Should I drop Samaje Perine for Chris Rodriguez Jr.?

Not on these numbers alone. Samaje Perine projects 45 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (4.5 a game over 10 games) and Chris Rodriguez Jr. 43 (4.3 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 8 the call starts Samaje Perine over Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Start Samaje Perine or Chris Rodriguez Jr.? Week 8

Updated Oct 26, 12:26 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Samaje Perine over Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Start

Samaje Perine

RB · CIN · vs TEN

Market projects: 5.6; recent weeks avg
TEN D vs RB: 22.0; 14th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 52 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 35%; Through Week 7
Target share: 5%; Through Week 7

Sit

Chris Rodriguez Jr.

RB · JAX · vs IND

Market projects: 4.0; recent weeks avg
IND D vs RB: 22.0; 13th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 63 of 100 at RB

Should I drop Chris Rodriguez Jr. for Samaje Perine?

Not on these numbers alone. Chris Rodriguez Jr. projects 43 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (4.3 a game over 10 games) and Samaje Perine 45 (4.5 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 8 the call starts Samaje Perine over Chris Rodriguez Jr.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Samaje Perine over Chris Rodriguez Jr. in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Samaje Perine at 5.6 points and Chris Rodriguez Jr. at 4.0, a gap of 1.6. No player market is posted for Samaje Perine this week yet, so his 5.6 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 7 (4.7 and 6.6); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Chris Rodriguez Jr. this week yet, so his 4.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5 and 6 (4.0 and 3.9); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Samaje Perine yet. His market-based projections were 4.7 and 6.6 points in Weeks 5 and 7, an average of 5.6, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

No Week 8 player market is posted for Chris Rodriguez Jr. yet. His market-based projections were 4.1 and 3.9 points in Weeks 5 and 6, an average of 4.0, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts Samaje Perine 1.6 points ahead of Chris Rodriguez Jr. on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Samaje Perine and CIN host TEN on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

TEN allowed 22.0 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 14th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 105 yards and 0.9 touchdowns a game against TEN and caught passes for 32 more yards.

Chris Rodriguez Jr. and JAX host IND on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

IND allowed 22.0 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 13th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 96 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against IND and caught passes for 39 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Chris Rodriguez Jr. has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Samaje Perine is not on the injury report.

Chris Rodriguez Jr. is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Samaje Perine played 35 percent of CIN snaps, took 24 percent of the carries, drew 5 percent of the targets and had 17 percent of the red zone chances.

Samaje Perine, Week 3 against PIT: 18 of 57 snaps, 3 carries for 9 yards, 3 targets and 1 catch for 5 yards.

Samaje Perine, Week 4 against JAX: 27 of 76 snaps, 3 carries for 7 yards, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Samaje Perine, Week 5 against MIA: 33 of 65 snaps, 14 carries for 68 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 10 yards, 1 touchdown.

Samaje Perine, Week 7 against BAL: 12 of 53 snaps, 4 carries for 16 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards, 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Samaje Perine played 15 games for CIN and scored 77.9 PPR points, 5.2 a game, finishing RB57.

He ran 84 times for 382 yards and 3 touchdowns, and caught 17 of 21 targets for 87 yards.

He was on the field for 34 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Chris Rodriguez Jr. played 13 games for WAS and scored 92.0 PPR points, 7.1 a game, finishing RB51.

He ran 112 times for 500 yards and 6 touchdowns, and caught 3 of 4 targets for 30 yards.

He was on the field for 30 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Chris Rodriguez Jr., Week 18 of 2025 against PHI: 16 carries for 65 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 18 yards, 1 touchdown, 15.3 PPR points.

Chris Rodriguez Jr., Week 16 of 2025 against PHI: 28 of 54 snaps, 15 carries for 63 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 6 yards, 1 touchdown, 13.9 PPR points.

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 Chris Rodriguez Jr. for Samaje Perine?
Not on these numbers alone. Chris Rodriguez Jr. projects 43 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (4.3 a game over 10 games) and Samaje Perine 45 (4.5 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 8 the call starts Samaje Perine over Chris Rodriguez Jr.
Should I drop Samaje Perine for Chris Rodriguez Jr.?
Not on these numbers alone. Samaje Perine projects 45 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (4.5 a game over 10 games) and Chris Rodriguez Jr. 43 (4.3 a game over 10 games), too close to separate, so the roster spot decides it. For Week 8 the call starts Samaje Perine over Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Should I drop Samaje Perine?