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Sports

2025 Fantasy Football Rankings: Justin Boone's top running backs for Week 8

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21 October 2025

Justin Boone won the FantasyPros Most Accurate Expert Award in 2019 and has eight top-10 finishes in the competition. He now brings his rankings acumen to the Yahoo Fantasy audience after joining the team as an analyst.

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Be sure to follow the links below to see his latest rankings at every position. Updated rankings, including PPR, are released Thursday, with the final version coming down Sunday morning.


More Week 8 advice

Boone's Half-PPR Rankings

  • QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | FLEX | D/ST | Kickers

PPR (coming Thursday)

  • RB | WR | TE | FLEX

Rankings from each Yahoo Fantasy analyst

  • Justin Boone

  • Joel Smyth

  • Matt Harmon

  • Scott Pianowski

Consensus Half-PPR Rankings

  • QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | FLEX | D/ST | Kickers

Consensus PPR Rankings (coming Thursday)

  • RB | WR | TE | FLEX

Trade Value Charts (coming Wednesday)

  • QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs


Running Backs

Read more …

How Rashee Rice's return focuses the fantasy football picture for the Kansas City Chiefs

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21 October 2025

The Kansas City Chiefs welcomed back their best pass-catcher last week. Rashee Rice completed a six-game suspension after pleading guilty to two felony charges relating to his involvement in a 2024 multi-car crash in Dallas. In addition to the six-game absence to start this year, it’s worth remembering that Rice had not played in a football game in over a calendar year, as he was lost for the duration of the 2024 season early in Week 4 with a knee injury.

There’s a part of me that wishes we got to see the Chiefs operate in a “normal” game in Rice’s first action of this season. What we saw between them and the Raiders was absolutely not normal.

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As Nate Tice noted, Las Vegas ran 30 plays in Week 7 against the Chiefs, which was the fewest amount of plays an NFL offense has run in a game since at least 2002. That is absurd. It was perhaps only bested in the outrage department by the fact that both the Raiders and the Chiefs essentially decided to "sim to end" at one point in this game.

Not only did the Chiefs take their starters out of the game at the very end of the third quarter with a 31-0 lead but backup quarterback Gardner Minshew II took his first kneel of the game with 2:36 left on the clock.

I just watched the All 22 (sideline only) of every Raiders offensive snap vs KC. It took me 4 mins and 44 seconds.

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) October 20, 2025

So, yes, not a regular game whatsoever. We can’t fully know how Rice will be deployed over the course of the season. However, there are a few takeaways we can lean on.

As mentioned, the Chiefs' starters didn’t play over the course of the game. Even still, Rice wasn’t a full-time player in his first game back. In the first half, Rice only ran a route on 51.7% of Patrick Mahomes’ dropbacks. That was tied with JuJu Smith-Schuster for third behind Xavier Worthy (79.3%) and Travis Kelce (69%). Kansas City always rotates its pass-catchers to some degree but that’s not usual for Rice. He posted an 82% route participation in the first three weeks of last season, which led the team.

Despite not playing all the snaps, we got full confirmation that Rice remains the go-to guy in this passing game. When he was on the field, Mahomes relentlessly targeted the third-year receiver. Rice was selected on an obnoxious 53.3% of his 15 routes in the first half and 52.6% throughout the course of the game. Rice saw 10 targets go his way; no one else had more than four.

We can’t expect target per route rates north of 50% every week but given just how much he’s schemed into layup situations, he’ll be an easy player to funnel significant volume, as has been the case throughout his career.

Rashee Rice with Devin White as the nearest defender in coverage. Lotta room for activities. pic.twitter.com/Iwv9XUfaLm

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) October 21, 2025

Rice has always been a low air yards per target player in the NFL, averaging 4.8 and 5.2 in his first two seasons. He’s weaponized perfectly as a zone-beater and YAC menace in this offense. However, his meager 0.8 air yards per target mark from Week 7 was a bit extreme. His involvement at the goal-line is skewing that but the routes where he got the ball were all super shallow.

One of the Next-Gen route charts of all time pic.twitter.com/w47HVb2WFd

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) October 20, 2025

Even if the NextGen route charts don’t tell the full story — because it’s only highlighting routes where the player was targeted — I only charted two plays where he ran a route farther than 10 yards down the field in this game when I reviewed the tape for Reception Perception.

There’s no doubt it was good to see Rice earn a lion’s share of the targets, dominate against zone coverage underneath and look explosive with the ball in his hands; none of that is new. It’s encouraging to see that Rice looks exactly like his old self after coming back from the injury but to me, that is not a revelatory discovery.

The real possible breakthrough for Rice will come if he takes a step forward in other facets of the position.

