Taking a look at the Week 8 touches and targets leaders can go a long way in projecting where fantasy points may come from in the near future. Each week I’ll break down which running backs led the way in touches, including red zone opportunities. Most of the top performers in touches and targets from a week-to-week basis are not only owned in most leagues, but started as well. This will give us a clearer view of where touchdowns may come from. A plus for the DFS players out there. As you’ll see below, Eric Ebron remains a beast inside the red zone, but the return of Jack Doyle hurts his overall outlook. Chris Carson and Marlon Mack work their way back inside the Top 10 for another week, while Phillip Lindsay makes his first appearance. Lindsay has a good shot to get back in should Royce Freeman miss time.
Week 8 Touches Leaders
- Todd Gurley – 31
- James Conner – 29
- Chris Carson – 27
- Marlon Mack – 27
- Adrian Peterson – 27
- Joe Mixon – 24
- Saquon Barkley – 22
- Jordan Howard – 22
- Kareem Hunt – 21
- Phillip Lindsay – 21
Chris Carson, RB – Seattle Seahawks
Chris Carson outperformed his FantasyPros ECR in Week 8 and ended up being a steal in DFS. The matchup and usage was something I discussed in my Week 8 rankings. The matchup was one of the best for running backs (continue to pick on the Lions), but his workload has been pretty consistent of late. Carson has 90 carries for 382 yards and two touchdowns in his last four games. That’s an average of 22.5 carries and 95.5 rushing yards per game. Seattle is running the football more than they are throwing it and the offense has looked more efficient. Russell Wilson is coming off his three best games of the season and the defense has been much better than anticipated. Carson also has five catches in his last four games, and 12 red zone rushing attempts on the season.
Marlon Mack, RB – Indianapolis Colts
Marlon Mack had a career-high 19 carries and 126 rushing yards in Week 7, and he followed it up with an even better showing in Week 8. Mack racked up 132 rushing yards on 25 carries with two rushing touchdowns. That’s 258 rushing yards and three touchdowns in his last two weeks. He has four catches, 50 yards and a receiving touchdown over that span as well. He caught a two-point conversion in the Week 8 win in Oakland, and has creeped inside the Top 10 in red zone rushing attempts. There’s a lot of talk about selling-high on Mack, but I’d hold onto him with the landscape of the running back position. There are not a lot of backs who touch the ball 20 plus times each week and he’s finished inside the Top 10 in touches for back-to-back weeks now. The schedule does get tough after the bye, so owners should definitely see what they could get, but he’s healthy right now and this bye week should help him. The Colts’ back is averaging 5.8 yards per carry on his 66 rushing attempts and has shown great explosiveness. I wouldn’t trade him unless I needed WR help or I was getting a Top 7 running back, which is unlikely to happen unless you package a couple players.
Overall Touches Leaders
- Todd Gurley – 200
- Saquon Barkley – 169
- James Conner – 158
- Ezekiel Elliott – 157
- Kareem Hunt – 154
- David Johnson – 146
- Alvin Kamara – 139
- Christian McCaffrey – 136
- Adrian Peterson – 136
- Carlos Hyde – 126
Week 8 Targets Leaders
- James White – 13
- Mike Evans – 13
- Larry Fitzgerald – 12
- Golden Tate – 12
- Jarvis Landry – 12
- Jordan Reed – 12
- Willie Snead – 11
- Odell Beckham Jr. – 11
- Stefon Diggs – 11
- Marvin Jones – 10
James White, RB – New England Patriots
James White’s 74 targets are the 11th-most in football and he’s turning out to be one of the best values of the season as he was basically free. There’s a chance he was plucked off the waiver wire in smaller standard formats, and he’s even returned value in those settings. White had eight carries and 10 catches for 94 total yards in Week 8. It was the second time he’s caught 10 balls this season and his 55 receptions are three back of Saquon Barkley for the league-high among backs. The biggest takeaway for me last week, was that White scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown. As you’ll see below, Sony Michel still ranks inside the Top 10 in red zone rushing attempts. I thought Kenjon Barner would be a factor Monday night…he wasn’t. It’s an added bonus that those goal line carries will go to White while Michel is out.
