• Kimani Vidal is taking full advantage of his opportunities:  In two of his three starts with the Los Angeles Chargers this season, Vidal has scored 22.8 and 19.7 fantasy points while putting up over 125 yards and scoring a touchdown in both of those games. He saw a career-high 23 carries last weekend. 
• J.K. Dobbins‘ fantasy managers don’t need to fret over R.J. Harvey: In a great matchup in Week 8 against the Dallas Cowboys, R.J. Harvey, not Dobbins, had a big fantasy performance while stealing all three backfield touchdowns. However, Harvey’s playing time and touches have remained minimal, and Dobbins is still very much in control of the team’s red zone work. 
• Unlock your edge with PFF+: Access Premium Stats, dominate fantasy with in-season tools and projections and make smarter bets with the new PFF Player Prop Tool.

Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Below are the top running back takeaways from Week 8 that could have a significant impact on fantasy points in Week 9 and beyond.

Kimani Vidal is getting workhorse volume in Los Angeles Chargers‘ backfield 

Kimani Vidal has impressed after taking over the lead role in the Los Angeles Chargers backfield in Week 6 with both Omarion Hampton (on short-term injured reserve) and Najee Harris (out for the season) injured. In two of his three starts this season, Vidal has scored 22.8 and 19.7 fantasy points while putting up over 125 yards and scoring a touchdown in both of those games. His only disappointing game as a starter came in Week 7 in a blowout loss against the Indianapolis Colts, where he saw just nine carries in the game. 

Last week, Vidal notched career-highs in both playing time (74% of snaps) and carries (23). He has not disappointed as the Chargers’ lead back, averaging over 5.2 yards per carry as their starter this season. His usage should continue to remain high as long as Omarion Hampton is on the sidelines and he gets a very juicy matchup this weekend against the Tennessee Titans, who have allowed the most touchdowns and third-most fantasy points per game to the running back position this season. 

Upcoming matchups: at Titans, vs. Steelers, at Jaguars

Tyrone Tracy Jr. will get the starting gig back after the devastating Cam Skattebo injury 

With Cam Skattebo sadly going down for the season due to a dislocated ankle, Tyrone Tracy Jr. will now be the lead back for the New York Giants moving forward after losing his starting job to Skattebo earlier in the year. Last season as a rookie, Tracy averaged 13.1 fantasy points per game in 12 starts. In the eight games, he had at least 15 touches, and his average jumped up to 15 points per game. Not only will Tracy’s volume on the ground increase, but he should also be on the field for many passing downs and see a great deal of targets moving forward. Skattebo ranks second on the Giants in receptions this season, behind only Wan’Dale Robinson. Tracy, a former collegiate wide receiver, has the receiving chops to take over that role. Tracy has a couple of favorable upcoming matchups against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 9, who have allowed the third most receptions to running backs in 2025, and then the Chicago Bears in Week 10, who have allowed the tenth most points per game to RBs this year. 

Upcoming matchups: vs. 49ers, at Bears, vs. Packers

R.J. Harvey stole three touchdowns from J.K. Dobbins, but his snaps remain limited

Denver Broncos second-round rookie running back, R.J. Harvey, had a career fantasy day in Week 8 with 24.1 points, on the back of three touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving, against the terrible Dallas Cowboys defense. However, he still only played on 26% of the Broncos’ offensive snaps and saw just eight touches in Week 8. Harvey has seen the field for fewer than 30% of the team’s snaps in each of the last four games and has had double-digit touches in just one game all year (in a blowout win against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4). In contrast, his backfield teammate J.K. Dobbins has consistently played the majority of team snaps each week and has had 14-plus touches in all but one game this season. 

It is frustrating for Dobbins’ fantasy managers that he has not found the end zone over the last three games, after scoring four touchdowns in the first five games of the season, but you should not be worried that he has lost his goal-line job to Harvey. Dobbins massively outsnapped Harvey in the red zone in Week 8 and had two goal-line carries to Harvey’s one. Harvey’s lone goal-line carry came on an unconventional wildcat play, zx the snap went directly to him on third-and-1. Harvey’s other rushing touchdown was from 40 yards out. 

Dobbins is still the fantasy back to start in the Broncos backfield, and Harvey should not be trusted in lineups until his usage increases. 

Upcoming matchups: at Texans, vs. Raiders, vs. Chiefs

In the Tennessee Titans‘ last game, Tyjae Spears saw a season-high 12 touches and scored 17.2 fantasy points while leading the backfield with 52% playing time. Tony Pollard was still very involved in the offense in Week 8. He was on the field for 46.5% of Tennessee’s offensive plays and also got 12 touches. However, it was the first time this season that Pollard did not out-touch Spears in a game. Plus, the team gave Spears the one goal-line carry in the game, which he successfully converted into a three-yard touchdown. 

This is a trend to keep a close eye on, as Spears was injured at the start of the season and has slowly been earning more playing time and a larger workload. Pollard has been inefficient this year, averaging just 3.9 yards per carry, while Spears has found success, averaging 5.5 yards on the ground. Spears offers the Titans offense a much-needed spark and burst that they are struggling to find from their other weapons. Although there is risk involved, Spears is a viable RB2 or flex play this weekend against the Chargers …  but Pollard should not be in starting fantasy lineups moving forward. 

Upcoming matchups: vs. Chargers, bye, vs. Texans, vs. Seahawks

Last week, in a big offensive performance against the New York Jets, Chase Brown and Samaje Perine split backfield snaps and touches. Brown played on 54% of the Bengals‘ offensive snaps with 15 touches for 105 yards and two touchdowns (25.5 fantasy points), while Perine was on the field for 42% of the snaps with 10 touches, 100 yards and a rushing touchdown (17 fantasy points). Chase led the team with 12 carries, but Perine led with 94 rushing yards on nine carries. Perine played on 100% of the team’s third-down snaps in Week 8, while Brown was the more heavily utilized back in the red zone and saw the only backfield goal-line carry in the game. 

Brown has come alive lately with Joe Flacco slinging the ball for the Bengals. He has 100 and 105 scrimmage yards in the two games while averaging 7.9 yards on the ground during that span, after he averaged just 50.7 scrimmage yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry from Weeks 1-6. Brown gets a nice matchup in Week 9 against the Chicago Bears, who have allowed the 10th-most points per game to running backs in 2025. Brown is a great fantasy start moving forward as long as Flacco does not miss time with a recently reported shoulder injury, and Perine is a viable flex play in full PPR leagues with his high volume on third down. 

Upcoming matchups: vs. Bears, bye, at Steelers, vs. Patriots