As far back as January, there have been questions about the quality of the 2026 running back class. The two exceptions were supposed to be Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, but injuries and time-shares have kept them from fully showing their talents in the NFL. In Week 8, a couple of different rookie running backs took over their backfields and this seems like a good time to talk about what we can expect from them moving forward.
Jonah Coleman and Mike Washington both dominated the touches in Week 8, with different results. Coleman turned 15 touches into 16.4 PPR points while Washington's 25 touches produced just 8.3 points. There were two big differences: Efficiency and targets. Washington continued the trend of inefficiency from the lead back in Las Vegas, and averaged 3.3 yards per carry. He also had zero targets. Coleman caught four passes in Week 8, which is one more catch than Washington has all season.
I don't think it is far-fetched to say that Washington could be a better rusher than Coleman, but the environment in Denver is so much better than the environment in Las Vegas. And the fact that Ashton Jeanty is still handling passing downs nukes Washington's PPR upside, while Coleman's backfield mate J.K. Dobbins is really only a threat on early downs. For that reason, Coleman is inside my top 20 running backs this week and may be for the rest of the season. In full PPR, I would still start Jeanty over Washington and really only want to flex Washington in non-PPR leagues.
It's not just the quantity of touches a running back gets, but also the quality. And right now, Coleman is in the best situation of all the rookie running backs.
Now let's get to the rest of the Week 8 RB preview:
Week 9 RB Preview Numbers to Know Waiver Wire Targets DFS Plays Projections RB Preview Numbers to know- 70.4% -- Tony Pollard has 70.4% of the Titans' team rush attempts. Only Jahmyr Gibbs and Kenneth Walker have a higher share.
- 60 -- Derrick Henry has 60 or fewer yards from scrimmage in three straight games.
- 13.3% -- Jonah Coleman's 13.3% explosive rush rate ranks second amongst backs with at least 20 carries.
- 46.7% -- Nearly half of Blake Corum's rushes have gone for five or more yards, which leads all qualified running backs.
- 2 -- Kenneth Walker is one of two running backs with at least 12 carries inside the five-yard line. His two touchdowns rank dead last, four behind the next lowest back.
- 175 -- Ashton Jeanty still ranks third amongst running backs with 175 routes run. This week's game script looks better for him than last week's, even if the matchup is more difficult.
- 2 -- Josh Jacobs has two end zone targets in two weeks. No other running back has more than two all season.
- 19 -- No Vikings running back played more than 19 snaps in Week 8. This looks like a mess.
Tyler Allgeier RB ARI Arizona • #22
Age: 26 • Experience: 5 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ SEA SEA -10.5 O/U 42 OPP VS RB 19th RB RNK 24th ROSTERED 47% YTD Stats RUYDS 323 REC 21 REYDS 128 TD 3 FPTS/G 10.5 Jeremiyah Love is on IR with another ankle injury. Zonovan Knight left Week 8 with a head injury. That leaves Tyler Allegeier in line for the vast majority of snaps in Week 9. It is unfortunate that the Cardinals face Seattle, but Allgeier's five targets from last week give some reason for optimism. Allgeier could be a one-week replacement because Knight was earning more touches before he got hurt. 
Mike Washington Jr. RB LV Las Vegas • #4
Age: 23 • Experience: Rookie Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ SF SF -10 O/U 51.5 OPP VS RB 21st RB RNK 33rd ROSTERED 64% YTD Stats RUYDS 278 REC 3 REYDS 11 TD 1 FPTS/G 4.8 I really do want to be more optimistic about Washington, and in on-PPR, you should be too. But he has three catches all season and despite earning 25 carries last week, he wasn't used in the passing game at all. The Raiders run blocking is bad, their matchup is bad, and the game script is bad for rush attempts. Washington is a must-add, but he's a low-end flex in full PPR this week. If he can hold on to this role, the matchups in the Fantasy playoffs are fantastic. Stashes (RB Preview) 
Seth McGowan RB IND Indianapolis • #20
Age: 25 • Experience: Rookie Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ JAC JAC -7.5 O/U 46.5 OPP VS RB 2nd RB RNK NR ROSTERED 15% YTD Stats RUYDS 134 REC 4 REYDS 12 TD 0 FPTS/G 2.7 It may turn out to be more smoke than fire, but there is an increasing amount of smoke around a potential Jonathan Taylor trade. If Taylor is dealt, McGowan could be a workhorse back. He's been just about as efficient a rusher as Taylor this season, but doesn't possess nearly as much upside. If you have the luxury of adding a running back stash, McGowan is my favorite. RB Preview DFS Plays Top DFS Play Projections powered by Sportsline 
Jonah Coleman RB DEN Denver • #20
Age: 23 • Experience: Rookie Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ CAR DEN -3 O/U 43.5 OPP VS RB 31st PROJ PTS 12.7 RB RNK 16th YTD Stats RUYDS 134 REC 9 REYDS 97 TD 2 FPTS/G 11 Coleman's price simply cannot move fast enough, he was always going to be a value this week. What makes him a must-play is a matchup against Carolina, who gives up more than five yards per carry to opposing running backs. Eat the chalk with Coleman this week and find somewhere else to be contrarian. Contrarian DFS Play Projections powered by Sportsline 
Saquon Barkley RB PHI Philadelphia • #26
Age: 29 • Experience: 9 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs NYG NYG -3.5 O/U 40 OPP VS RB 11th PROJ PTS 13.8 RB RNK 20th YTD Stats RUYDS 274 REC 7 REYDS 41 TD 2 FPTS/G 8.5 Barkley's inefficiency was bad last week but he has mostly run very well this season. This week brings a great matchup with the Giants and I would expect the Eagles to try to win this one with their defense and run game. They just may be able to do that. Still, Barkley is overpriced and the Eagles offense is bad, so I expect his roster rate to be low. RB Preview Heath's Projections My full set of Week 9 Fantasy football projections for every position is now available here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 9. Projected stats for all starting running backs will be updated throughout the week, so check back regularly.
