David Stowe 
Bye weeks are here ladies and gentlemen! Week 8 is upon us and we have loads of content coming out over the next few days to help you take down your GPP’s and cash in your 50/50’s and Double-Ups. Be sure to hop in discord to get all of the updated information leading up to the first kick. When you have time, be sure to check out Stix’s GPP Play article, as he will provide his own insights on some of the plays below and will likely have some guys that I didn’t even consider. I will not waste a ton of your time here as I know what you are here for so enjoy the WDS: Week 8 NFL Running Back DFS Breakdown 10.31
***Note to all new players: Any players that may list in cash are viable options for GPP play. Just understand that Cash plays are likely to have higher ownership.***
Derrick Henry gets his own spot at the top every week because he is in a class all his own. He will always carry ownership but he has a week in, week out ceiling that is unrivaled in fantasy football. If you can fit him and want to play him I will not talk you off of it. Henry is under 10% this week so he is extremely viable in GPP’s. All Hail the King!
GPP:
Najee Harris, $7,500DK/$9,000FD: 8-10%
As of Friday the following Browns defensive players are out or limited and could be out: Richard LeCounte III (safety), Denzel Ward, (cornerback), Jadeveon Clowney (defensive end), A.J. Green (cornerback), Malik Jackson (defensive tackle), Takkarist McKinley (defensive end). Because of that, the little red 4 next to Najee’s name on DraftKings causes me zero concern. Ignoring that Broncos game where Fangio decided to run his backs a total of 12 times even then Javonte Williams caught 6 passes for 32 yards and a TD) the Browns have been shredded by opposing running backs. Austin Ekeler had 5 catches, 119 total yards and 3 TD’s and the combination of James Connor and Chase Edmonds had 20 for 117 yards and caught 4 of 5 targets. Najee Harris is the league leader in offensive snaps per game for RB’s (57.2), Targets per game (7.7), second in catches (34), and third in FPPG (20.2). The depleted Browns defense is a spot that I am looking to target in some of my GPP builds as his 8% projected ownership is far too low for the floor/ceiling combination that he provides.
Damien Harris, $6,100DK/$6,900FD: 5%
I know I know, we do not typically recommend “non pass catching” running backs outside of King Henry on DraftKings but the only reason Damien didn’t continue his dominating performance (14 carries for 106 yards and two TD’s and two catches for seven yards) is because the Patriots beat the Jets so badly he barely saw the field in the second quarter. It is unlikely that this week will be a repeat and the Charger have the worst group of interior run stoppers in the NFL and it isn’t particularly close. In a game with a projected 51.4 total and a relatively close 4.5 point spread Harris should be in line for a workload north of 20 touches. That being said, this is still a Bill Belichick run offense and we all know that he hates your fantasy team so use discretion. Nothing worse than going all in on a player that can be limited due to coaching decisions.
Nick Chubb, $6,800DK/$8,000FD: 3-5%
I really do not believe that this ownership data is correct here. If Nick Chubb is under 8% Sunday with no Kareem Hunt it is officially time to call him the most disrespected player in fantasy sports. Yes, I know it is the Steelers, no I do not care. He is healthy and he should get the lion’s share of the work on that offense without multiple weapons on the Browns right now. He is still one of the premier talents in the NFL at running back and is averaging almost six yards per carry.
Also Consider: Eli Mitchell, Alvin Kamara, Antonio Gibson
WDS: Week 8 NFL Running Back DFS Breakdown 10.31
Cash:
Darrell Henderson Jr. ($6,500 DK / $7,700 FD)
I know that last week we found ourselves in a bit of a letdown spot where the Lions played with reckless abandon last week and actually took the lead in the first have and kept the ball out of the hands of the Ram’s for almost the entire first quarter despite being almost 20 point dogs. But in DFS you have to keep a short memory when it comes to outliers. Henderson finds himself in another fantastic spot as the Rams are 16.5 point favorites against a Texans team who is at the bottom of the league in run defense despite changing to a 4-3 under defensive coordinator Lovie Smith. Hendo is also sitting as the highest projected owned running back at anywhere between 20-25% and probably closer to 35%+ in cash contests if I were to read the tea leaves a little. Fading any player at that ownership is a dangerous proposition when you are building cash lineups.
D’Andre Swift ($7,100 DK / $7,900 FD)
Swift is far too cheap for a game-script proof running back and it looks like everyone agrees as he is projected as our 2nd highest rostered running back on the slate. Nobody in the league has caught more passes out of the backfield and Jared Goff’s inability to get beyond two reads has been a huge benefit to his receiving value. The Lions have been forced to design short passing routes out of the backfield specifically for Swift due to their limitations at quarterback and we saw them lean into this last week against the Rams where he saw 10 targets and saw his best yards per catch number (12 YPC) on the year. Another thing I love is that over the last few weeks is his carry numbers have been very steady at 13 carries over the last two and double digits in all three. He is popular but he is safe, and safe is what we want for cash games.
James Robinson, $6,600DK/$8,200FD :
It took a couple of weeks but the coaching staff for the Jags realized that their offense should start with the running game and build outward. Since week three when they figured that out, James Robinson has scored no less that 19.1 fantasy points on DraftKings and there is no reason that should change against a helpless Seahawks team who struggles defensively on the best of days and is now getting no time to rest with Geno Smith at the helm. Volume+skill+good matchup=Fantasy Gold.
Also Consider: Kenneth Gainwell, Chuba Hubbard
It is time folks and I wish you all great success in in 2021 and beyond and our WDS: Week 8 NFL Running Back DFS Breakdown 10.31. helps you towards your goals. It is time to start digging into DFS and make sure that we have our processes in place for a successful 2021 NFL campaign. If you have any questions about the Running Back DFS Breakdown, I will be available in the WinDaily Discord chat. Don’t forget to subscribe to the WinDaily Youtube channel and follow me @stoweby and @WinDailySports on Twitter to stay current and up to date on all of our fresh new content!
