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.
Week 8 Got Weird(er)
Week 8 was one of the most uncompetitive weeks in NFL history. Through Sunday night, 11 of 12 games were decided by double-digit margins.
On Monday night, the Chiefs, with a 28-7 win over the Commanders in Kansas City, made it 12 of 13, making it the first time since 1970 that 10 or more points decided every game but one in a week.
The only close game was the Jets beating the Bengals 39-38, which, as Profootballtalk.com's Michael David Smith suggested, was exciting but not a particularly compelling matchup, given that the Jets are now 1-7 and the Bengals are 3-5.
It's not a great week for the NFL when Jets-Bengals is the best the league has to offer.
Overall, the average margin of victory in last week's 13 games was 18.46 points.
Runners Rule Again
Sunday was an excellent day for big-play running backs in the NFL.
Four different running backs ran for more than 100 yards and averaged more than 10 yards per carry on Sunday: Bills running back James Cook had 19 carries for 216 yards, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor had 12 carries for 153 yards, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley had 14 carries for 150 yards, and Eagles running back Tank Bigsby had nine carries for 104 yards.
On a day of blowouts across the NFL, it's no surprise that those running backs led their teams to big wins: Cook and the Bills won 40-9, Taylor and the Colts won 38-14, and Barkley and Bigsby led the Eagles to a 38-20 win.
It was the first time four different running backs topped 100 yards and 10 yards per carry on the same day since 1991.
The performances of Taylor and Cook, in particular this week, reminded me of something . . .
In Hindsight, the Prices Were Right
Players with first-round price tags in drafts before the season have them because we have expectations.
But we all know, even as we're burning the requisite draft capital to land the front-line prospects, that some of the players we draft later are going to outperform their draft spots.
Some might even do it on a consistent, weekly basis.
Those players have an opportunity to deliver league-winning upside. Let's look at some players drafted outside Round 1 who, in hindsight, should have gone earlier . . .
We Should Have Seen Taylor Coming
Taylor finds his way to the top of the Fantasy Notebook again.
It comes as no surprise.
Through the season's first eight weeks, Taylor has been the league's offensive player of the year.
But is he also the MVP?
Taylor accounted for 174 yards from scrimmage in the Colts' dominant 38-7 victory over Tennessee, with two touchdowns on the ground and one through the air.
He finished Week 8 as the RB1, with 37.4 points -- the most points scored by a player at any position . . .
Remarkable Numbers
Taylor has now registered at least 130 yards from scrimmage in each of Indianapolis' last three games. He's also scored three touchdowns in two consecutive games and in three of the team's previous four contests.
He's now on pace for more than 1,800 rushing yards.
The centerpiece of Week 8 was a spectacular 80-yard touchdown run, during which he displayed his top-level speed and left the defense reeling.
How fast?
His 22.38 mph speed on a 43-yard catch in Week 2 is the fastest in the NFL this year. Taylor has two of the 20 fastest speeds by a ball carrier this year, according to Next Gen Stats.
Putting It In Perspective
In addition to having five more TDs than anybody else in the NFL (14), Taylor has recorded 3.9 percent of all the league's rushing yardage by running backs this season (850). Per ESPN.com's Bill Barnwell, since 2002, that's the sixth-highest rate recorded by any back through eight weeks.
He is now the fifth player since 2000 with at least three scrimmage touchdowns in four games in a season, joining LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006, Marshall Faulk in 2000, Shaun Alexander in 2005, and Priest Holmes in 2002 and 2003.
According to NFL.com's Nick Shook, the fashion in which he scores is what punctuates how special he is, breaking tackles and extending runs that should have stopped after 5-6 yards and end up going for 15-plus (or in his case in the third quarter, 80 yards) solely because he refuses to go down and owns the athletic ability to ward off would-be tacklers and outrun the rest.
"Simply put," Barnwell wrote, "Taylor is the surest thing in football right now."
Value/Return on Investment
Taylor moved ahead of 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey as RB1 overall on the season. His 214.6 total points are the most for any player at any position.
He has now scored 30-plus PPR points in four games this year, and his 26.8 points per game lead the NFL.
He was not drafted like that.
In fact, Taylor was drafted as RB9 with the 20th pick overall as the season opened.
He has, of course, outscored all the running backs -- and wide receivers, quarterbacks, and tight ends -- drafted ahead of him.
He might not be the best value in terms of price vs. production, but the return on investment is fantastic . . .
Cooking Again
The Buffalo Bills rode running back James Cook to a blowout 40-9 win over the Carolina Panthers, with the running back gashing for 216 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns.
"When you have James, you let him cook," Josh Allen said after the game.
The Bills did indeed let James cook, with the runner picking up chunk gains every time he touched the ball. As NFL.com's Kevin Patra suggested, it wasn't just the 64-yard TD that blasted the game open or even the 21-yard score that all but iced it. In between those, Cook was picking up 8-, 9-, 10-yard runs with ease. Twelve of the Bills' 23 first downs came on the ground Sunday.
