2011 NFL Fantasy Football Week 8: Top Flex Play Rankings / Projections

DeMarco Murray vs Eagles – 

A hot name off the waiver wire turned fantasy gold, as rookie running back DeMarco Murray broke the Cowboys single game rushing record in his first game as a feature back. Sure, Murray’s stats were helped by a 91-yard touchdown score at the start of the game, but, if you look at his rushing numbers after that touchdown, he still posted over 160 yards on 24 carries.

Look for Murray to have another solid performance this week as Felix Jones will be sidelined again with a high ankle sprain and fellow veteran Tashard Choice injured his shoulder last week. Fellow rookie Patrick Tanner stands to be Murray’s backup, but fantasy owners should expect Murray to get a feature back type of workload again.

While Murray isn't used in the passing game, he’s a talented pass catcher. As I pointed out last week, he had 71 receptions with the Sooners last year. Consider Murray a must start running back as long as Jones is out, and if he continues to play half as good as he did against the Rams, he will likely take over as the starter for good.

Knowshon Moreno vs Lions -

With Willis McGahee sidelined for at least one week with a hand injury, Knowshon Moreno figures to take on most of the work in the Broncos backfield. Lance Ball will be in the mix but Moreno should benefit from defenses having to account for Tim Tebow’s special abilities. While Moreno will never be a big-play threat, he can be a productive flex play option against a Lions defense that has struggled against the running game in recent weeks.

Nate Washington vs Colts –

The Titans have been horrible in recent weeks, but Nate Washington could be worth using as a WR-3 against the Colts. That’s not saying much about Washington at this point, as the Colts are fresh off giving up 62 points to the Saints, and have yet to win a game this year. Indianapolis has been horrible against No.1 receivers, and Washington should be good for around 75 yards and a score this week. Now lets see if the Titans will actually show up and play some football for a change.

Ryan Torain @ Bills –

While Tim Hightower is gone for the year with a torn ACL, forgive me if I’m a little hesitant to recommend Ryan Torain after Mike Shanhan pulled another one of his stunts this week by playing Hightower over Torain. Ideally, if Torain was to be used like we saw against the Rams, he would make for a decent RB-2 this week.

However, you just never know what Shanahan is going to do. After all, he still has rookies like Roy Helu and Evan Royster on the squad to use. Consider any Redskins running back a roll of the dice weekly from this point forward, no matter how well they play the week before. In the end, I should have recommended that from the beginning with Torain, and I apologize to those of you that started him a week ago. Shanahan, you’re a jerk!

More Wk 8 Rankings – QB | RB | WR | TE | Flex | K/D | Waivers | Start/Sit |

1	Arian Foster	Jaguars
2	Ray Rice	Cardinals
3	Fred Jackson	Redskins
4	LeSean McCoy	@ Cowboys
5	Ryan Mathews	@ Chiefs
6	Calvin Johnson	@ Broncos
7	Adrian Peterson (I)	@ Panthers
8	Maurice Jones-Drew	@ Texans
9	Wes Welker	@ Steelers
10	Mike Wallace	Patriots
11	Steve Smith (Carolina)	Vikings
12	Dwayne Bowe	Chargers
13	Frank Gore	Browns
14	DeMarco Murray	Eagles
15	Steven Jackson	Saints
16	Ahmad Bradshaw	Dolphins
17	Darren Sproles	@ Rams
18	Marques Colston	@ Rams
19	Hakeem Nicks	Dolphins
20	Dez Bryant	Eagles
21	Rashard Mendenhall	Patriots
22	Vincent Jackson (I)	@ Chiefs
23	A.J. Green	@ Seahawks
24	Jeremy Maclin	@ Cowboys
25	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	@ Steelers
26	Jonathan Stewart	Vikings
27	Chris Johnson	Colts
28	Anquan Boldin	Cardinals
29	DeSean Jackson	@ Cowboys
30	Stevie Johnson	Redskins
31	Daniel Thomas	@ Giants
32	Ben Tate	Jaguars
33	Larry Fitzgerald	@ Ravens
34	Miles Austin	Eagles
35	Antonio Brown	Patriots
36	Knowshon Moreno	Lions
37	Michael Crabtree	Browns
38	Torrey Smith	Cardinals
39	Percy Harvin (I)	@ Panthers
40	Montario Hardesty	@ 49ers
41	Pierre Thomas	@ Rams
42	Mike Tolbert	@ Chiefs
43	Brandon Lloyd	Saints
44	Brandon Marshall	@ Giants
45	Jackie Battle	Chargers
46	Eric Decker	Lions
47	Bernard Scott	@ Seahawks
48	Maurice Morris	@ Broncos
49	Reggie Wayne	@ Titans
50	Steve Breaston	Chargers
51	Mario Manningham	Dolphins
52	DeAngelo Williams	Vikings
53	Roy Helu	@ Bills
54	Delone Carter	@ Titans
55	David Nelson	Redskins
56	Greg Little	@ 49ers
57	Sidney Rice	Bengals
58	Deion Branch	@ Steelers
59	Pierre Garcon	@ Titans
60	Emmanuel Sanders	Patriots
61	Leon Washington	Bengals
62	Early Doucet	@ Ravens
63	Demaryius Thomas	Lions
64	Victor Cruz	Dolphins
65	Nate Washington	Colts
66	Justin Forsett	Bengals
67	Reggie Bush (I)	@ Giants
68	Donald Brown	@ Titans
69	Kevin Walter	Jaguars
70	Thomas Jones	Chargers
71	Steven Ridley	@ Steelers
72	Kendall Hunter	Browns
73	Ryan Torain	@ Bills
74	Keiland Williams	@ Broncos
75	Alfanso Smith	Ravens