Alfred Morris, Roy Helu's Instant Fantasy Reaction After Week 8

After weeks of fantasy football irrelevancy, Washington running back Alfred Morris burst back onto the scene in a Week 8 Monday Night Football showdown against the Dallas Cowboys.

Of course, in new coach Jay Gruden's scheme, Morris' fate is forever intertwined with passing-down back Roy Helu, and both remain subjected to questionable usage rates that make them tough plays on a week-to-week basis.

Morris had just 12 carries a few minutes into the final quarter but was wildly effective against the Cowboys in that span, gaining 50 yards and a touchdown. Helu found similar success, taking four carries for 30 yards and catching two passes for another 14.

Both men slightly improved their output thanks to additional usage in an overtime period:

	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	REC	YDS	TD	TGTS	Fantasy Pts.
A. Morris	18	73	4.1	1	1	12	0	1	14
R. Helu	5	29	5.8	0	2	14	0	2	3

Keep in mind that Morris' outburst marked only his third time to double digits this year and that he traditionally finds a wealth of success against Dallas, as he entered Monday with 482 yards and six scores in four games against the Cowboys.

As Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan notes, even Monday's Morris was less efficient than usual:

Take Morris' outburst with a grain of salt, as he had totaled all of 12 points in the past three weeks combined going into Monday. He remains a non-factor when Washington falls behind, which brings things back to Helu.

Owned in just 33.6 percent of leagues, Helu has cracked double digits just once this season and was once again underused despite strong showings on the ground. He remains pigeonholed as a passing option only, rendering him as a RB4 at best moving forward unless the staff has a sudden change of heart.

Morris continues to be a low-end RB2, even if two of the next three weeks are very favorable matchups against the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, teams that rank among the six worst in the NFL in terms of points surrendered to backs on average.

As things stand, unloading Morris via trade as a potential sell-high value is a great idea, especially with his usage paired with a shaky quarterback situation in the coming weeks.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.