Injuries and ineffectiveness have led to numerous changes in running back depth charts over the first eight weeks. Here are SB Nation's staff running back rankings for Week 8.
Fantasy football leagues have passed the midway point of the regular season, which means everyone is scrambling to find any players who can fill a hole created be injury or ineffectiveness. Heading into Week 1, Zac Stacy and Toby Gerhart were two guys who had some question marks, but were expected to be solid starting options in a lot of leagues. As we enter Week 8, Denard Robinson and Benny Cunningham have surged past them into fantasy relevance. This kind of thing happens frequently in fantasy football, and yet each year the particular players always catch us off guard.
The biggest running back injury news this week belongs to the Buffalo Bills. In Week 7, C.J. Spiller broke his collarbone and has been placed on injured reserve with a return designation. Earlier in that game, Fred Jackson suffered a groin injury that will cost him at least a couple weeks. That leaves Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown as the two options in Buffalo. We have both ranked close to each other because this has "running back by committee" written all over it. Dixon got the first look last Sunday, but anything is possible.
Trent Richardson suffered a hamstring injury in Week 7, but it is not considered too serious. Richardson had his best game of the season prior to the injury, but Ahmad Bradshaw is the better running back. Richardson is expected to play in Week 8, but if the Colts play this conservative, it could bode well for Ahmad Bradshaw.
On to our Week 8 rankings.
Running back rankings (Standard), Week 8
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; SK: Scott Kaliska; John Daigle has the week off)
| Rank | Consensus | Team | Opponent | DK | DC | SK |
| 1 | DeMarco Murray | DAL | WAS | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Matt Forte | CHI | @NE | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Jamaal Charles | KAN | STL | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Arian Foster | HOU | @TEN | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | Le'Veon Bell | PIT | IND | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | Marshawn Lynch | SEA | @CAR | 8 | 3 | 5 |
| 7 | LeSean McCoy | PHI | @ARI | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Andre Ellington | ARI | PHI | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| 9 | Lamar Miller | MIA | @JAC | 13 | 9 | 9 |
| 10 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | BAL | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| 11 | Eddie Lacy | GB | @NO | 9 | 12 | 13 |
| 12 | Ben Tate | CLE | OAK | 18 | 10 | 10 |
| 13 | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | @TAM | 10 | 15 | 15 |
| 14 | Joique Bell | DET | ATL (London) | 17 | 13 | 12 |
| 15 | Ronnie Hillman | DEN | SD | 16 | 14 | 14 |
| 16 | Ahmad Bradshaw | IND | @PIT | 12 | 16 | 17 |
| 17 | Alfred Morris | WAS | @DAL | 14 | 19 | 20 |
| 18 | Justin Forsett | BAL | @CIN | 15 | 20 | 19 |
| 19 | Branden Oliver | SD | @DEN | 19 | 17 | 18 |
| 20 | Shane Vereen | NE | CHI | 21 | 18 | 16 |
| 21 | Chris Ivory | NYJ | BUF | 23 | 21 | 21 |
| 22 | Darren McFadden | OAK | @CLE | 25 | 24 | 22 |
| 23 | Mark Ingram | NO | GB | 27 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | Reggie Bush | DET | ATL (London) | 24 | 25 | 24 |
| 25 | Doug Martin | TAM | MIN | 26 | 23 | 26 |
| 26 | Denard Robinson | JAC | MIA | 22 | 28 | 28 |
| 27 | Tre Mason | STL | @KAN | 29 | 26 | 25 |
| 28 | Bishop Sankey | TEN | HOU | 33 | 27 | 27 |
| 29 | Trent Richardson | IND | @PIT | 32 | 29 | 30 |
| 30 | Anthony Dixon | BUF | @NYJ | 28 | 31 | 34 |
| 31 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | BAL | 30 | 32 | 33 |
| 32 | Bryce Brown | BUF | @NYJ | 20 | -- | 29 |
| 33 | Steven Jackson | ATL | DET (London) | 31 | 34 | 36 |
| 34 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | OAK | 42 | 30 | 31 |
| 35 | James Starks | GB | @NO | 34 | 35 | 35 |
| 36 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | SEA | 43 | 33 | 32 |
| 37 | Benny Cunningham | STL | @KAN | 35 | 39 | 39 |
| 38 | Bernard Pierce | BAL | @CIN | 39 | 37 | 37 |
| 39 | Bobby Rainey | TAM | MIN | 37 | 38 | 41 |
