Sit Dylan Sampson in Week 8 if you have a real alternative — 4.4 projected points lands 6.6 under the RB starter line.
- Projection
- 4.4 pts
- RB rank
- #45
- Matchup
- at PIT
Dylan Sampson's fantasy role in Week 8
Dylan Sampson goes into Week 8 of the 2026 season as a deep-league RB flyer for the CLE. He is rostered in 10% of leagues and actually started in 1% of them, and we rank him RB45 on our own weekly board at 4.4 projected points.
Interest is climbing — roster rates moved up about 1% over the last week, which usually means managers are reacting to a bigger snap or target share.
No injury designation to work around right now, which keeps his projection honest.
Week 8 matchup breakdown
The matchup: at PIT. Our Pepper Meter heat rating for this spot is 1 out of 5, which is how we grade the combination of role, projection and opponent difficulty.
Against a typical starting RB baseline of 11 points, his 4.4-point projection is 6.6 points short. That gap is the whole start/sit argument in one number.
How to play it
Sit Dylan Sampson in Week 8 if you have a real alternative — 4.4 projected points lands 6.6 under the RB starter line.
If you are deciding between him and another RB, compare projections first, then lean on the Pepper Meter heat rating as the tiebreaker.
Sally's take
Peppers & Picks ranks Dylan Sampson (CLE RB), our RB45 this week for Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season at PIT, projecting 4.4 projected points with a mild Pepper Meter rating. Sally's honest about it: 6.6 points under the starter line isn't the ceiling she chases. 1% of managers already start him, and the depth-chart role behind that number looks stable. The projection sits about 60% under what a startable RB returns, so I can't pretend the price tag matches the output. The Pepper Meter cools him to Mild, and that reading is doing its job.
Tina's take
Peppers & Picks ranks Dylan Sampson (CLE RB), our RB45 this week for Week 8 of the 2026 NFL season at PIT, projecting 4.4 projected points with a mild Pepper Meter rating. Tina calls it a floor problem: 6.6 points under the starter line is a lot of risk for a lineup spot. 1% of managers already start him, and the depth-chart role behind that number looks stable. The projection sits about 60% under what a startable RB returns, so I honestly can't pretend the price tag matches the output. The Pepper Meter cools him to Mild, and that reading is doing its job.