Week 7 Fantasy Football Market Share Report: LeSean McCoy Is the Running Back to Own in Kansas City

As we enter Week 8, we're halfway through the regular season in most fantasy football formats. Data becomes more and more trustworthy with each passing week, and as always, it's on us to keep up to date with the latest usage trends.

What market share numbers should you take note of as we get into Week 8?

Rushing Market Shares

LeSean McCoy, Kansas City Chiefs

There are two ways to play this. One, there’s no Patrick Mahomes for a few weeks, so all Kansas City Chiefs are off limits. Or, two, Mahomes' injury means KC will run it more, creating a reason to buy LeSean McCoy, who appears to be the man in this backfield.

With a healthy Damien Williams in Week 8, McCoy took the lead in this jumbled committee, handling 12 carries for 64 yards on the ground, compared to Williams’ nine carries for seven yards. McCoy has now seen 10 and 14 total touches over the last two games, a span that comes right after Shady had a no-carry, two-catch game in Week 5. Over the last two, Williams has logged touch counts of 11 and two.

In what's been a tough backfield to figure out all season, McCoy looks like the lead guy, and with Matt Moore taking over, the Shady owner in your league may be open to dealing McCoy. It's not a bad time to get him.

Mark Walton, Miami Dolphins

Remember -- it’s all about the usage. The Miami Dolphins showed they can be just a smidge north of inept in a tough spot in Week 7 versus the Buffalo Bills, and Mark Walton is starting to pop.

Walton dominated the rushing market share for Miami last week with 14 carries for 66 yards, including a 19-yard run. He also caught one pass. Walton accounted for 14 of Miami's 24 running back carries while Kenyan Drake got just six rushes -- though Drake did log four targets, compared to one for Walton.

The rumors continue to swirl about Kenyan Drake being traded, but so far, it’s amounted to nothing. But Drake continues to be a timeshare back and on the wrong side of the timeshare.

Walton is unproven, but he is emerging. Even though Miami sports a hideous offense, any lead back is a guy worth rostering in fantasy football.

Receiving Market Shares

A.J. Brown, Tennessee Titans

Believing in A.J. Brown means believing in the Tennessee Titans' offense, and that’s a hard thing to do.

But consider this -- on Sunday, Brown netted six catches for 60 yards on eight targets, and he recorded a 27 percent market share. And in Week 8, Brown and the Titans get the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a tasty matchup.

Brown's biggest obstacle to volume outside of a run-heavy offense and iffy quarterback play is Corey Davis. In the past two weeks, Brown has gone toe-to-toe with Davis, who was targeted on 23 percent of Tennessee's throws in Week 7. Brown netted 56 air yards on Sunday in Ryan Tannehill's first start, compared to Davis' 58, according to AirYards.com.

Brown has looked pretty darn good so far in his rookie year, and he might wind up being the most valuable Titans' pass-catcher.

Jaron Brown, Seattle Seahawks

There’s nothing wrong with chasing the previous week’s points. So if you did in Week 7, Jaron Brown had three receptions for 60 yards on six targets. In Week 6, Brown had two touchdowns.

Even in Seattle, Brown was third on the target list behind Tyler Lockett (7) and D.K. Metcalf (9). And Lockett had 85 air yards on Sunday, while Metcalf had 108 and Brown ended with 69, according to airyards.com

In Week 8, the suddenly formidable Seattle offense gets the pathetic and sinking fast Atlanta Falcons defense.

An under the radar Brown makes for a nice flex or fill in play in a hot Seattle offense. At a 19 percent target share, he’s far from elite, but nobody will ask for much for Brown and he could easily pay dividends again.

Red Zone Market Shares

Carlos Hyde, Houston Texans

An unlikely player has emerged as a legit red zone weapon: Carlos Hyde.

When Hyde landed with the Houston Texans, the thought was he would split time with Duke Johnson and whomever else they might bring in. But what has happened is Hyde seizing a role as the preferred running back and weapon on the ground in the red zone.

Hyde has 16 red zone attempts and three touchdowns on the ground. He’s handling 55 percent of the red zone rushing work for the Texans while Johnson has just six carries inside the 20 (Deshaun Watson also has six). Hyde has also notched seven carries inside the five, tied for the fourth-most among all backs.

With Duke Johnson’s role being far less than most imagined and perhaps hoped, Hyde is going to continue to be a viable running back play most weeks, especially in standard formats.

Jimmy Graham, Green Bay Packers

This doesn’t feel right listing Jimmy Graham in the red zone shares column, but here we are. Lets face it: Graham is a red zone target, and one of the best in football this season. Oh, and his quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, is red-hot.

Currently, Graham has nine red zone targets, which is the second most in football -- tied with Mike Evans, Michael Thomas and Tyler Lockett. Think about that.

It’s all about opportunity.

Graham has three touchdowns, and while Davante Adams' eventual return will ding his value, Graham is, at worst, a decent dart throw at a touchdown each week, putting him on the radar at a thin tight end position.