| 40 | Chris Johnson | NYJ | BUF | 47 | 36 | 38 |
| 41 | Khiry Robinson | NO | GB | 38 | 42 | 45 |
| 42 | Roy Helu Jr. | WAS | @DAL | 45 | 43 | 42 |
| 43 | Antone Smith | ATL | DET (London) | 36 | 47 | 48 |
| 44 | Travaris Cadet | NO | GB | 50 | 41 | 40 |
| 45 | Jonas Gray | NE | CHI | 41 | 44 | 46 |
| 46 | Matt Asiata | MIN | @TAM | -- | 40 | 43 |
| 47 | Storm Johnson | JAC | MIA | 48 | 45 | 44 |
| 48 | Brandon Bolden | NE | CHI | 40 | -- | -- |
| 49 | Stepfan Taylor | ARI | PHI | 46 | 46 | 50 |
| 50 | Zac Stacy | STL | @KAN | 44 | -- | -- |
| -- | Knile Davis | KAN | STL | -- | 48 | 47 |
| -- | Juwan Thompson | DEN | SD | 49 | -- | -- |
| -- | Terrance West | CLE | OAK | -- | 49 | -- |
| -- | Daniel Thomas | MIA | @JAC | -- | -- | 49 |
| -- | Lorenzo Taliaferro | BAL | @CIN | -- | 50 | -- |
Running back rankings (PPR), Week 8
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; SK: Scott Kaliska; John Daigle has the week off)
| Rank | Consensus | Team | Opponent | DK | DC | SK |
| 1 | DeMarco Murray | DAL | WAS | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Matt Forte | CHI | @NE | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Jamaal Charles | KAN | STL | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Arian Foster | HOU | @TEN | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 5 | Le'Veon Bell | PIT | IND | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Andre Ellington | ARI | PHI | 4 | 7 | 7 |
| 7 | Marshawn Lynch | SEA | @CAR | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | LeSean McCoy | PHI | @ARI | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 9 | Lamar Miller | MIA | @JAC | 14 | 9 | 8 |
| 10 | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | @TAM | 9 | 12 | 12 |
| 11 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | BAL | 10 | 11 | 13 |
| 12 | Ahmad Bradshaw | IND | @PIT | 11 | 10 | 14 |
| 13 | Joique Bell | DET | ATL (London) | 15 | 17 | 11 |
| 14 | Ben Tate | CLE | OAK | 20 | 14 | 10 |
| 15 | Ronnie Hillman | DEN | SD | 16 | 13 | 16 |
| 16 | Eddie Lacy | GB | @NO | 12 | 16 | 18 |
| 17 | Shane Vereen | NE | CHI | 17 | 15 | 15 |
| 18 | Justin Forsett | BAL | @CIN | 13 | 18 | 17 |
| 19 | Branden Oliver | SD | @DEN | 18 | 19 | 19 |
| 20 | Darren McFadden | OAK | @CLE | 25 | 20 | 20 |
| 21 | Alfred Morris | WAS | @DAL | 19 | 24 | 24 |
| 22 | Reggie Bush | DET | ATL (London) | 21 | 23 | 23 |
| 23 | Tre Mason | STL | @KAN | 32 | 21 | 21 |
| 24 | Mark Ingram | NO | GB | 30 | 22 | 22 |
| 25 | Denard Robinson | JAC | MIA | 24 | 25 | 25 |
| 26 | Chris Ivory | NYJ | BUF | 23 | 26 | 26 |
| 27 | Trent Richardson | IND | @PIT | 26 | 29 | 28 |
| 28 | Doug Martin | TAM | MIN | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| 29 | Bishop Sankey | TEN | HOU | 37 | 27 | 29 |
| 30 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | BAL | 28 | 34 | 35 |
| 31 | Bryce Brown | BUF | @NYJ | 22 | -- | 30 |
| 32 | Roy Helu Jr. | WAS | @DAL | 41 | 31 | 32 |
| 33 | James Starks | GB | @NO | 35 | 35 | 34 |
| 34 | Steven Jackson | ATL | DET (London) | 27 | 38 | 40 |
| 35 | Anthony Dixon | BUF | @NYJ | 31 | 37 | 37 |
| 36 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | OAK | 47 | 30 | 31 |
| 37 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | SEA | 43 | 33 | 33 |
| 38 | Benny Cunningham | STL | @KAN | 33 | 40 | 39 |
| 39 | Travaris Cadet | NO | GB | 45 | 32 | 38 |
| 40 | Bobby Rainey | TAM | MIN | 34 | 39 | 43 |
| 41 | Chris Johnson | NYJ | BUF | 48 | 36 | 36 |
| 42 | Bernard Pierce | BAL | @CIN | 39 | 45 | 41 |
| 43 | Khiry Robinson | NO | GB | 38 | 46 | 48 |
| 44 | Antone Smith | ATL | DET (London) | 36 | 50 | -- |
| 45 | Storm Johnson | JAC | MIA | 49 | 41 | 47 |
| 46 | Knile Davis | KAN | STL | -- | 42 | 44 |
| 47 | Jonas Gray | NE | CHI | 46 | 49 | 42 |
| 48 | Matt Asiata | MIN | @TAM | -- | 43 | 45 |
| 49 | Zac Stacy | STL | @KAN | 42 | 48 | -- |
| 50 | Brandon Bolden | NE | CHI | 40 | -- | -- |
| -- | Stepfan Taylor | ARI | PHI | 44 | -- | -- |
| -- | Devonta Freeman | ATL | DET (London) | -- | 44 | -- |
| -- | Maurice Jones-Drew | OAK | @CLE | -- | -- | 46 |
| -- | Terrance West | CLE | OAK | -- | 47 | -- |
| -- | Daniel Thomas | MIA | @JAC | -- | -- | 49 |
| -- | Dexter McCluster | TEN | HOU | 50 | -- | -- |
| -- | Juwan Thompson | DEN | SD | -- | -- | 50 |