If you dropped Rhamondre Stevenson early on in your fantasy season, look away now. Stevenson RB1 SZN is very much here and it's been a glorious one for his managers, as the New England Patriots' lead ballcarrier dropped a third straight top-10 positional finish in Week 8 against the New York Jets. All he did was lead the Patriots in rushing (71 yards) and receiving (72 yards) with his 23 total touches, finishing as fantasy's RB10 overall without even reaching the end zone.

And that came on the heels of RB2 and RB6 overall finishes in Weeks 6 and 7, respectively. Stevenson has taken command of the New England backfield and established himself as one of the best running backs in the NFL. Debate the real-life legitimacy of that if you wish, but there's no denying it in the fantasy realm.

[/Checks notes] ... For the season, Stevenson is currently the RB7 overall — RB7! So if Stevenson was an early-season pickup or trade acquisition that you're lucky enough to plug into your FLEX spot, well, congrats on the points (if not wins). If you dropped the man and made it this far into the article, we warned you to look away.

Stevenson takes aim at a fourth consecutive top-10 RB finish when the Patriots meet the Indianapolis Colts before going on a bye, and our crew has him narrowly missing that by ranking him No. 12 at the position for Week 9. As a FLEX play, he ranks 20th among all options. The Colts certainly aren't a pushover, ranking seventh in the league in scoring defense, but managers may take solace in Stevenson's obvious importance to the Patriots' offense — he's first in carries by a wide margin now (114 to Damien Harris' 71) and second in catches with 32.

[Week 9 Fantasy Rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | FLEX | DST | Kickers]

Here's the FLEX position — check out where Stevenson and the rest of the FLEX options landed in our analysts' rankings for Week 9:

2022 Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ - Expert Consensus Rankings