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At long last, the reality equaled the promise.
LeSean McCoy entered the season regarded as the best back not named Bell, Johnson, or Elliott. With the Buffalo Bills’ offense relying almost exclusively on their premier pass-catching running back, it was assumed McCoy would get upwards of 30 touches per game and turn those opportunities into bushels of fantasy points.
Through six weeks, it wasn’t exactly happening that way. After a big opening week, Shady had been pretty ordinary, failing to find the end zone in any of the Bills’ first five games before a Week 6 bye and failing to top 76 yards after his Week 1 explosion. McCoy scored fantasy points, but not enough to earn his place among the elite.
Then the Buccaneers came to town last Sunday, and suddenly McCoy was the Real McCoy. For the first time this season, McCoy hit the 30-touch mark (23 carries, seven targets). He found the end zone not once, but twice. He finished with a season-high 27 fantasy points.
And for that long-overdue performance — and with the defensively-challenged Raiders coming to Buffalo this weekend — McCoy is SB Nation’s top pick for running backs in PPR leagues.
The Raiders rank 25th out of 32 teams in DVOA against pass-catching backs, and are among the worst teams in the NFL defending both the run and the pass. That makes McCoy an ideal play when so heavily involved in both the running and passing games.
Le’Veon Bell, who posted another of his trademark massive totals last week against Cincinnati, is our No. 2 PPR RB, while Atlanta’s Devontae Freeman, Kansas City’s Kareem Hunt and the Chargers’ Melvin Gordon round out our top five.
Two other backs near our top 10 need serious consideration this week, considering their matchups. Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon gets to face Indianapolis, the worst defense at stopping pass-catching backs, while Chris Thompson, who gets it done week after week, draws the 30th ranked Dallas defense against pass-catching backs.
Running back (PPR) rankings, Week 8
(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG: Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; KB: Kyle Bennett; JM: Jason Marcum)
RB PPR rankings, Week 8
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp | SK | JG | DG | KB | JM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp | SK | JG | DG | KB | JM |
| 1 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | vs. OAK | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Le'Veon Bell | PIT | @ DET | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | @ WAS | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | @ NYJ | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Kareem Hunt | KC | vs. DEN | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | Melvin Gordon | LAC | @ NE | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | Mark Ingram | NO | vs. CHI | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 8 | Jay Ajayi | MIA | @ BAL | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 10 | Carlos Hyde | SF | @ PHI | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 11 | Doug Martin | TB | vs. CAR | 16 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Chris Thompson | WAS | vs. DAL | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | Joe Mixon | CIN | vs. IND | 15 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 14 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | @ KC | 19 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 |
| 15 | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | vs. CLE | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | Lamar Miller | HOU | @ SEA | 18 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 13 |
| 17 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | @ TB | 9 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 19 |
| 17 | Jordan Howard | CHI | @ NO | 10 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 17 |
| 19 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | @ NYJ | 22 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
| 20 | Alvin Kamara | NO | vs. CHI | 8 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 21 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | vs. PIT | 23 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 |
| 22 | James White | NE | vs. LAC | 20 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 21 |
| 23 | Latavius Murray | MIN | vs. CLE | 33 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 20 |
| 24 | Jalen Richard | OAK | @ BUF | 24 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 25 |
| 24 | Buck Allen | BAL | vs. MIA | 21 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 28 |
| 26 | Duke Johnson Jr. | CLE | vs. MIN | 17 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 31 |
| 27 | Wendell Smallwood | PHI | vs. SF | 34 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 23 |
| 28 | Matt Forte | NYJ | vs. ATL | 28 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 26 |
| 29 | Bilal Powell | NYJ | vs. ATL | 25 | 31 | 34 | 36 | 24 |
| 30 | Tarik Cohen | CHI | @ NO | 31 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| 31 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | @ TB | 42 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 |
| 32 | Dion Lewis | NE | vs. LAC | 29 | 33 | 33 | 31 | 32 |
| 33 | Alex Collins | BAL | vs. MIA | 39 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 33 |
| 34 | Robert Kelley | WAS | vs. DAL | 37 | 32 | 31 | 32 | 34 |
| 35 | Theo Riddick | DET | vs. PIT | 26 | 38 | 32 | 33 | 40 |
| 36 | LeGarrette Blount | PHI | vs. SF | 27 | 36 | 36 | 34 | 36 |
| 37 | DeAndre Washington | OAK | @ BUF | 30 | 34 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| 38 | Frank Gore | IND | @ CIN | 35 | 37 | 39 | 39 | 29 |
| 39 | Thomas Rawls | SEA | vs. HOU | 41 | 35 | 37 | 37 | 37 |
| 40 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | vs. MIN | 36 | 40 | 38 | 38 | 38 |
| 41 | Marlon Mack | IND | @ CIN | 32 | 42 | 42 | 40 | 41 |
| 41 | Jamaal Charles | DEN | @ KC | 44 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 39 |
| 43 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | vs. IND | 38 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 44 |
| 44 | D'Onta Foreman | HOU | @ SEA | 50 | 41 | 41 | 42 | 42 |
| 45 | Eddie Lacy | SEA | vs. HOU | 47 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 43 |
| 46 | Matt Breida | SF | @ PHI | 43 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 48 |
| 47 | Mike Gillislee | NE | vs. LAC | -- | 46 | 46 | 46 | 46 |
| 48 | C.J. Prosise | SEA | vs. HOU | 49 | 47 | 47 | 47 | 47 |
| 49 | Rex Burkhead | NE | vs. LAC | 45 | 49 | 50 | 45 | 50 |
| 50 | JD McKissic | SEA | vs. HOU | 46 | 45 | -- | 50 | -- |
| -- | Charles Sims | TB | vs. CAR | 40 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Devontae Booker | DEN | @ KC | -- | -- | 45 | -- | -- |
| -- | Samaje Perine | WAS | vs. DAL | -- | -- | -- | -- | 45 |
| -- | Jeremy Hill | CIN | vs. IND | -- | 50 | 49 | 49 | -- |
| -- | Austin Ekeler | LAC | @ NE | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Terrance West | BAL | vs. MIA | -- | -- | -- | -- | 49 |