Welcome to the weekly Fantasy Notebook, the must-stop spot for keeping your finger on the pulse of Fantasy Nation. NFL news and developments drive fantasy values. The Notebook is here to keep you in the loop on all of it throughout the season.
Let's dive in . . .
The Narrative Wins Out
As ESPN's Dan Graziano framed it, "In the season's easiest-to-see-coming revenge game," former Giants running back Barkley rolled into MetLife Stadium in Eagles green and rushed for 176 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and caught two passes for 11 yards in a dominant 28-3 victory.
Graziano added, "Barkley looked like a man living his best life, playing against his old team for a division rival with a better offensive line and supporting cast than he ever had during his six seasons as a Giant."
For some perspective on this performance, Barkley's 187 yards from scrimmage compare favorably to a combined 119 total yards by the Giants. New York's running backs had three carries for 4 yards in the first half on 32 snaps.
According to ESPN Research, Barkley's 176 rushing yards rank second in NFL history for any player in a game against his former team (Cincinnati's Cedric Benson had 189 against the Bears in 2009).
It marked the second-most rushing yards in a game in Barkley's career (189 in Week 16, 2019). Barkley's 10.4 yards per carry were the most in a game in his career with 15-plus carries.
His day featured individual runs of 55, 41, and 38 yards.
Barkley, named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance, did all that damage in only three quarters, resting for all but one snap of the fourth.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni offered to let Barkley stay in the game long enough to let him break that career high in rushing yards, but Barkley said he didn't want to do that.
"You're 13 yards away from your career high. I would love for you to get that, but it's up to you," Sirianni said, as captured in a sideline video.
"It's all good," Barkley replied.
Well . . . Fantasy managers wouldn't have minded a few more shots with the ball. But generally speaking, we couldn't be more pleased with what he's given us.
Sunday's totals gave Barkley 761 yards from scrimmage on the season. Per the NFL, it's the most yards from scrimmage a player has gained in his first six games with a new team since Barkley's first six games with New York as a rookie in 2018. He recorded 811 scrimmage yards in his first six outings as a rookie.
Barkley has rushed for 658 yards with five touchdowns so far this season. He's gone over 100 yards three times.
Even with the offensive line missing three starters, the running back has shown the ability to hit home runs. His three runs of 55-plus yards this season are the most in the NFL.
Barkley's latest performance brings up an interesting question as we head into the tail end of the season . . .
Who's No. 1?
Heading into the season, there was considerable speculation on which of the top prospects at the position had a chance to make a run at Christian McCaffrey's lock on overall RB1 status.
Barkley was RB5 on this year's final Average Draft Position Rankings, behind McCaffrey, Breece Hall, Bijan Robinson, and Jonathan Taylor. All of them were part of that conversation as heir apparent to McCaffrey, who has yet to play this season, opening the door to a new king of the hill.
As we head into Week 8, the top players include two who we might have had high expectations for, but not this high: Derrick Henry is RB1 with an average of 22.9 points per game, and Alvin Kamara is RB2 with an average of 20.7 points per game.
Barkley, RB3 with 21.3 points per game, has the momentum to make a run at Kamara, who has been tailing off in recent weeks.
Beyond that, Hall at RB4 has started to build some steam with Todd Downing taking over as the Jets play caller the last two weeks.
Kyren Williams' touchdown prowess has him holding down the RB5 spot. His two scores Sunday gave him 24 scrimmage touchdowns since the start of last season, which is the most in the NFL; Sunday was Williams' seventh game of multiple scrimmage touchdowns in that span, which is also the most in the NFL.
In addition, he's run for at least one TD in nine straight games, dating back to last season. That's tied with Shaun Alexander (2005) and Ezekiel Elliott (2022) for the fourth-longest streak all-time behind Priest Holmes (11 straight games, 2002), Taylor (11 straight, 2021), and LaDainian Tomlinson (18 straight, 2004-05).
It's an impressive run that's positioned him well in the RB1 sweepstakes.
Robinson has struggled to meet expectations, but he's picked up the pace in the last few weeks to move into the RB6 spot.
McCaffrey and Taylor, both hobbled by injuries, have fallen out of the RB1 discussion, but the other six mentioned have legitimate shots to the throne.
That said, Henry and Barkley have to be the favorites as we near the halfway point of the season.
It's impossible to rule Kamara, Hall, Williams, or Robinson out of the running, and others -- Jahmyr Gibbs, averaging 19.2 points per game, and Ken Walker III, averaging 22.3 points per game -- could make pushes and enter the fray.
But two things are certain: How all of them finish will play a massive role in how they're ranked heading into 2025, and if any one of them makes a season-winning push to close out the year, they'll likely lock up that top spot in next year's draft . . .
