Seven weeks down. As the season wears on, the pickins’ get slimmer on the waiver wire. But fantasy owners are in luck because Week 7 produced a bevy of running backs fantasy owners should target for Week 8.
WATCH:
Darren McFadden, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Sunday’s game against the New York Giants was supposed to be Dallas Cowboys running back Christine Michael’s breakout party yet he disappointed with five carries for 18 yards and a single catch for two yards. What’s worse is that Michael had opportunities with starting back Joseph Randle sidelined with an oblique injury. But it was fellow back Darren McFadden who made the most of Randle’s absence. McFadden rushed 29 times for a whopping 152 yards and a touchdown. There’s definitely some fluidity at the running back position in Dallas, but the team is decimated at quarterback and receiver so fantasy owners have to take note.
Alfred Blue, RB, Houston Texans
It’s tough to see a great football player (or any player) get injured but Texans’ running back Arian Foster tore his Achilles tendon Sunday. He is done for the season. Houston and fantasy owners will have a tough time replacing Foster but the next man up is running back Alfred Blue. Blue wasn’t particularly impressive in Foster’s absence earlier this year, scoring just once in three games. He’ll likely split carries with fellow back Chris Polk but he is first in line to receive Foster’s touches.
Khiry Robinson, RB, New Orleans Saints
More of a boom-or-bust, matchup-based, flex start than a viable every-week running back, Khiry Robinson has the opportunity to get a red zone carry for six points on any given week. Last week, he had two against the Colts, he had another in Week 4 against Dallas. Don’t expect much production out of Robinson beyond goal-line carries though. He’s averaging seven carries a game at 3.4 yards per carry.
Ryan Mathews, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles running back Ryan Mathews is making the most of the few carries he’s getting behind DeMarco Murray. In Sunday night’s game against Carolina, Mathews . Murray meanwhile was limited to 65 yards on 18 carries. It’s not the first time Mathews has outperformed Murray. The former San Diego Charger has three rushing touchdowns on the season and 6.1 yards per carry. Murray has the same number of touchdowns and is rushing for 3.5 per carry. Mathews is absolutely worth a stash at this point.
Eric Ebron, TE, Detroit Lions
There’s a glimmer of hope in Detroit right now with the Lions firing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi (more on that later), but one guy I liked before the Lions made this move is tight end Eric Ebron. Ebron has missed two of the Lions seven games but despite that he is fourth on the team in receiving yards with 268 yards. Ebron is also tied for the most touchdowns on the team with with three. On a week where Charles Clay, Julius Thomas, Zach Ertz and Jordan Reed are all on byes, Ebron may make a good plug and play option against a weak Chiefs’ pass defense. He may be worth even more after Week 8.
Redux
Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings
If you’re not a believer in Stefon Diggs, time is running out. Diggs did two great things this week. First, he got the nod for the start ahead of fellow wideout Charles Johnson. Secondly, secured his position as a starter with six catches for 108 yards and Sunday against Detroit. As long as defenses focus their attention on running back Adrian Peterson (which they will continue to do), Diggs should be able to produce at a reasonable rate.
Deep Targets
Orleans Darkwa, RB, New York Giants
As if the running back situation in New York needed to be any more complicated, the Giants added a fourth name into the mix Sunday in Orleans Darkwa out of Tulane. Darkwa led the team in carries with 8 attempts for 48 yards. Only Shane Vereen out-produced him with 56 yards on four carries. It’s a dicey situation for fantasy owners to be sure but I like Darkwa as a stash. Right now, the Giants two primary rushing backs Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams are putting up 3.7 yards per carry on 71 carries (for Jennings) and 2.9 yards per carry on 49 carries (for Williams). That’s not going to cut it for a team that’s 4-3 and first place in the NFC East. I think we saw Darkwa’s name called on Sunday because the Giants are looking for a solution at running back. With so many issues at the running back position in fantasy, however, Darkwa is well worth a flier.
Pick 6:
Detroit players
So big changes are coming for the Detroit Lions. Monday, the Lions announced they fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive line coaches Jeremiah Washburn and Terry Heffernan. The team’s new coordinator Jim Bob Cooter (lol) has the unenviable task of trying to trying to re-shape the Lions’ offense as they travel to London to face Kansas City. Afterward, they have a bye week. I’m not saying that good ol’ Jim Bob will be able to pull off what Dan Campbell’s done for Miami, but it’s hard to imagine a changing of the guard won’t benefit the Lions a little bit. It would be hard for them to be worse than they are. Bottom line, be on the lookout for some of those Lions players, fantasy owners may have given up on (or never given a chance to). I’m talking about guys like receiver Golden Tate, running backs Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick. Who knows? They may be hot waiver targets in the future.
Quiz:
Hugh Johnson: 303-954-1037, hjohnson@denverpost.com or @HughJohnsonDP