Rashee Rice is back this week, right as the Chiefs offense is starting to roll 👀

We know the player he was last year will instantly make this offense better, but I think it's more important to track his development in the areas we've seen from the superstar WRs of this… pic.twitter.com/lD5WflPMHG

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) October 17, 2025

Rice still has room to grow as a true one-on-one route winner against man coverage. He can improve as a quick separator against press coverage with a more varied release package off the line, rather than just relying on playing with power. He’s dominant on layup routes from the slot but he can get even better when running downfield routes from the perimeter.

We already know Rice can be a fantasy WR1 without any of those progress steps and just remaining the same player he’s always been in this offense. I already don’t think I can name 10 wide receivers I’d rather have than Rice in fantasy the rest of this season.

Should he make any steps forward in the areas I listed, then we’re talking about him being one of the real-deal best wide receivers in the sport. After Rice’s first season, I compared his rookie year Reception Perception data to that of Lions' now-superstar receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown. St. Brown went on to make those leaps I laid out for Rice and now he’s a slam-dunk top-five fantasy receiver and Tier 1 real-life wideout. That’s the next step I’m looking to see out of Rice. We’ll need more than one game to say if it’s happened but if he takes those jumps, especially with Patrick Mahomes playing peak football right now, look out.

Even without any of those developments taking place, Rice’s presence back in the offense creates major conflict for the other pass-catchers in this offense. Again, I don’t want to overreact to this one weird game sample, but Travis Kelce was targeted on a season-low 10.3% of his routes in Week 7. Kelce and Rice work in the same areas of the field with the former at tight end and the latter at big slot. Since Rice is significantly more explosive with the ball in his hands right now, he’s going to get more looks. With Mahomes playing QB1-overall-level football right now and the state of the tight end position in fantasy, Kelce can still be a top-12 tight end option, but his ceiling and floor combo is lower now.

Despite leading the team in routes last week, Xavier Worthy may be in just as problematic a spot as Kelce. At the same time, Worthy’s role doesn’t and was never going to overlap with Rice, despite some of the narratives at the end of his rookie season and in the playoffs, as he’s more of a perimeter wideout who gets open most consistently downfield.

Xavier Worthy's 2024 #ReceptionPerception profile is an essential read now more than ever.

While some air yard metrics would indicate he was used in Rashee Rice's role when he was productive late in the season, RP shows that he succeeds in very different ways. He's not as… pic.twitter.com/1DjaMsPwzm

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) July 17, 2025

Worthy will get some quick-hitters on out-breakers against man coverage, like we saw in last season’s playoff run, but Rice is likely to lap him in usage close to the line of scrimmage. So, in order for him to hit big, it will have to come on some of those deeper routes. That’s naturally going to lead to more volatility no matter who the player is but the Mahomes-to-Worthy connection has also been hit-or-miss over the course of their short time together in the pros. The timing was off in Year 1 and Worthy isn’t a consistent threat against press because of his size.

Worthy can be excellent for the Chiefs in that role but there will be some boom and bust moments for fantasy. The right matchups will present themselves, including a game against the beatable Commanders’ secondary in Week 8, but Worthy now falls into the large bucket of volatile WR3s.

In general, we want to be exposed to this Chiefs offense. It looks like the best unit we’ve seen out of Kansas City since 2022. Mahomes is playing elite at quarterback and has the players to cash in on the throws. The rotation of players in the passing game and backfield can be frustrating but everyone has their roles and we know who the best players are, regardless. 

However, what we know for sure, even in a weird one-game sample, is that this passing game once again flows through Rashee Rice.

Read more …

Most common players on eliminated teams from Week 7 in Yahoo Fantasy Guillotine Leagues — plus FAB waiver wire advice

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21 October 2025

Seven weeks are in the books, which means seven managers in your Yahoo Fantasy Guillotine Leagues presented by Liquid Death are no longer around. It’s a wicked game, isn’t it? Of course, it’s wickedly fun when you’re on the good side of things.

Every week I’ll examine the most common NFL players on those cut teams and try to figure out where the puck is headed. I will also offer some FAB advice ($1,000 cap is the Yahoo default), but please remember this area is highly context-sensitive and manager-specific.

Waiver strategy in Guillotine Leagues

For the first six weeks, I used this space to talk up the long game. I like to trust myself (and my depth) in the early weeks, and take heart that it’s not that difficult to beat just one team when the league is still large.

The rules are starting to shift now. Seven of your opponents are checked out for the year. And the meatiest bye week of the season — six teams don’t play this week! — is staring us right in the face. And of course the injuries keep coming in the NFL, part of why these games are so challenging, and downright cruel at times.

[Eliminated or looking for more fun? There's still time to join or create another Yahoo Fantasy Guillotine League]

Understanding FAB recommendations

I’ll still offer bidding in three buckets, and you’ll need to season the recommendations to taste. You know your context and league habits better than an outsider would. But just know the immediacy has stepped up a bit. I still think it’s a mistake to spend all of your money in the present — the wire gets stronger and stronger in every passing week — but I also understand the gravity at hand. So don’t be afraid to get in there with some competitive bids, especially if your available options are a little better than the collection of names you find below.