Speed Check
Barkley reached a top speed of 21.93 mph on his 55-yard run in the second quarter, the second-fastest speed by a ball carrier this season (behind only Brian Thomas Jr., 22.15 mph). It's also the fastest top speed by Barkley in his career, in case you were wondering whether the return to MetLife Stadium provided any extra juice for the 27-year-old . . .
No Change In J-Ville?
As Profootballtalk.com's Josh Alper noted, Tank Bigsby has been the most effective Jaguars running back all season, and he delivered another big game in Jacksonville's 32-16 win over the Patriots in London on Sunday.
NFL.com advised readers that Bigsby bullied New England's front seven to the tune of 118 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries (all career highs), picking up several first downs and extending the Jags' clock-killing marches; he was the workhorse on Jacksonville's 17-play, 11:24 point-less drive straddling the third and fourth quarters.
While D'Ernest Johnson got a ceremonial start as the more veteran player, Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke notes that after that first play, it was primarily Bigsby in for rushing situations and Johnson for passing situations, as we expected.
Bigsby, who posted his third game with 90-plus rushing yards in the last four weeks, played an even more significant role than usual because Travis Etienne Jr. was out with a hamstring injury.
Still, head coach Doug Pederson said that neither Sunday's performance nor Bigsby's work in the first six weeks of the season would lead to a change on the running back depth chart.
"I'm a believer where injury doesn't replace your position," Pederson told Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. "I think you have to have a fair competition for us. We're blessed to have two really good running backs right now. When Etienne comes back, he's just as explosive, just as good, just as powerful, and it's still his job. "But Tank has done some really good things. We're going to continue to find ways to put the ball in his hands, too, because he's a little different runner than Etienne is."
There has been trade chatter about Etienne as the Jaguars' season has hit the skids, so Pederson may be doing his part to help stoke interest in a potential deal that could help the Jaguars get better in the future while opening the door to Bigsby in the present.
Otherwise, Jahnke reminded readers that Etienne has only reached 90 rushing yards once in his last 18 games despite multiple games with 20-plus carries in that stretch.
Jahnke added, "Even when Etienne is playing again, we should continue to expect Bigsby to be the primary runner on the team. Etienne could potentially win the job back if he plays well enough, but Bigsby has been playing better this season than Etienne has played at any point in his career."
Shouldn't That Matter?
It should. And even though I believe Etienne, who is a far better receiver than Bigsby, may well start and play a role, fantasy managers should also believe what Bigsby has been telling them with his production.
He now has 415 yards rushing this season and is averaging 6.2 yards per carry, which is a significant edge over Etienne, who has 230 yards rushing (4.1 yards per carry) in one fewer game.
More importantly, Bigsby helps Pederson live to fight another day.
A loss sinking the Jaguars to 1-6 could have spelled the end of the head coach's tenure in Jacksonville; the Jaguars have underperformed this season, and losing twice in London, their home away from home, is a non-starter.
But the Jags will return to the States after a two-week stay in the U.K. still in it at 2-5, two games behind the rival Colts (second in the AFC South).
It won't get any easier for Jacksonville upon landing.
Next up is the rest of the NFC North (vs. GB, vs. MIN, at DET) and a prime-time trip to Philly, Pederson's last place of employment. By the Week 12 bye, the Jags will know what they have. What they need before then are at least two more wins, and it's hard to imagine a healthy Bigsby not playing a significant role . . .
But He's Not Alone
Rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. enjoyed his latest breakout game as Trevor Lawrence's go-to wide receiver.
Thomas continued his hot run of play with 89 yards and a score on five catches and as many targets, piling on to his already team-leading totals. With Malik Nabers and Marvin Harrison Jr.'s setbacks, Thomas has reliably been the top rookie WR in the NFL this season.
Late-Round Fantasy's JJ Zachariason points out that Thomas has ranked as a top-10 wide receiver in PPR formats in three of his last four games. Christian Kirk hasn't ranked higher than WR14 all season long, and he's been outside the top 30 in three straight . . .
Standing Above The Crowd
With 47 total catches, rookie Brock Bowers has the most receptions by a tight end in their first seven games since 2000.
On a day when the Raiders struggled to sustain drives all game, Bowers was the one truly reliable option in a loss to the Rams. The No. 13 overall draft pick had 10 catches on 14 targets for 93 yards.
As NFL.com's Eric Edholm noted, Alexander Mattison ran hard, and Tre Tucker made a few big plays, but Bowers was a monster, converting eight first downs -- and he honestly deserved more than 14 targets.
With the Raiders trailing 20-12 in the fourth quarter, Bowers caught passes of 11, 10, and 8 yards and delivered the lead block as a fullback on Mattison's key fourth-and-1 conversion.
