Start Derrick Henry or Kenneth Walker? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 1:26 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Henry projects lower, 16.0 to 19.0, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 15 for Henry, 22 for Walker.

Start

Derrick Henry

RB · BAL · at BUF

Market projects: 16.0; recent weeks avg
BUF D vs RB: 27.3; 3rd most to RBs (2026)
Upside: High; 92 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 57%; Through Week 7
Target share: 6%; Through Week 7

Sit

Kenneth Walker

RB · KC · at DEN

Market projects: 19.0; recent weeks avg
DEN D vs RB: 22.4; 11th most to RBs (2026)
Snap share: 75%; Through Week 6
Target share: 15%; Through Week 6

Should I drop Derrick Henry for Kenneth Walker?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Kenneth Walker projects 197 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (19.7 a game over 10 games), Derrick Henry 140 (15.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Derrick Henry over Kenneth Walker. So make the move after his Week 8 game.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Derrick Henry over Kenneth Walker in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Derrick Henry at 16.0 points and Kenneth Walker at 19.0, a gap of 3.0. Derrick Henry still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 15 against 22, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Derrick Henry this week yet, so his 16.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (15.4, 16.2 and 16.3); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Kenneth Walker this week yet, so his 19.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 6 and 7 (20.1 and 17.9); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Kenneth Walker yet. His market-based projections were 20.1 and 17.9 points in Weeks 6 and 7, an average of 19.0, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Kenneth Walker is 0.8 touchdowns (7 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Derrick Henry yet. His market-based projections were 15.4, 16.2 and 16.3 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 16.0, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for Derrick Henry is 1.1 touchdowns (7 market sources).

That puts Kenneth Walker 3.0 points ahead of Derrick Henry on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Kenneth Walker and KC visit DEN on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

DEN allowed 22.4 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 11th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 99 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against DEN and caught passes for 35 more yards.

Derrick Henry and BAL visit BUF on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

BUF allowed 27.3 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the 3rd most in the league.

Running backs ran for 83 yards and a touchdown a game against BUF and caught passes for 47 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Derrick Henry has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Kenneth Walker is not on the injury report.

Derrick Henry is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 6, Kenneth Walker played 75 percent of KC snaps, took 76 percent of the carries, drew 15 percent of the targets and had 58 percent of the red zone chances.

Kenneth Walker, Week 2 against IND: 66 of 80 snaps, 24 carries for 117 yards, 10 targets and 6 catches for 61 yards.

Kenneth Walker, Week 3 against MIA: 38 of 52 snaps, 18 carries for 70 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 3 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Kenneth Walker, Week 4 against LV: 45 of 60 snaps, 22 carries for 177 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 2 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Kenneth Walker, Week 6 against LAC: 45 of 61 snaps, 19 carries for 128 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 11 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Through Week 7, Derrick Henry played 57 percent of BAL snaps, took 71 percent of the carries, drew 6 percent of the targets and had 51 percent of the red zone chances.

Derrick Henry, Week 4 against TEN: 40 of 64 snaps, 23 carries for 73 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 6 yards, 1 touchdown.

Derrick Henry, Week 5 against ATL: 42 of 76 snaps, 24 carries for 102 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 18 yards, 1 touchdown.

Derrick Henry, Week 6 against CLE: 33 of 57 snaps, 17 carries for 58 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 2 yards.

Derrick Henry, Week 7 against CIN: 34 of 67 snaps, 17 carries for 45 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 4 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Derrick Henry played 17 games for BAL and scored 279.5 PPR points, 16.4 a game, finishing RB8.

He ran 307 times for 1595 yards and 16 touchdowns, and caught 15 of 21 targets for 150 yards.

He was on the field for 54 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 Derrick Henry for Kenneth Walker?
Yes, on the rest of the season. Kenneth Walker projects 197 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (19.7 a game over 10 games), Derrick Henry 140 (15.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Derrick Henry over Kenneth Walker. So make the move after his Week 8 game.
Should I drop Kenneth Walker for Derrick Henry?
No. Keep Kenneth Walker: he projects 197 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (19.7 a game over 10 games), Derrick Henry 140 (15.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Derrick Henry over Kenneth Walker.

Should I drop Derrick Henry?Should I drop Kenneth Walker?