Start Jonathan Taylor or Jaylen Warren? Week 8

Updated Oct 28, 2:13 AM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Start Jonathan Taylor over Jaylen Warren

Taylor projects lower, 16.0 to 16.7, and still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player: ADP 8 for Taylor, 62 for Warren.

Start

Jonathan Taylor

RB · IND · at JAX

Market projects: 16.0; fantasy pts
JAX D vs RB: 17.3; 2nd fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 34 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 80%; Through Week 7
Target share: 12%; Through Week 7

Sit

Jaylen Warren

RB · PIT · vs CLE

Market projects: 16.7; recent weeks avg
CLE D vs RB: 19.4; 8th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 63 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 74%; Through Week 7
Target share: 14%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Jaylen Warren 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), Jaylen Warren 149 (16.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Jaylen Warren.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Jonathan Taylor over Jaylen Warren in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Jonathan Taylor at 16.0 points and Jaylen Warren at 16.7, a gap of 0.7. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Jonathan Taylor still gets the call because it also weighs where drafters take each player, ADP 8 against 62, and that outweighs a gap this size. No player market is posted for Jaylen Warren this week yet, so his 16.7 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (17.8, 15.7 and 16.7); the call is rebuilt when his market posts.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for Jaylen Warren yet. His market-based projections were 17.8, 15.7 and 16.7 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 16.7, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

Player markets imply 16.0 fantasy points for Jonathan Taylor, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Jonathan Taylor is 68 rushing yards and 2-3 receptions (3 and 3 market sources).

That puts Jaylen Warren 0.7 points ahead of Jonathan Taylor on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

Jaylen Warren and PIT host CLE on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

CLE allowed 19.4 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 8th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 104 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against CLE and caught passes for 20 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, Jaylen Warren has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Jaylen Warren is not on the injury report.

Jonathan Taylor is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, Jaylen Warren played 74 percent of PIT snaps, took 68 percent of the carries, drew 14 percent of the targets and had 24 percent of the red zone chances.

Jaylen Warren, Week 4 against CLE: 70 of 72 snaps, 17 carries for 93 yards, 6 targets and 3 catches for 33 yards.

Jaylen Warren, Week 5 against IND: 52 of 60 snaps, 15 carries for 101 yards, 6 targets and 6 catches for 87 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Jaylen Warren, Week 6 against TB: 59 of 79 snaps, 14 carries for 50 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 28 yards.

Jaylen Warren, Week 7 against NO: 40 of 64 snaps, 18 carries for 101 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 36 yards.

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, Jaylen Warren played 16 games for PIT and scored 217.1 PPR points, 13.6 a game, finishing RB17.

He ran 211 times for 958 yards and 6 touchdowns, and caught 40 of 45 targets for 333 yards.

He was on the field for 51 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 Jaylen Warren 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), Jaylen Warren 149 (16.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Jaylen Warren.
Should I drop Jonathan Taylor for Jaylen Warren?
No. Keep Jonathan Taylor: he projects 166 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (18.4 a game over 9 games), Jaylen Warren 149 (16.6 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Jonathan Taylor over Jaylen Warren.

Should I drop Jonathan Taylor?