Week 8 was a slate of games slightly undermanned in terms of top backfield talent. Elite backs including Ezekiel Elliott and Melvin Gordon were on their byes, however that did not stop the players who were in action from making Week 8 one of the most productive running back weeks of the season thus far.

James Conner led the way with 38.2 PPR points, while Todd Gurley also unsurprisingly broke the 30-point barrier. This was the fourth straight week and the fifth time this season that Gurley has scored 30 or more fantasy points. James White , Adrian Peterson , Alvin Kamara , Joe Mixon , and Marlon Mack all broke the 25-point plateau, while another six backs scored over 20 points. Other names of note were Kerryon Johnson , T.J. Yeldon , and Tarik Cohen , who all scored over 15 PPR points on less than 10 carries.

This was a great running back week to say the least.

Below will be my brief Week 9 DFS preview at the running back position, while the meat of the article will include my halfway point – backfield state of the union address… Enjoy.

Backfield State of the Union: Halftime

It’s going into Week 9 now, which means that half of the season is already behind us. Whoah, does time fly or what?

At the quarter way mark, back in Week 4, I gave you guys a “backfield state of the union” to tell you what was going on at the position, league-wide. Unsurprisingly, a lot more than just the weather has changed since then. For example, there was a lot of Carlos Hyde love at that time, as he was leading the league in both rushing touchdowns and total carries. He has since been traded and is likely to become fantasy irrelevant; soon to be buried down on the Jaguars running back depth chart. At the same time Pro Football Focus had Marshawn Lynch rated as the highest graded running back in football. Lynch is now out for the season and ironically Carlos Hyde ’s then backup Nick Chubb has risen to the top spot according to PFF…

In any event, instead of me spoiling everything here, read below for the full backfield state of the union through the mid-way point of the season.

– Todd Gurley currently leads the league in carries with 169. That puts him more than 30 carries ahead of the next closest backs – Ezekiel Elliott and Kareem Hunt – however it should be noted that Elliott has already had his bye week whereas Hunt and Gurley have not.

– Speaking of Zeke, he was the league leader in rushing yards when I gave you my first backfield state of the union, however Todd Gurley has since blown him away in that department as well. With an even 800 yards on the season, Gurley is a full 181 yards ahead of Zeke in that category.

– To complete the running back triple crown of sorts, Gurley also leads all running backs in rushing touchdowns with 11.

– In the midsts of a historic season, Gurley is on pace for 1,600 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns on just 338 rushing attempts. He also is on pace for 62 receptions, 702 receiving yards, and another eight receiving touchdowns. His pace of 30 total touchdowns puts him just one shy of the single-season NFL record of 31 set by Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson back in 2006.  

– Packers running back Aaron Jones currently leads the league in yards per carry with 6.2, however rookies Nick Chubb and Kerryon Johnson aren’t far behind, as they are both averaging 6.1 yards per carry.

– In terms of catching the ball out of the backfield, Saquon Barkley , James White and Alvin Kamara , are all still on pace to break the single-season running back receptions record. Christian McCaffrey is currently just one catch off the pace.

– The rookie Barkley is leading the way with a pace of 116 catches, which would give him 14 more catches than Matt Forte had in 2014.

– It should also be noted that James White is currently on pace for 12 receiving touchdowns, which would shatter the single-season running back record of nine set by Chuck Foreman, Leroy Hoard, and none other than Marshall Faulk in his historic 2001 season.

Who I Like in DFS This Week

I delivered three-for-three DFS studs in the new segment last week, including the top scorer of the week in James Conner . Both Kareem Hunt and Lamar Miller also finished inside the top-12 at the running back position, giving you the reader three reliable options to build your DFS lineups around. This week I have a few more potential studs and dart throws that I am high according to the DraftKings value system and each player’s current matchup.

Locks of the Week

Kareem Hunt @ CLE ($7,700 on DraftKings)

Since Week 2, Kareem Hunt has not produced less than 15 points on DraftKings. According to Pro Football Focus, Hunt is the most elusive back in football with a league leading 33 broken tackles on designed run plays. Currently, Cleveland offers the worst tackling defense in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus, with a paltry 37.4 tackling efficiency rating. Chances are that Kansas City should go up big in this one and should need to rely upon the run a ton to burn some clock. Hunt may not necessarily have the highest ceiling every week, but his floor – especially in this game – seems very safe.

Adrian Peterson vs. ATL ($6,000 on DraftKings)

Peterson has turned back the clock and looks to be running the ball as good as ever. Coming off of his best performance in years, Peterson still somehow comes at a bargain of $6,000, despite playing a Falcons defense that has allowed the most DraftKings points per game to opposing running backs. Over the last three weeks, Alex Smith has failed to eclipse the 200-yard passing barrier and that is undoubtedly because of the Redskins concentrated effort in featuring AP as the focal point of the offense. He should have no issue against Atlanta this week.

Flex Flyer

Nick Chubb vs. KC ($4,500 on DraftKings)

The Chiefs rank second to last in the NFL in total yardage allowed and are ranked 26th in the league against running backs in terms of DraftKings points. Since Carlos Hyde has been shipped out of town, Nick Chubb has seen 81% of the backfield touches for Cleveland. He has averaged 77.5 total yards per game in those contests. At just $4,500 on DraftKings this week, Chubb is grossly underpriced based off of his potential workload alone. Combine that with his great matchup and you have a likely chalky, but rock solid flex option in your cash lineups.

Non-Main Slate Sleeper

Aaron Jones @ NE ($4,400 on DraftKings)

This is a category I should have specified last week when I clued you into Lamar Miller , as he played on Thursday night and not in the Sunday/1:00pm DraftKings main slate… In any event, I like Aaron Jones this upcoming Sunday night, and while the obvious reasons aren’t there for support of the Packers back, I think some things are working in his favor. First of all, and most importantly, Jones has been incredible since coming back from his early-season suspension. His worst yards per carry total in any game this season was a still whopping 5.1, against the 49ers in Week 4. Other weeks have seen him well above 7.0 yards per carry, including last week against the Rams. Week 8 also saw Jones get into the end zone for the first time this season, while he recorded season highs in yardage with 86 and touches with 14. With an increasing workload over the last few weeks and while serving as one of the most efficient backs in football based off of a per-touch basis, Jones feels greatly underpriced at $4,400 this week, especially while facing an average-at-best Patriots defense. If the Packers finally decide to see the big picture and begin giving Jones the ball more often, they may have a legitimate shot to steal one in New England. You may also subsequently see an excellent return on his underpriced DraftKings value.