Start Jonathan Taylor or Bucky Irving? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 8:36 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Latest

Oct 21, 3:43 PM ET: Bucky Irving: Listed Questionable (Illness) (Sleeper injury feed)

Start Jonathan Taylor over Bucky Irving

Start

Jonathan Taylor

RB · IND · at JAX

Market projects: 18.0; recent weeks avg
JAX D vs RB: 17.3; 2nd fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 35 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 80%; Through Week 7
Target share: 12%; Through Week 7

Sit

Bucky Irving

RB · TB · vs ATL

Market projects: 15.5; fantasy pts
ATL D vs RB: 24.6; 8th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: High; 94 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 64%; Through Week 7
Target share: 12%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Bucky Irving for Jonathan Taylor?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Jonathan Taylor projects 166 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.4 a game over 9 games), Bucky Irving 113 (12.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Bucky Irving.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Jonathan Taylor over Bucky Irving in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Jonathan Taylor at 18.0 points and Bucky Irving at 15.5, a gap of 2.5. No player market is posted for Jonathan Taylor this week yet, so his 18.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (17.9, 20.6 and 15.6); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take Jonathan Taylor at ADP 8 and Bucky Irving at 45.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 15.5 fantasy points for Bucky Irving, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Bucky Irving is 14 receiving yards and 0.8 touchdowns (3 and 7 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Jonathan Taylor yet. His market-based projections were 17.9, 20.6 and 15.6 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 18.0, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Jonathan Taylor 2.5 points ahead of Bucky Irving on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Bucky Irving and TB host ATL on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

ATL allowed 24.6 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 8th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 82 yards and a touchdown a game against ATL and caught passes for 39 more yards.

Jonathan Taylor and IND visit JAX on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

JAX allowed 17.3 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the 2nd fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 52 yards and 0-1 touchdowns a game against JAX and caught passes for 38 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Bucky Irving has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Bucky Irving is not on the injury report.

Jonathan Taylor is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Bucky Irving played 64 percent of TB snaps, took 59 percent of the carries, drew 12 percent of the targets and had 40 percent of the red zone chances.

Bucky Irving, Week 4 against GB: 37 of 64 snaps, 16 carries for 61 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Bucky Irving, Week 5 against DAL: 39 of 72 snaps, 21 carries for 165 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 10 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Bucky Irving, Week 6 against PIT: 63 of 74 snaps, 19 carries for 46 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 3 yards.

Bucky Irving, Week 7 against CAR: 37 of 63 snaps, 24 carries for 106 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 4 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Through Week 7, Jonathan Taylor played 80 percent of IND snaps, took 71 percent of the carries, drew 12 percent of the targets and had 47 percent of the red zone chances.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 4 against WAS: 47 of 66 snaps, 20 carries for 95 yards, 4 targets and 1 catch for 2 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 5 against PIT: 52 of 71 snaps, 15 carries for 45 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 37 yards.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 6 against TEN: 65 of 83 snaps, 21 carries for 94 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 57 yards, 1 touchdown.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 7 against MIN: 41 of 58 snaps, 18 carries for 95 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 15 yards, 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Bucky Irving played 10 games for TB and scored 138.5 PPR points, 13.9 a game, finishing RB34.

He ran 173 times for 588 yards and 1 touchdown, and caught 30 of 35 targets for 277 yards.

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

In 2025, Jonathan Taylor played 17 games for IND and scored 362.3 PPR points, 21.3 a game, finishing RB4.

He ran 323 times for 1585 yards and 18 touchdowns, and caught 46 of 55 targets for 378 yards.

He was on the field for 84 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 Bucky Irving for Jonathan Taylor?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Jonathan Taylor projects 166 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.4 a game over 9 games), Bucky Irving 113 (12.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Bucky Irving.
Should I drop Jonathan Taylor for Bucky Irving?
No. Keep Jonathan Taylor: he projects 166 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.4 a game over 9 games), Bucky Irving 113 (12.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Bucky Irving.

Should I drop Jonathan Taylor?