Start J.K. Dobbins or Kenny Gainwell? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 12:21 PM ET. Locks at kickoff, graded after. Week 9 answer posts Tuesday.

Latest

Oct 25, 3:13 PM ET: Kenny Gainwell: Listed Questionable (Hip) (Sleeper injury feed)

Start J.K. Dobbins over Kenny Gainwell

Start

J.K. Dobbins

RB · DEN · vs KC

Market projects: 9.3; recent weeks avg
KC D vs RB: 19.5; 9th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside: Limited; 12 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 41%; Through Week 7
Target share: 5%; Through Week 7

Sit

Kenny Gainwell

RB · TB · vs ATL · Questionable

Market projects: 6.0; recent weeks avg
ATL D vs RB: 24.6; 8th most to RBs (2026)
Upside: Moderate; 40 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 35%; Through Week 7
Target share: 9%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Kenny Gainwell for J.K. Dobbins?

Yes, on the rest of the season. J.K. Dobbins projects 84 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (9.3 a game over 9 games), Kenny Gainwell 56 (6.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts J.K. Dobbins over Kenny Gainwell. Kenny Gainwell is listed questionable.

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Our Week 8 call

Start J.K. Dobbins over Kenny Gainwell in Week 8.

Market-based projections have J.K. Dobbins at 9.3 points and Kenny Gainwell at 6.0, a gap of 3.3. No player market is posted for J.K. Dobbins this week yet, so his 9.3 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (8.7, 9.1 and 10.1); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. No player market is posted for Kenny Gainwell this week yet, so his 6.0 is the average of his market-based projections in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 (5.3, 6.5 and 6.2); the call is rebuilt when his market posts. Drafters take J.K. Dobbins at ADP 90 and Kenny Gainwell at 95.

What the market projects

No Week 8 player market is posted for J.K. Dobbins yet. His market-based projections were 8.7, 9.1 and 10.1 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 9.3, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

The market-based projection for J.K. Dobbins is 0-1 touchdowns (7 market sources).

No Week 8 player market is posted for Kenny Gainwell yet. His market-based projections were 5.3, 6.5 and 6.2 points in Weeks 5, 6 and 7, an average of 6.0, which stands in until his Week 8 market posts.

That puts J.K. Dobbins 3.3 points ahead of Kenny Gainwell on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

J.K. Dobbins and DEN host KC on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

KC allowed 19.5 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the 9th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 72 yards and 0.7 touchdowns a game against KC and caught passes for 37 more yards.

Kenny Gainwell 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.

By points allowed to the position, Kenny Gainwell has the softer matchup.

Injury status

J.K. Dobbins is not on the injury report.

Kenny Gainwell is listed as questionable with a hip injury.

Usage before Week 8

Through Week 7, J.K. Dobbins played 41 percent of DEN snaps, took 52 percent of the carries, drew 5 percent of the targets and had 27 percent of the red zone chances.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 4 against SF: 21 of 65 snaps, 11 carries for 40 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 12 yards.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 5 against LAC: 32 of 62 snaps, 18 carries for 68 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 6 yards, 1 touchdown.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 6 against SEA: 31 of 60 snaps, 17 carries for 41 yards, 3 targets and 3 catches for 5 yards, 1 touchdown.

J.K. Dobbins, Week 7 against ARI: 14 of 61 snaps, 6 carries for 23 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 7, Kenny Gainwell played 35 percent of TB snaps, took 16 percent of the carries, drew 9 percent of the targets and had 9 percent of the red zone chances.

Kenny Gainwell, Week 4 against GB: 27 of 64 snaps, 3 carries for 5 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 22 yards, 1 touchdown.

Kenny Gainwell, Week 5 against DAL: 26 of 72 snaps, 4 carries for 18 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 10 yards.

Kenny Gainwell, Week 6 against PIT: 11 of 74 snaps, 2 carries for 17 yards, 1 target and 1 catch for 7 yards.

Kenny Gainwell, Week 7 against CAR: 19 of 63 snaps, 14 carries for 88 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, J.K. Dobbins played 10 games for DEN and scored 115.9 PPR points, 11.6 a game, finishing RB43.

He ran 153 times for 772 yards and 4 touchdowns, and caught 11 of 14 targets for 37 yards.

He was on the field for 51 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

In 2025, Kenny Gainwell played 17 games for PIT and scored 222.3 PPR points, 13.1 a game, finishing RB16.

He ran 114 times for 537 yards and 5 touchdowns, and caught 73 of 85 targets for 486 yards.

He was on the field for 49 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 Kenny Gainwell for J.K. Dobbins?
Yes, on the rest of the season. J.K. Dobbins projects 84 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (9.3 a game over 9 games), Kenny Gainwell 56 (6.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts J.K. Dobbins over Kenny Gainwell. Kenny Gainwell is listed questionable.
Should I drop J.K. Dobbins for Kenny Gainwell?
No. Keep J.K. Dobbins: he projects 84 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (9.3 a game over 9 games), Kenny Gainwell 56 (6.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts J.K. Dobbins over Kenny Gainwell. Kenny Gainwell is listed questionable.

Should I drop J.K. Dobbins?Should I drop Kenny Gainwell?