But the Raiders kicked a field goal after Bowers was stopped for no gain on third-and-goal, and they never targeted him on the final drive. They also failed to throw his way on four straight drives between the second and fourth quarters.
As Edholm summed it up: "You can fairly debate whether the Raiders should have been QB buyers in the 2025 NFL Draft, but Bowers is a beast."
The only real question is whether they can get him the ball even more. Although receiver Jakobi Meyers could return from a two-week absence due to an ankle injury, viewing Bowers more as the team's alpha receiver than a traditional tight end is the right approach.
That said, fantasy managers who invested in Bowers at a very reasonable price -- he was TE11 in final preseason ADP -- are getting the most consistently productive player at a position where consistent production is rare.
Bowers, currently the TE1 overall with an average 14.6 fantasy points per game, has finished in the top 5 at his position in five out of seven weeks . . .
This And That
The Real Key?
As ESPN.com's Ben Baby asked this week, "Is wide receiver Tee Higgins the key to Cincinnati's offensive success?"
Baby's answer: Yes.
With Higgins on the field, the Bengals have a reliable option when defenses decide to double-team receiver Ja'Marr Chase. Higgins continued his strong return from a hamstring injury that forced him to miss the first two games, catching a touchdown to give the Bengals some breathing room in the first half. Higgins has now had 75 or more receiving yards in three straight games.
He's also had better fantasy outings than Chase in two of those three weeks . . .
Pressure? What Pressure?
After finishing with the third-most such games from 2022-2023, Geno Smith had multiple passing touchdowns in a game for the first time in 2024 in Sunday's win over the Falcons.
And even with a final stat line that was more solid than spectacular, he connected on 18 of 28 attempts for 207 yards with the two scoring strikes.
How Smith got there is more impressive than the final line.
Despite facing his highest pressure rate this season (50 percent), Smith thrived amid the chaos, completing 7 of 13 attempts for 123 yards and two touchdowns . . .
Good Things Come To Those Who Wait
Josh Jacobs scored his first career receiving touchdown in Week 7 after having 211 receptions and 1,556 receiving yards to start his career without one.
Jacobs' eight-yard scoring grab ended the NFL's longest streak for a player for catches without a touchdown.
According to NFL Research, only Thomas Jones had more career receptions before getting his first career receiving touchdown in NFL history . . .
Next Man Up
With Amari Cooper dealt to the Bills last week, second-year wideout Cedric Tillman moved into the starting lineup opposite Jerry Jeudy.
Tillman, who entered the game with just five targets this season, had a career-high 12 targets against the Bengals. His role figured to increase, and he made himself a frequent target for each of the Browns' three quarterbacks on Sunday.
Tillman scored 18.1 fantasy points on a 25 percent target share. As Zachariason noted, Jeudy hasn't gotten higher than 13.2 points this season, and he's hit a 25 percent target share just once.
With Jameis Winston, a more than willing gunslinger, set to start at quarterback against a generous Ravens pass defense that's allowed a league-high 2,159 passing yards this week, Tillman's numbers are noteworthy. He'll definitely be in some of my DFS lineups . . .
Next Time Up
Nick Chubb's first game back since a devastating knee injury suffered in Week 2 last season was a success -- just because it happened. It wasn't, however, a high-end fantasy day.
Chubb carried 11 times for just 22 yards and a touchdown against the Bengals.
Pierre Strong Jr out-snapped Chubb 42 to 30, although Zachariason notes Chubb did see a solid 68.8 percent running back rush share.
What about this week?
ESPN.com's Daniel Oyefusi offers the following prediction: The Browns give Chubb at least 20 touches against the Ravens.
Oyefusi added with Deshaun Watson out and an offense that has no rhythm, the Browns might have no choice but to increase Chubb's workload . . .
Closing In On Perfection
According to ESPN.com's Eric Woodyard, Detroit's Jared Goff is the only quarterback this season to have a perfect completion percentage in a half.
And he's done it three times, including Sunday in Minnesota.
Goff went a perfect 12-of-12 with 15 successful completions before throwing his first incompletion on a deflected pass in the third quarter. In Week 4, he set an NFL record by completing all 18 of his passes against Seattle.
In a related note . . . In their past four games, the Lions have scored more touchdowns (18) than Goff has had incompletions (15) . . .
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Every week, the NFL delivers a remarkable range of outcomes. And every week, I'll encapsulate that broad expanse here.
The Good
As NFL.com noted, head coach Mike Tomlin put all the pressure on quarterback Russell Wilson by surprisingly handing him the keys for Sunday Night Football despite a 4-2 record under Justin Fields.
