Fantasy Football RB Touch & Target Projections for Buccaneers vs. Cowboys on Thursday Night Football

In fantasy football, running back is arguably the most important position on the field. At the very least, good RBs are the hardest commodity to come by in most formats, and finding ones with any value in DFS is a chore.

With all that in mind, I’m here help.

Let’s break down some touch and target projections for each backfield in tonight’s Thursday Night Football tilt between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

RB Touch Projections for Buccaneers vs. Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

Generated October 08, 2026 at 09:05 AM ET

– Proj Car / Proj Tgt — Projected rushing attempts and receiving targets. Game script adjusts the split: favored teams get up to 12% more carries, underdogs get up to 15% more targets.

– Projections — Built from blended per-game rates (35% 2025 / 65% 2026), adjusted for matchup, game spread, DK team totals, and depth chart role. Out/IR players excluded with touches redistributed. Q/D volume reductions apply Fri-Sun only (after official designations).

I’ll be honest, there was three running backs listed here initially, but following an inactive in Week 4, Emari Demercado was waived by the Cowboys this afternoon. Makes sense. Dallas only dressed two RBs in last week’s win over the Texans — not counting full back Hunter Luepke — and I expect they’ll do the same again tonight.

In the grand scheme of things, the team’s depth at the position doesn’t really matter. Javonte Williams is a true bell cow, and the stats bear out his massive workload and role. Coming into Week 5, Williams has seen a 75.1% snap share and his 77 touches are the 10th-most of any skill-position player in the league. He’s also one of only seven running backs that has seen at least 70% of his team’s rushing attempts in the red zone, which has translated into six touchdowns — the fourth-most in the NFL. Williams is a stud.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Generated October 08, 2026 at 09:05 AM ET

– Proj Car / Proj Tgt — Projected rushing attempts and receiving targets. Game script adjusts the split: favored teams get up to 12% more carries, underdogs get up to 15% more targets.

– Projections — Built from blended per-game rates (35% 2025 / 65% 2026), adjusted for matchup, game spread, DK team totals, and depth chart role. Out/IR players excluded with touches redistributed. Q/D volume reductions apply Fri-Sun only (after official designations).

I’ll be honest, when the Buccaneers gave Kenneth Gainwell a two-year, $14 million contract this offseason, I thought he’d be a bigger part of their offensive plans in 2026. That just hasn’t been the case through four games. The veteran’s 12 targets aren’t nothing, and he did find the end zone late last weekend against the Packers, yet it all feels like a fry cry from Gainwell’s breakout campaign in Pittsburgh last year. The 27-year-old has yet to see more than six touches in a single contest, and he’s averaging an underwhelming 2.0 yards per carry.

As for Bucky Irving, let’s just keep an eye on that snap count, shall we? After registering a season-high 78.5% snap share in Week 2 vs. the Browns, Irving has been below 60% each of the past two games. He remains the clear RB1 in Tampa, yet this is a team that ranks 31st in offensive touchdowns per contest (1.5). There’s not a lot of volume wiggle room with owners, as this isn’t exactly a fantasy utopia at the moment.