If you've been patching together the position in your Knockout league to this point, consider it a prime time to pounce for a top-shelf free agent. Between bye weeks and unexpectedly poor performances, an unusually large number of top-shelf running backs have found themselves on knocked-out teams so far in October.
The top 11 running backs in fantasy points per game have found themselves on a knocked-out team in more than 10% of leagues six times in the past three weeks alone. In fact, Derrick Henry, ninth in total points (122.7) and 11th in points per game (17.5), has been on the list in back-to-back weeks, after scoring fewer than 10 points in Weeks 6 (5.0) and 7 (5.9). The last time he had scored in single digits was Week 5 of last season.
The bye weeks have had a lot to do with this availability trend. In Week 5, it was RB2 (going by points per game) Kenneth Walker III and RB9 Chuba Hubbard. In Week 6, RB1 Jahmyr Gibbs took his turn. This past week, RB7 James Cook III had his bye. Hubbard was the only one of them whose knocked-out rate finished beneath 10% in that week (he was on eliminated teams in 8.5% of leagues), which you can attribute to the fact that you didn't spend a one of your top two picks on him.
It doesn't get any easier on the availability front: RB4 Christian McCaffrey's bye week is up next, and RB3 Bijan Robinson's arrives three weeks after that, during Bye-Maggeddon.
In a season where having an elite running back has proven particularly advantageous, now is the time to open up your FAB wallet and strengthen the position, assuming, of course, you're not already the lucky manager of one of the aforementioned seven players. Getting one with his bye in the rearview is even more beneficial.
This is the first time all season that three of these top 11 positional scorers have found themselves available via free agency in at least 10% of Knockout leagues, and two of them (Cook and Walker) fit the rearview-bye description. Even McCaffrey's managers should consider spending big on a top-shelf running back, bridging the San Francisco 49ers star's bye week, then providing an elite one-two punch for the season's final nine weeks. Remember, piecing together quarterback and wide receiver via the matchups route becomes easier with each passing week as your league size shrinks. There's only so many elite running backs.
The 20 most-knocked-out players exiting Week 7
Note that FAB recommendations are in three tiers: "% OF FAB TO BID (ENFORCE)" is a low-end recommendation, if you don't necessarily need the player but don't want him gifted to the competition. "% OF FAB TO BID (MEDIAN)" is the recommended bid for a team with average needs at that position. "% OF FAB TO BID (AGGRESSIVE)" is advised for teams thin at that specific spot.
My favorite pickup of the week
Kenneth Walker III, RB, Kansas City Chiefs (10.3% Knocked out, 15th overall, RB5): Neither he nor his Chiefs had an especially good Week 7, as he scored a season-low 9.7 fantasy points while his team lost, 20-3. The matchup -- a Sunday Night Football road game against the Seattle Seahawks, who have allowed the fewest yards per game -- had a lot to do with it. Even with that performance, Walker ranks second at his position in total fantasy points (147.7) and fantasy points per game (24.6), as well as second in rushing share (75%) and fifth in snap rate (75%). He's one of the best all-around players to have in any fantasy football format, but he's especially appealing in Knockout play with a rearview bye. Recommended bid: 27-59% of your full-season FAB budget.
Go get 'em
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills (11.7% Knocked out, 6th overall, QB1): He's only atop this group and ahead of the next two running backs because he's the top-scoring fantasy quarterback -- and that's not just this year, but also 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2025 -- and he has his bye week in the rearview. I typically prefer to stream my quarterbacks for Knockout play, but Allen is the one for whom you should open up your wallet, given those circumstances. Recommended bid: 20-36%.
James Cook III, RB, Buffalo Bills (15.4% Knocked out, 1st overall): He has been a top-eight scoring running back in each of the past three seasons, but if there's anything that keeps him a notch behind the aforementioned Walker, it's what Allen's goal-line presence does to Cook's scoring opportunities. At the goal line so far this year, Allen has handled seven of the team's 11 plays and converted them all; Cook has had three and converted one. Cook is also 5-for-11 converting goal-to-go carries; Allen is 6-for-7. Recommended bid: 24-53%.
Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens (12.2% Knocked out, 5th overall, RB2): Back-to-back poor weeks might heighten prospective fantasy managers' worries, but Henry's role remains massive and his supporting cast should only improve once Lamar Jackson is fully healthy. Henry leads the league in goal-to-go carries (20), and he's fifth among running backs in rushing share (69%). The only separator between him and Walker or Cook is that Henry's bye week is still ahead of him (Week 13), sandwiched by a pair of brutal matchups (@HOU, BYE, TB from Weeks 12-14). Recommended bid: 22-51%.
Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (10.6% Knocked out, 12th overall, RB3): He's my stealth rearview-bye running back add, a player you might be able to sneak through at a deep discount bid relative to Walker, Cook or Henry. Tuten isn't quite the primary back that any of those three are -- Chris Rodriguez Jr. does vulture some goal-line carries from him -- but he still has healthy numbers in terms of snap rate (55%) and rushing share (56%). I'm also a believer in the Jaguars' offense, and to make an out-there comp to a 2025 team/running back situation -- much as I'm no fan of such comps -- Tuten is a decent bet to have a Chase Brown-like hot spell to conclude his 2026. Recommended bid: 16-40%.
Worthy, with worries
Nico Collins, WR, Houston Texans (12.8% Knocked out, 2nd overall, WR1): Well, he's got one worry: His bye, which arrives this very week. Among players (or team defenses) whose knockout rates were greater than league average over the past three weeks, 17% were on bye at the time. Still, if you can steer Collins through his Week 8 absence, he doesn't have a single remaining matchup against one of the 10 toughest schedule-adjusted positional matchups, and he finishes his Knockout season with four straight games against top-12 favorable matchups. Recommended bid:17-40%.
Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets (12.6% Knocked out, 4th overall, WR4): Another week, another Wilson inclusion on this list. As his percentage of available remaining weeks declines -- his Week 13 bye becomes decreasingly appealing -- and his percentage of suboptimal matchups increases -- look at that DEN-@ARI-NE-MIN post-bye schedule -- he's going to see his recommended FAB bid plummet. Recommended bid: 12-30% of your full-season FAB budget.
No thanks
DK Metcalf, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (10.7% Knocked out, 11th overall, WR6): I'm not impressed by what I've seen from him thus far. He has only two top-25 positional scoring weeks, and has barely averaged 10 fantasy points (10.9, to be exact) despite a 24% target share. Metcalf is third in the league in drops, and his 26% catch rate on throws at least 15 yards downfield is his worst in eight NFL seasons. His bye week also arrives in Week 9, making it just as likely he'll be this available exiting that week as this one. Recommended bid: 7-17%.