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There’s a number of sweet running back match-ups set to go on the gridiron in NFL Week 8, but which of the pigskin toters not only look great from a fantasy football perspective, but also carry value in terms of their salary asked? The following is what the running back position looks like over at Draft$treet heading into Sunday’s slate.
Before we dig into the data, I’d like to take a moment to bring to your attention the action scheduled to go at DraftStreet this weekend. Up first on the menu is the Week 8 $500 Freeroll. For those of you new to DS, it offers up an excellent opportunity for you to familiarize yourself with the platform; CLICK HERE to take advantage of a 25% Deposit Bonus on your initial sign-up.
Up next on the menu are the $22 and $109 Draft$treet Football Championship Qualifiers
as well as the 12K and 6K Double-Up Contests.
% OF CAP = Percentage of Salary Cap Player Eats at DraftStreet
% > < AVG $$$ = % Above or Below DFS Median Salary
Green = Good Spot/Value
Red = Bad Spot/No Value
Though Jamal Charles will seemingly return from his bye refreshed and ready to go against a division rival, I don’t like his match-up against a Raiders team that’s surrendered just two touchdowns and a grand total of 18 fantasy points their last two games. Now granted, MJD went down early in last week’s match-up, but Oakland looks to have shored up its rush “D” since their bye. Above all else though, Charles is the most expensive RB at DS in Week 8 and offers up no value whatsoever.
If you’ve tuned into either ESPN or the NFL Network this week, you know that Philadelphia has been fantastic coming out of the bye with Andy Reid as head coach – like 13-0 good! Season-long LeSean McCoy owners are in the same boat as Run DMC owners to date, but “Shady” could have himself a breakout game provided Reid gives him the rock. That’s because Atlanta has surrendered an average of 18.3 Fantasy Points Per Game to opposing RBs, and has allowed them to rattle off a healthy 5.2 Yards Per Carry. Though McCoy will eat up 13.6% of your 100,000 bankroll, his $13,417 salary is just 25.5% above the DS median salary; hence he’s also a solid value play!
A value play I absolutely love on Sunday is Alex Green. While the Packers RB hasn’t done much to impress combining for just 22 overall fantasy points the L/3 weeks, the value with him resides in the fact that I believe the Packers will get up big against the Jaguars and milk the rest of the game away. The cherry on top is that Jacksonville is giving up 23.0 FPPG to RBs on the year. It’s all about volume with this selection, and the fact that he costs 35.3% less than the $10,000 median salary means he can give you RB1 production at a RB2/FLEX price. Install him into your Week 8 line-up – you won’t come away disappointed!
While the New Orleans/Denver match-up is sure to compile a hefty amount of fantast points with Brees battling Peyton, don’t overlook the spot Willis McGahee finds himself in. Heading into the Broncos Week 7 bye, the former Miami Hurricane had rattled off three straight double-digit fantasy point tallies, and he now gets to power his way through a wretched Saints defense. New Orleans has allowed a hefty 161 YPG (#31) on 4.9 YPC (#29) and has served up an average of 24.7 FPPG to opposing RBs on the year. With the match-up that sweet on paper, it only makes the Broncos primary ball carrier all the more sweeter knowing his salary is just 22.2% higher than the median asking price of $10,000.
My final value picks for Week 8 at DraftStreet come of the two-headed variety. Both the Cowboys and Colts face below average run defenses in the forms of the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans respectively; both rank in the bottom third of the league giving up at least 125 YPG on the ground to date. That in and of itself makes it difficult not to install the quadrant of Felix Jones (-26.4%), Phillip Tanner (-113.8%), Donald Brown (-87.5%), or Vick Ballard (-19.0%) into one if not two of your FLEX spots this week. The only problem there is it’s still not known which back will receive the bulk of the carries. However, if you’ve loaded up everywhere else and only have a small chunk of change to fill a spot or two, make it a point to remember about these guys.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of these value pieces, hit me up in the comments section. I’m jonesing for some good natured banter!
