Welcome to Week 8 of the 2026 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Fantasy QB Most Likely to Improve
- Fantasy RB Most Likely to Improve
- Fantasy WR Most Likely to Improve
- Buy-Sell Week 8
Let's roll...
Matt Waldman: Give me the running back from the list who you believe is most likely to improve his value in Weeks 8-17.
- RB27 Ollie Gordon II
- RB29 Omarion Hampton
- RB30 Kyle Monangai
- RB35 Rachaad White
Andy Hicks: As much as I would like to select Monangai here, toe injuries worry me from a re-injury viewpoint. The Bears can manage without him until he is 100 percent.
So, let's go with Ollie Gordon II. He is almost certain to improve his ranking. These numbers include his first two weeks, where he had a combined three carries. Since De'Von Achane went down, Gordon ranks 18th.
He has already had his bye, unlike most of the backs ranked ahead of him. He has a touchdown in each of his last four games, two 100-yard games, and has made significant improvement on his poor rookie season. The Dolphins even look competitive with him running well.
Phil Alexander: Ollie Gordon II has already done a great job of improving his value; Kyle Monangai has a lingering toe injury, and I don't see the Chargers' running game turning it around with the Rams, Ravens, and Texans coming up next.
That leaves White as the pick despite having the least fantasy success of this bunch to date. Jacory Croskey-Merritt's earliest possible return from a groin injury is Week 11, which clears the runway for Rachaad White as Washington's lead back.
White did what he usually does in his first start of the season in Week 6 against San Francisco. He ran the ball inefficiently (albeit against a tough 49ers run defense), dominated targets out of the backfield, and scored once through the air.
Croskey-Merritt wasn't lighting the world on fire while playing banged up, so if White acquits himself well in his upcoming starts against the Eagles, Rams, and Giants, it's entirely possible he cements himself as the lead option in a 60-40 timeshare while keeping the primary role on passing downs and at the goal line if and when Croskey-Merritt returns.
Ryan Weisse: If he can get healthy, this is Monangai, easily. His efficiency numbers are great; he just can't get back on the field. Instead,
I'll pick Gordon. He is the RB27, but he's only started four games this year. If you remove Weeks 1 and 2, before the De'Von Achane injury, Gordon is the RB18 in his four starts. Because the Dolphins have had their bye, he is the RB12 in points per game in that span.
His touchdown pace is likely unsustainable, as he has scored in every start, but the volume should continue. Gordon is a top 20 back for the rest of the fantasy season.
Darin Tietgen: I want to say it's Gordon, but gosh, that Miami team looks like a mess. I think the biggest mover could be Rachaad White. "Bill" is out for a few weeks, but White's skill set fits the Washington offense better anyway. In PPR formats, White was an OK flex play. Now that he assumes the #1 RB role for his offense, he'll catapult into RB2 status and finish the season with some big games.
Sean Settle: I'm with Darin and Phil on Rachaad White, Washington. Darin got to the heart of it, writing that with Jacory Croskey-Merritt out, "he assumes the number one running back role for his offense" and should "catapult into RB2 status." The path to playing time here is the cleanest of the four options, since Croskey-Merritt is dealing with a groin injury and cannot return before week 11 at the earliest.
In his first week back as the clear lead back, White carried 7 times for 27 yards and caught 4 of 5 targets for 30 yards and a touchdown, good for a 41.1 percent carry share and the seventh-highest target share at the position that week. Washington fell behind by 17 points in that game and threw the ball 40 times against only 17 rushing attempts, which is exactly the kind of game script that keeps a passing down back heavily involved even when the ground game itself is quiet.
White does not need touchdown luck to be valuable; he needs Washington trailing, and if this offense keeps leaning on him through the air the way it did the moment it got the chance, he is a weekly RB2 with real upside.