At first, especially after an early rut with three straight three-and-outs, Pittsburgh looked primed for a meltdown as the home crowd voiced their displeasure.
But Wilson gutted it out, leading Pittsburgh to 37 points -- its most all season -- even if he wasn't necessarily exemplary. He went 16 of 29 for 264 yards, two touchdowns, and a 109.0 passer rating, again the highest for a Steelers QB this season. There were plays on which Fields might have taken off for big gains while Wilson didn't, and the veteran routinely missed low.
More importantly, though, the offense looked potent by night's end.
Considering this was essentially his Week 1, Wilson more than earned another chance to start next week against the Giants.
But the bigger story is Wilson unlocked George Pickens, who hauled in five passes for 111 yards and one touchdown, most of them simply because Wilson trusted him with some signature moonshots.
Pickens finished the night with 22.1 fantasy points.
That's a big deal considering he was going up against a Jets defense that had allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points, the fewest receptions, second-fewest yards, and just three TDs to receivers all season. Only one wide receiver, Justin Jefferson, with 15.2 fantasy points in Week 5, exceeded 15 points . . .
The Bad
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had the worst game of his career -- completing only 11 of 20 passes for a career-low 86 yards with no touchdowns.
According to ESPN.com's DJ Bien-Aime, Stroud has never had a game where he's thrown for under 100 yards that he finished. The only other game he threw for less than 100 yards was Week 14 last season against the Jets. He exited that game early because of a concussion.
Against the Packers on Sunday, Stroud was pressured on 48 percent of his dropbacks, a season-long theme, and was sacked four times.
As Edholm noted, all game long, they flummoxed Stroud and the Texans' offensive line with a kitchen sink's worth of pressure looks, bringing the house one play and dropping everyone out on the next. The Texans seemingly fixed some of their protection concerns in recent weeks, but Sunday was a step backward.
Stroud has been sacked 20 times on the season, and he only has two top-12 QB1 performances this season.
That's a rate of 29 percent. According to Zachariason, Stroud gave us a QB1 performance at a 53 percent rate i 2023.
Stroud also didn't get any help from Tank Dell, who didn't catch a pass against Green Bay, despite a 21 percent target share, his third-highest share of the season . . .
The Ugly
Miami's offense has been among the league's worst since Tua Tagovailoa's departure, ranking last in scoring and 26th in passing yards per game.
It got even worse this past weekend, and you don't have to be a mind reader to know what fantasy managers invested in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were thinking during Sunday's loss to the Colts.
The NFL's most expensive wide receiver tandem combined for four targets as neither Tyler Huntley nor Tim Boyle could get them involved.
Miami has been fully committed to the run game over the past two games, but you have to get your playmakers involved at some point.
The point may be this week with Tagovailoa's anticipated return.
Hill absolutely believes that. The speedy veteran wideout called Tagovailoa's practice performance Wednesday "beautiful," and he had a message for his fantasy football managers:
"We're back, baby. Strike up the f---ing band. We're back, baby. Start me this week. Let's go . . ."
Of course, many of you know all too well that Hill and Waddle investors weren't alone in their misery, as Sleeper's Josh Larkey pointed out on X.
This is the worst week for fantasy football in recent memory ??
— Josh Larky (@jlarkytweets) October 20, 2024
CJ Stroud: 86 passing yards
Jayden Reed: 2 catches, 10 yards
DeVonta Smith: 1 catch, -2 yards
Tyreek Hill: 1 catch, 8 yards
Jaylen Waddle: 1 catch, 11 yards
Diontae Johnson: 1 catch, 17 yards
Sam LaPorta: 1 catch,…
The Final Word
That's it for this week's Fantasy Notebook. Hit the site for all the usual Rankings, Projections, articles, and other goodness available weekly.
Beyond that, I hope you'll subscribe to the Footballguys Daily Update podcast, released every weekday morning. You'll get a daily 10-minute dose of news that matters most, all put in context to help you sort out the fantasy impact.
I also do two live streams on The Audible channel each week: On The Hotseat will stream every Tuesday at 7 pm ET. My Ask Me Anything stream will go live every Saturday at 11 am ET. Lineup questions, roster management, music, food, cats . . . It's all fair game.
Otherwise, see you back here next Thursday for another Fantasy Notebook.
Catch Harris every weekday morning on the Footballguys Daily Update Podcast, your 10-minute daily dose of NFL news and fantasy analysis. Find the latest edition here or subscribe on your podcast platform of choice. You can also listen to Harris weeknights on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio's The Football Diehards show, Sundays on the SXM Fantasy Football Pregame show on Sirius channel 87, and Saturday nights on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Sirius channel 88.
