-team snaps. Of course, the Texans like to run the ball a lot.
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