My weekly FAB recommendations will come in three buckets:

Proactive: This means you highly covet this player, perhaps might even need this player. I realize these offers might not win if someone in your league is lighting money on fire, but as described above, that can be a short-sighted mistake in this format. With the bye weeks ramping up, I would consider a proactive bid more than I did previously. 

Reactive: This means you desire the player but the cost has to make sense for your short- or long-term strategy.

Keep Them Honest: This is an offer that is not designed to win, but might surprisingly land a player if your opponents are distracted by other talent available or unexpectedly passive that week. I often compare notes with other experienced Guillotine League players and we’re surprised at how often the Keep Them Honest bids actually win (this is also a portable strategy for regular season-long leagues; you never know when strange market behavior will come about).

Finally, understand that the FAB recommendations are with the assumption that you won’t be making offers for every available player.

Week 7's top-10 players on eliminated teams

Let’s examine the most-cut players and formulate some bidding strategy.

1. Saquon Barkley, RB, Eagles (18%)

He’s having the worst non-injured season of his career, and it’s a mixture of things. The line hasn’t been as good, and Barkley isn’t hitting the second level on many runs. Maybe a revenge game against the Giants will get things popping, though Barkley had just 67 total yards against them two weeks ago. Barkley wouldn’t be a first-round pick if we redrafted today.

FAB Recommendation:

  • $175 proactive

  • $120 reactive

  • $50-70 keep them honest

2. Brian Thomas Jr., WR, Jaguars (17%)

It was Travis Hunter who took over in the second half last week, and now the Jaguars slide into their Week 8 bye. A second-round pick in most leagues, Thomas lags as the WR33 in points per game. When does a bad start become a bad season? We might be there with Thomas.

FAB Recommendation:

  • $90 proactive

  • $45 reactive

  • $20 keep them honest

3. Ashton Jeanty, RB, Raiders (17%)

The Raiders hit a new low in the Week 7 loss at Kansas City — three first downs and 95 yards of offense. Hopefully Las Vegas can spend the bye week figuring out how to utilize Jeanty as a receiver, something that’s been lacking thus far.

FAB Recommendation:

  • $100 proactive

  • $50 reactive

  • $25 keep them honest

4. Drake London, WR, Falcons (17%)

Variance is a fact of life with receivers, and London crashed down to WR46 after WR2 and WR6 showings. Miami is an appealing draw for Week 8, and London’s bye week is already past.

FAB Recommendation:

  • $210 proactive

  • $140 reactive

  • $75-90 keep them honest

5. Nico Collins, WR, Texans (16%)

C.J. Stroud’s poor play has kept Collins down this year, and now we have to worry about the fourth-quarter concussion Collins suffered at Seattle on Monday.

FAB Recommendation:

  • $140 proactive

  • $100 reactive

  • $55 keep them honest

6. Baker Mayfield, WR, Buccaneers (16%)

He had his worst game of the year at Detroit, a mixture of poor throws and wide receiver injuries. Mayfield can get back on track at New Orleans, but it stings to lose alpha WR Mike Evans to a broken collarbone. 

FAB Recommendation:

  • $110 proactive

  • $70 reactive

  • $25 keep them honest

7. Sam LaPorta, TE, Lions (16%)

After a couple of TE4 finishes, LaPorta downgraded to a small role in the win over Tampa Bay. He’s part of the jumbo-sized bye package in Week 8, so he’s a wait-for-it commodity.

FAB Recommendation:

  • $80 proactive

  • $40 reactive

  • $10 keep them honest

8. Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints (15%)

It hasn’t been a fun year for older running backs, though Kamara might be needed more now that Kendre Miller is out for the season. Just be aware that Kamara is averaging just 3.9 yards per touch, easily a career low.

FAB Recommendation:

  • $80 proactive

  • $40 reactive

  • $10 keep them honest

9. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Dolphins (15%)

After two fruitful weeks for Waddle, things collapsed against the nasty Cleveland defense. Things should be better against Atlanta, though struggling QB Tua Tagovailoa is difficult to trust.

FAB Recommendation:

  • $100 proactive

  • $50 reactive

  • $25 keep them honest

10. Jared Goff, QB, Lions (14%)

His efficiency stats remain excellent, but the Lions aren’t playing pinball as often this year — Detroit ranks 30th in pass-play percentage. The Lions have a challenging schedule after the Week 8 bye, which might actually be good for Goff’s fantasy potential.

FAB Recommendation:

  • $90 proactive

  • $50 reactive

  • $15 keep them honest

Read more …

More Articles …

  1. Shane Steichen: Daniel Jones' play not a surprise to me, I think he's played well his whole career
  2. Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Quarterbacks to stream in Week 8 for bye-mageddon
  3. Texans get short-week short straw after MNF late game
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