Fantasy Football: 4 Things We Learned From Week 8

Alex Collins Is a Solid Fantasy Starter

Alex Collins is a perfect example of how quickly things change in the NFL. Heading into the season, Collins was on exactly no one's fantasy radar. After a quietly decent rookie season for the Seahawks, the team waived Collins just before the start of the year. The Ravens signed him to their practice squad a few days later, and it felt safe to ignore him for fantasy purposes.

But then the Ravens' running backs began dropping like flies. Kenneth Dixon, Danny Woodhead and Terrance West were injured by Week 5 of the NFL season, giving Baltimore no choice but to promote Collins from the practice squad. They may have been reluctant to give him the ball, but he is making it harder and harder for the team to keep it away from him as the weeks go by.

Collins is balling out when the team lets him carry the rock. Heading into Week 8, his 6.00 yards per carry led the NFL -- even Kareem Hunt has been less efficient on a per-touch basis (granted Hunt has a lot more carries). His efficiency helps him keep his fantasy floor stable despite the Ravens' insistence on using Javorius Allen, as well.

Hopefully Collins' Week 8 performance did enough to show the Ravens that he's their man. His 113 rushing yards came on just 18 carries -- good for a 6.27 yards per rush clip -- and vastly outperformed Allen's 55 yards on 17 carries. Collins is a solid weekly fantasy starter for now (either flex or RB2 territory), but if the Ravens ever give him a workhorse role, watch out.