With Matt Jones hurt, there was an opportunity in the Washington backfield for someone to run away with the job in Week 8. Chris Thompson looked like he might last week, but the team made it clear it doesn't view him as an every-down back, which left the door open for undrafted free agent Rob Kelley.
Kelley didn't quite blow the door of its hinges, but he ran well enough Sunday against the Bengals to at least keep it ajar. He had 21 carries for 87 yards, and though he didn't really figure into the passing game, did exactly what was expected from him in short yardage -- rushing for a 4-yard score in the first quarter, the first of his NFL career.
Kelley looked about as expected. He wasn't great, but good enough to deserve a role moving forward no matter who is available.
The question now is going to be whether he can usurp Jones -- who has failed to impress in his year-plus in the NFL and has fumble issues -- or if he will be stuck in a timeshare moving forward. Thompson is already locked into his role as the passing-downs back, so any further dilution of the role might create a situation where Washington won't have any back worth starting on a weekly basis.
Still, Kelley has a chance to take the job, and that alone makes him worth an add coming off a solid enough showing.
The coming weeks will tell us more about his role but, for now, he is worth adding in all Fantasy formats.
The Chiefs aren't lacking in reliable options in the backfield, that's for sure. Spencer Ware has starred for them this season with Jamaal Charles struggling to return from a knee injury, and Charcandrick West stepped up nicely in Week 7. He didn't fare as well in Week 8, rushing for 52 yards on 14 attempts (with two catches for 8 yards), but we know what he can do when he gets the opportunity; he tallied 11.7 Fantasy points per game in nine starts last season. He has been the forgotten man in Kansas City this season, but if Ware's concussion keeps him out multiple weeks, he certainly has a chance to remind us of what he can do.
The Cardinals' passing game hasn't had a set hierarchy for much of the past two seasons, but there was a pretty set top-three if nothing else. Larry Fitzgerald was going to get a ton of work, and then Michael Floyd and John Brown would go over the top and hit on the big plays, with less volume as a result. Maybe J.J. Nelson will be merely a one-week interloper, but he certainly shook things up in Week 8, leading the team in targets with 12. He caught eight of those passes for 79 yards, both of which ranked second on the team, and he also hauled in a pair of scores from Carson Palmer as the Cardinals tried to claw their way back. Maybe it is just an outlier, but with Floyd and Brown disappointing all season long, there might be room for someone else to step up. Maybe it will be Nelson.
If you can figure out what's going on with the Packers offense, you're going to become a famous person in the Fantasy community, because this is baffling. It has been pretty pedestrian for most of the past 13 months, but managed to put up 32 points in Week 8. That they did this against the Falcons wouldn't be noteworthy except for the fact that so much of the team's skill-player rotation was nowhere to be found. Eddie Lacy is out for the season, and on Sunday the team was also missing fill-in de-facto running back Ty Montgomery, as well as Randall Cobb. No matter. Aaron Rodgers led the team with 60 rushing yards -- neither Don Jackson nor Knile Davis managed more than 10 yards -- while Jordy Nelson found his footing, and Davante Adams emerged as Rodgers' security blanket. And Jeff Janis even did something. Not much, mind you. But the workout star -- he went undrafted out of Saginaw Valley State despite impressive at the Combine -- hauled in all four passes thrown his way. He managed only 30 yards, but scored a key late touchdown, and might be able to build on that moving forward. There isn't much of a track record to go on here, but if Cobb's injury keeps him out longer than just this week, there is certainly an opportunity here.
