NFL Week 8 Fantasy RB’s POV: Start  Kamara, Elliott; Sit Bernard

Statistically, the gap in fantasy football points (FFP) between No. 1 running back Alvin Kamara and No. 2 Ezekiel Elliott is too wide to close before the playoffs.  Kamara has 170.4 FFP and Elliott has 129.8 points.  So maybe the goal of your RB1 is to catch Elliott?

Plenty of players are upping their game behind Elliott.  Derrick Henry of Tennessee has 126.4 points and Jacksonville’s James Robinson has 133.6 points, but won’t play because week 8 is the Jaguars’ “Bye” week.  He’ll probably slip below Kamara, Elliott and Henry and possibly Green Bay’s Aaron Jones after week 8’s games are played.

This articles does not include  another talented group of running backs that  are faithfully generating at least 16.5 FFP per game.

Surefire Starters

• Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints running back, has 824 total yards (364 rushing and 460 receiving).  He has rushed for 4 touchdowns and caught 3 touchdown passes.  ( 29.5 FFP per game average.  Expect a 20+ point performance against the Bears late Sunday afternoon.
• Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys running back, needs a bounce-back game against division-opponent Philadelphia Sunday night to stay in the race for 1st place in the NFC East.
• Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans running back, leads all running backs with 663 yards rushing.  Only Todd Gurley II of Atlanta has more rushing touchdowns with 8.  (Henry has rushed for 7 touchdowns.0  Expect at least 2 touchdowns from Henry as the Titans face the Bengals early Sunday afternoon.

Riding the Bench

Note:  These running backs have week 8 ”Byes”.

• Kenyan Drake, Arizona Cardinals running back
• David Johnson, Houston Texans running back
• James Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars running back
• Antonio Gibson, Washington Football Team  running back

Underrated

• Kareem Hunt, Cleveland Browns running back, has been productive either running the ball (3 touchdowns) or catching passes (4 touchdowns).   He and the Browns face a Vegas rush defense that yields just under 5 yards per carry.

Overrated

• Giovanni Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals running back, has been playing while starter Joe Mixon recovers from a foot injury.  In the last two games, Bernard has carried the ball 21 times and gained only 52 yards.

Sleeper RB of the Week

• Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers running back, is considered a “Sleeper” this week because a calf injury may keep him out of week 8’s game against division-rival Minnesota.  When Jones is healthy, he is a Tier 1 running back.