Marvin Jones, WR – Detroit Lions
The Golden Tate trade – as discussed more below – does wonders for Marvin Jones. The Lions’ wideout is coming off a monster game last week where he had seven catches on 10 targets for 117 yards. He found the end zone twice and has five touchdowns on the season. Jones leads Detroit in air yards and 10 red zone targets. He’s a sure-bet WR2 the rest of the way and I actually like him more than Kenny Gollady who gets a boost with the Tate trade as well.
Overall Targets Leaders
- Adam Thielen – 96
- Jarvis Landry – 94
- Odell Beckham Jr. – 91
- Stefon Diggs – 85
- Zach Ertz – 84
- Julio Jones – 81
- Antonio Brown – 80
- Davante Adams – 78
- DeAndre Hopkins – 78
- A.J. Green – 76
Zach Ertz, TE – Philadelphia Eagles
The addition of Golden Tate to the Philadelphia Eagles, could hurt Zach Ertz a bit, but he’s still the number one tight end for me in football. He’ll remain the number one option for Carson Wentz and he’ll continue to be the number one option inside the red zone as well. Ertz is coming off his first game where he had fewer than nine targets and five catches, but he found the end zone in what was a tough matchup against Jacksonville. Overall, the trade probably hurts Golden Tate more than it hurts Ertz. He’ll likely be the third option in the passing game behind Ertz and Alshon Jeffery. Nelson Agholor’s stock takes a massive hit as Tate will run his routes out of the slot. Agholor can be dropped in 10 and 12-team leagues. Tate will make his Eagles debut in Week 10 and has 68 targets on the season. He’s had three games with double-digit targets on the Lions, and that’s something I don’t think we will see a lot of in Philly. The offense should be better, though which is a plus for everyone. Honestly, the BIGGEST winner here may be Carson Wentz.
Overall Red Zone Rushing Attempts
- Todd Gurley – 47
- Alvin Kamara – 28
- James Conner – 21
- Sony Michel – 21
- Adrian Peterson – 21
- Kareem Hunt – 20
- Lamar Miller – 19
- Jordan Howard – 17
- Carlos Hyde – 17
- Marlon Mack – 16
Lamar Miller, RB – Houston Texans
Lamar Miller has put together two solid weeks now and has a prime matchup in Week 9 against the Denver Broncos. Owners have to decide if they want to hold onto Miller or sell him now while his value is at an all-time high. Miller hadn’t hit the century yard mark on the ground since December 2017, now he has two straight games with at least 100 rushing yards. He had 133 yards on 18 carries last week and 100 on 22 attempts the week before. Miller also found the end zone in both games. The Broncos are allowing 135.8 rushing yards per game (sixth-most) and 5.1 yards per carry (second-most). If I were a Miller owner, I would see what I could get for him, because if he fails to have a great game this week, nobody will want him as he’ll be on bye in Week 10. I have no problem holding onto him if you are thin at RB. It’s also a plus to see him creep inside the Top 10 in red zone rushing attempts. D’Onta Foreman remains without a timetable for his return, and shouldn’t take much of his red zone work away when he returns.
Overall Red Zone Targets
- Alvin Kamara – 18
- JuJu Smith-Schuster – 17
- Davante Adams – 15
- Eric Ebron – 15
- Jarvis Landry – 15
- Zach Ertz – 14
- A.J. Green – 14
- DeAndre Hopkins – 14
- Michael Thomas – 14
- Odell Beckham Jr. – 13
Eric Ebron, TE – Indianapolis Colts
Eric Ebron scored his seventh touchdown of the season last week, which is very impressive considering he’s only play eight games. All is not good, though, as he only had three catches and 31 yards. His yards were the second-lowest total of the season and his three targets were the lowest he’s had all year. Jack Doyle returned last week, which is not good for Ebron’s outlook.
With Jack Doyle (hip) back in the lineup in Week 8, Eric Ebron saw his snaps cut to 18% vs. OAK. Doyle at 75%.
In three games where Doyle has played this year, Ebron’s snap rates are 45% (Week 1), 26% (W2), 18% (W8). Doyle out-targeting Ebron 22 to 11.
— Graham Barfield (@GrahamBarfield) October 29, 2018
Ebron will be very touchdown dependent from here on out, and I would much rather have Doyle than him going forward. With that said, Ebron should be held onto in deeper formats as there really isn’t a lot to offer from the tight end position.
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