The NFL schedule is moving along now into Week 8 with Thursday night football coming between the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that means fantasy football owners will be looking for some of the best players to start and in some leagues with flex positions it can be tough to decide, but some names that could perform includes Peyton Hillis, Mike Tolbert and Chris Ivory at running back and Brandon LaFell at wide receiver.
Some leagues have different flex positions that include the tight end as well, while others have just running backs or receivers, so for this post we'll keep it to that for now and maybe will add a tight end next time around. The running back position will be tough this week with six teams having byes, meaning that names like Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, Trent Richardson, Ryan Mathews, Ray Rice and Arian Foster all will be off. Someone like Hillis could have a solid week against the Philadelphia Eagles, as he looked good while running on Monday night football despite just getting signed the week before. If Brandon Jacobs can't go against the Eagles, Hillis should get the majority of the carries again.
The Eagles have played better against the run since early in the season and while they did well last week against the Cowboys, this time against the Giants could be different. The team looked more consistent on offense rushing the ball and Hillis showed that he could grind out tough yards. While he finished with just 36 yards on 18 carries, he will have more chances and after scoring a touchdown he will get touches in the red zone. He also was a factor out of the backfield, catching five passes for over 40 yards and that makes him a good option for PPR leagues as well.
The Giants have been terrible all season, but they have the chance at another win on Sunday after getting their first victory of the year on MNF against the Vikings. Flex and deeper leagues should take a look at Mike Tolbert, who is playing on Thursday and could be a very valuable player, as he is used in the red zone plenty by the Panthers and with Jonathan Stewart still working on his return, he could continue getting some carries after having 13 last week for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Over the past two weeks Tolbert has scored two touchdowns and he has three over his last four games while also steadily increasing his carries and yards over the past three to four weeks and that could mean a big game against a terrible Bucs team. The Buccaneers have a solid run defense, but they are so bad it's bound to crack at some point and now the team has the chance to play on Thursday night and Tolbert could be a factor. This season he has just 147 yards rushing, but the bulk of that has come over the past four weeks.
Chris Ivory is coming off of a nice 104 yard game against the Patriots and he should be starting to come around for the Jets. Brandon LaFell plays on Thursday and is a solid flex pick, as he had over 100 yards two weeks ago and is becoming a great target for Cam Newton.