It was evident from the start that Cook was in for a big day.
"We harped on all week, starting fast and setting our identity as a football team," Cook said, "and I felt like we did that early on."
They needed to re-establish that identity because offensive coordinator Joe Brady has gotten away from Cook for stretches far too often . . .
Course Corrected
In fact, Cook's playing time in the Bills' Week 6 Monday night loss to the Falcons became a topic of conversation for the team's coaching staff. Cook ran 17 times for 87 yards in the 24-14 loss, but only played 30 of the team's 57 offensive snaps.
That was the second-lowest snap percentage of the season -- the lowest was in a blowout win over the Jets -- and head coach Sean McDermott said heading into their bye week that Cook's usage was something he discussed with Brady.
"Joe and I have already talked about that to some extent. It's important to keep in mind going forward," McDermott said . . .
Message Received
Brady made a point to feed Cook. The offensive line did their part, opening massive holes.
Cook's 141 rushing yards before contact in Week 8 were the most by any player in a game in 2025, per Next Gen Stats.
"Cook was feeling himself, Josh was in his rhythm," Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins said. "We could tell the play-caller was in his rhythm and the offensive line was in a rhythm, and when you're in a good rhythm as a unit, good things happen."
And they did . . .
The Good Things
Cook's 216 rushing yards were the most by a Bills player since Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson in Week 12, 1976 (273). His 11.4 yards per carry were the highest for an RB in a game since Derrick Henry in Week 14, 2018 (min. 15 carries).
The fourth-year man is just the third player since 2011 to rush for 200-plus yards and two touchdowns on fewer than 20 rush attempts, joining De'Von Achane (2023) and Henry (2018).
Cook became only the fourth player in NFL history with 215-plus rush yards and two-plus rush TDs on fewer than 20 carries in a game, joining Henry, Bobby Mitchell, and Bo Jackson.
Cook's 153 yards rushing in first half were the most by any player in a first half since his brother Dalvin Cook had 153 vs. the Steelers on Dec. 9, 2021.
Cook was the engine early and arguably more responsible for the blowout than Allen.
As Patra put it, "Cook has graduated to being a foundational part of this offense and elite fantasy RB1 this season."
Value/Return on Investment
Cook finished the week as RB2, with 33.6 points -- the second-most by any player.
Even with a pair of duds, he was RB41 in Week 5 with just 4.9 fantasy points and RB24 in Week 6 with 8.7 points. Cook currently sits at RB7 in total points on the season.
His 19.7 points per game rank fifth.
Cook was drafted as RB13 with the 30th pick overall. That's a mid-third round value in 12-team PPR leagues.
That third-round price owed at least a little to a summer-long contract dispute.
Nonetheless, his per-game average is behind only Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson, and Jahmyr Gibbs. All but Taylor were first-round picks . . .
Rice Is Already Boiling
Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice caught all nine of his targeted passes for 93 yards and a touchdown in a Week 8 victory over the Washington Commanders.
He also ran twice for 12 yards.
As NFL.com noted, Rice returned from suspension in Week 7, but the young wideout quickly reminded us of what he's capable of in this offense. Rice's impact on the field was immediate, leading the Chiefs with seven receptions on a team-high 10 targets for 42 yards and two touchdowns.
He's already been a difference maker for the Chiefs and fantasy investors.
He filled a few different roles on Monday night, including taking a direct snap right through the heart of Washington's defense, bursting through traffic, and landing just short of a rushing score.
No matter, as the Chiefs capitalized shortly thereafter before continuing to turn to their dynamic receiver on quick perimeter passes and intermediate connections, including one that Rice took 18 yards for a decisive fourth-quarter touchdown.
With Rice on the field, opposing defenses have one more significant weapon to account for at all times, and it's clear how much it has opened up the Chiefs' offense -- and gives the rest of the league legitimate reason to fear Kansas City.
It also gives us reason to be excited . . .
Value/Return on Investment
Last week, Rice finished as WR2 behind Denver's Troy Franklin -- and kudos to him for leveraging his matchup against the Cowboys for 26.9 points. Rice's 25.5 points in this one feel more persistent than Franklin's.
To that point, Rice has been the WR2 overall since his return two weeks ago. His 48.7 points over that span are second only to Ja'Marr Chase, who has 59.2.
This is where I remind you of something Footballguy Dave Kluge wrote in his Rest of Season Rankings upon Rice's return: "Over his last 13 games, Rice has averaged 9.1 targets, 7.2 receptions, 82.8 yards, and 0.46 touchdowns per game. Over a 17-game season, that pace would track for 155 targets, 122 receptions, 1,407 yards, and 7.8 touchdowns, almost assuredly a top-five fantasy season."
Rice is fixing to deliver at that level the rest of this season. And he's doing it for a relative pittance.
Yes, there were mitigating factors -- most notably that six-game suspension. Nonetheless, fantasy managers who landed Rice as WR28 at the four-five turn will easily put the missed month and a half behind them if the Chiefs star continues to produce as expected . . .