Start Braelon Allen or Tony Pollard? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 2:16 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Pollard projects lower, 11.3 to 14.8, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 68 for Pollard, 180 for Allen.

Start

Tony Pollard

RB · TEN · at CIN

Market projects: 11.3; recent weeks avg
CIN D vs RB: 17.9; 4th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: High; 95 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 58%; Through Week 7
Target share: 8%; Through Week 7

Sit

Braelon Allen

RB · NYJ · vs LV

Market projects: 14.8; recent weeks avg
LV D vs RB: 25.4; 5th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: High; 100 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 64%; Through Week 7
Target share: 10%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Tony Pollard for Braelon Allen?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Braelon Allen projects 123 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (13.7 a game over 9 games), Tony Pollard 89 (9.9 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Tony Pollard over Braelon Allen. So make the move after his Week 8 game.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Tony Pollard over Braelon Allen in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Tony Pollard at 11.3 points and Braelon Allen at 14.8, a gap of 3.6. Tony Pollard still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 68 against 180, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Tony Pollard this week yet, so his 11.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (10.2, 11.1 and 12.5); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Braelon Allen this week yet, so his 14.8 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (14.9, 13.8 and 15.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Braelon Allen yet. His market-based projections were 14.9, 13.8 and 15.7 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 14.8, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

No Week 8 player market is posted for Tony Pollard yet. His market-based projections were 10.2, 11.1 and 12.5 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 11.3, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Tony Pollard is 0-1 touchdowns (7 market sources).

That puts Braelon Allen 3.6 points ahead of Tony Pollard on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Braelon Allen and NYJ host LV on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

LV allowed 25.4 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 5th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 125 yards and a touchdown a game against LV and caught passes for 37 more yards.

Tony Pollard and TEN visit CIN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CIN allowed 17.9 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the 4th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 81 yards and 0-1 touchdowns a game against CIN and caught passes for 32 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Braelon Allen has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Braelon Allen is not on the injury report.

Tony Pollard is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Braelon Allen played 64 percent of NYJ snaps, took 53 percent of the carries, drew 10 percent of the targets and had 30 percent of the red zone chances.

Braelon Allen, Week 4 against CHI: 30 of 32 snaps, 14 carries for 59 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 8 yards.

Braelon Allen, Week 5 against CLE: 60 of 70 snaps, 24 carries for 116 yards, 4 targets and 1 catch for 0 yards, 1 touchdown.

Braelon Allen, Week 6 against NE: 54 of 62 snaps, 17 carries for 78 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 26 yards.

Braelon Allen, Week 7 against MIA: 46 of 59 snaps, 17 carries for 104 yards, 7 targets and 6 catches for 30 yards.

Through Week 7, Tony Pollard played 58 percent of TEN snaps, took 70 percent of the carries, drew 8 percent of the targets and had 41 percent of the red zone chances.

Tony Pollard, Week 4 against BAL: 34 of 64 snaps, 16 carries for 48 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 2 yards, 1 touchdown.

Tony Pollard, Week 5 against HOU: 30 of 63 snaps, 14 carries for 52 yards, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Tony Pollard, Week 6 against IND: 35 of 46 snaps, 19 carries for 76 yards, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Tony Pollard, Week 7 against CLE: 47 of 63 snaps, 25 carries for 129 yards, 3 targets and 3 catches for 26 yards, 3 touchdowns.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Braelon Allen played 4 games for NYJ and scored 15.3 PPR points, 3.8 a game, finishing RB100.

He ran 18 times for 76 yards and 1 touchdown, and caught 2 of 3 targets for 17 yards.

He was on the field for 24 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Tony Pollard played 17 games for TEN and scored 185.8 PPR points, 10.9 a game, finishing RB23.

He ran 242 times for 1082 yards and 5 touchdowns, and caught 33 of 41 targets for 206 yards.

He was on the field for 62 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 8 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 8, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

Should I drop Tony Pollard for Braelon Allen?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Braelon Allen projects 123 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (13.7 a game over 9 games), Tony Pollard 89 (9.9 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Tony Pollard over Braelon Allen. So make the move after his Week 8 game.
Should I drop Braelon Allen for Tony Pollard?
No. Keep Braelon Allen: he projects 123 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (13.7 a game over 9 games), Tony Pollard 89 (9.9 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Tony Pollard over Braelon Allen.

Should I drop Tony Pollard?