Start MarShawn Lloyd or Kenny Gainwell? Week 8

Updated Oct 27, 10:11 AM 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 Kenny Gainwell over MarShawn Lloyd

Start

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

Sit

MarShawn Lloyd

RB · GB · vs CAR

Market projects: 5.6; fantasy pts
CAR D vs RB: 28.7; 2nd most to RBs (2026)
Upside: Rising; 69 of 100 at RB
Snap share: 38%; Through Week 7
Target share: 6%; Through Week 7

Should I drop Kenny Gainwell for MarShawn Lloyd?

Yes, on the rest of the season. MarShawn Lloyd projects 60 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 9 games), Kenny Gainwell 56 (6.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Kenny Gainwell over MarShawn Lloyd. So make the move after his Week 8 game. Kenny Gainwell is listed questionable.

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Our Week 8 call

Start Kenny Gainwell over MarShawn Lloyd in Week 8.

Market-based projections have Kenny Gainwell at 6.0 points and MarShawn Lloyd at 5.6, a gap of 0.4. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. 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 Kenny Gainwell at ADP 95 and MarShawn Lloyd at 125.

What the market projects

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.

Player markets imply 5.6 fantasy points for MarShawn Lloyd, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for MarShawn Lloyd is 19 rushing yards, 6 receiving yards and 0.3 touchdowns (12, 8 and 13 market sources).

That puts Kenny Gainwell 0.4 points ahead of MarShawn Lloyd on these projections.

Week 8 matchups

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.

MarShawn Lloyd and GB host CAR on Thursday at 8:15 PM ET.

CAR allowed 28.7 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 6 games, the 2nd most in the league.

Running backs ran for 127 yards and 1-2 touchdowns a game against CAR and caught passes for 29 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, MarShawn Lloyd has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Kenny Gainwell is listed as questionable with a hip injury.

MarShawn Lloyd is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 8

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.

Through Week 7, MarShawn Lloyd played 38 percent of GB snaps, took 39 percent of the carries, drew 6 percent of the targets and had 22 percent of the red zone chances.

MarShawn Lloyd, Week 4 against TB: 33 of 60 snaps, 7 carries for 13 yards, 5 targets and 5 catches for 36 yards.

MarShawn Lloyd, Week 5 against CHI: 27 of 61 snaps, 10 carries for 31 yards, 2 targets and 1 catch for 6 yards, 2 touchdowns.

MarShawn Lloyd, Week 6 against DAL: 30 of 75 snaps, 8 carries for 10 yards, 1 target and 0 catches for 0 yards.

MarShawn Lloyd, Week 7 against DET: 24 of 67 snaps, 6 carries for 20 yards, 2 targets and 2 catches for 10 yards.

Their 2025 seasons

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 MarShawn Lloyd?
Yes, on the rest of the season. MarShawn Lloyd projects 60 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 9 games), Kenny Gainwell 56 (6.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Kenny Gainwell over MarShawn Lloyd. So make the move after his Week 8 game. Kenny Gainwell is listed questionable.
Should I drop MarShawn Lloyd for Kenny Gainwell?
No. Keep MarShawn Lloyd: he projects 60 market-implied PPR points from Week 8 through Week 17 (6.7 a game over 9 games), Kenny Gainwell 56 (6.2 a game over 9 games). For Week 8 the call starts Kenny Gainwell over MarShawn Lloyd. Kenny Gainwell is listed questionable.

Should I drop Kenny Gainwell?Should I drop MarShawn Lloyd?