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Fantasy Football Rankings: Running backs for Week 5

Ranking the best running backs by matchup and opportunity for Week 5 of the 2018 NFL Season.    

By NHB
Cincinnati Bengals v Carolina Panthers Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Week 5 is a tough one for running backs and we’ve done our best to provide you with top notch info on who to count on.

Week 5 - RB rankings

Rank Running Back Team Opponent High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s
Rank Running Back Team Opponent High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s
1 Todd Gurley LAR at SEA Seattle has allowed the 6th most rushing yards to opposing RBs this year.
2 Alvin Kamara NO WSH Fantasy's RB1 tumbles to the 2 spot in a tough matchup with a stout Washington run defense.
3 Melvin Gordon LAC OAK Oakland's given up the 3rd most rushing yards to RBs this year.
4 Christian McCaffrey CAR NYG NYG comes in at No. 4 in rushing yards allowed and CMC is the focal point of this offense.
5 Ezekiel Elliot DAL at HOU Volume keeps Elliot afloat in a tough matchup, surrounded by a bad Dallas supporting cast.
6 Saquon Barkley NYG at CAR A volume-based ranking in a tough matchup.
7 James Conner PIT ATL Conner is 10th in the league in RB receptions and ATL is the all-giving defense for pass-catching RBs.
Lower-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s
8 Kareem Hunt KC JAX It's a tough matchup but Hunt is running hard and getting lots of work inside the 5-yard line. His passing game volume is increasing as well.
9 T.J. Yeldon JAX at KC Kansas City has given up the 5th most rushing yards on the year and can't stop anything through the air. Yeldon is locked-in for 20+ touches against them.
10 Sony Michel NE IND Michel should see a high volume of work against a Colts defense allowing over 100 rushing yards per game, on a short week.
11 Marshawn Lynch OAK at LAC Marshawn is breaking tackles right and left, looking like vintage Beastmode. It's possible he's game-scripted out of this one but he's too hot to ignore right now.
12 David Johnson ARI at SF Given SF's assumed offensive ineptitude, ARI should be able to stay competitive. That means a high-volume of sub-optimal touches for DJ.
High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB2s
13 Joe Mixon CIN MIA Assuming he's able to go, Mixon should have a secure workload against the 13th worst run defense in the league.
14 Carlos Hyde CLE BAL 2018's RB6 drops to 14 given the tough matchup and last week's explosive plays from Nick Chubb.
15 Tevin Coleman ATL at PIT Until we get confirmation that Devonta Freeman will immediately resume operating as ATL's No. 1 RB, I'm sticking with Coleman in this plus matchup.
16 Dalvin Cook MIN at PHI Cook will need to be featured in the passing game as a safety valve against Philly's ferocious pass rush.
17 Phillip Lindsay DEN at NYJ The electric playmaker will look to keep his hot streak rolling against a mid-tier run defense (barring another ejection).
Lower-Floor/High-Ceiling RB2s
18 Matt Breida SF ARI Breida gets the NFL's 2nd worst run defense in Week 5. His limited touch-count shouldn't hold him back too much.
19 Chris Thompson WSH at NO Gamescript should favor Thompson over Adrian Peterson in what's likely to be a shootout.
20 Javorius Allen BAL at CLE Allen is the Ravens' lead back at this point in time. His passing game usage elevates his floor.
21 Mark Ingram NO WSH 10 touches in the Saints offense is enough to produce RB2 numbers.
22 Aaron Jones GB at DET Jones looked good last week and now faces the NFL's worst run defense, albeit in a timeshare.
23 Jay Ajayi PHI MIN Usage keeps Ajayi in the RB2 discussion, even in a tough matchup.
24 Royce Freeman DEN at NYJ He's somewhat touchdown dependent but they love him at the goal-line.
Low-Floor/High-Ceiling RB3s
25 Nyheim Hines IND at NE Hines has a low floor but easily could finish as a high-end RB2 in a possible shootout this week.
26 Adrian Peterson WSH at NO New Orleans has been very good against the run this year and Peterson is fairly one-dimensional.
27 Devonta Freeman ATL at PIT Tevin Coleman's effectiveness and the rise of Ito Smith have left a banged up Freeman in limbo.
28 James White NE IND White's passing game usage should decrease with the return of Julian Edelman. If Gronk is confirmed OUT, White could rise in the rankings.
29 Austin Ekeler LAC OAK Ekeler maintained his role in the offense last week. It's possible he sees a little extra work as the Chargers close out their inevitable win.
30 Dion Lewis TEN at BUF Lewis saw 9 targets last week and Mariota appears to have turned the corner in his ulnar nerve recovery.
31 Ty Montgomery GB at DET With Cobb and Allison banged up, it's likely TyMont gets a little more work through the air.
32 Lamar Miller HOU DAL A starting RB is a starting RB, right? Right?!
33 Alex Collins BAL at CLE The talented runner is stuck in fumble-purgatory.
34 Kerryon Johnson DET GB Johnson is easily Detroit most talented runner but Matt Patricia is deadset on trying to imitate Bill Belichick with a committee approach.
35 Chris Carson SEA LAR Hopefully you were able to trade him after his Week 3 explosion.
36 Bilal Powell NYJ DEN Powell should function as a safety valve against the Broncos' pass rush.
RB4s
37 Isaiah Crowell CLE DEN He gets the goal-line work after Powell brings them down the field.
38 Frank Gore MIA at CIN Gore got the start last week over Kenyan Drake.
39 Alfred Morris SF ARI Morris could fall into the endzone against the Cardinals paltry defense.
40 Derrick Henry TEN at BUF Similar to Morris, Henry has a shot at accidentally scoring.
41 LeSean McCoy BUF TEN McCoy is impossible to count on at this point.
42 Giovani Bernard CIN MIA Gio might need to be higher on this list. He's got a good shot at 10 touches this week.
43 Jalen Richard OAK at LAC Richard will likely see some 2nd-half work as the Raiders trail the Chargers in LA.
44 Jordan Wilkins IND at NE Wilkins could see around 10 touches if the Colts keep things close.
45 Corey Grant JAX at KC Grant has a good shot to see some passing game work with Fournette out.
46 Duke Johnson Jr. CLE BAL Hue might accidentally use him.
47 Jamaal Williams GB at DET Williams is guaranteed playing time given his pass pro prowess. He is not, however, guaranteed touches.
48 Theo Riddick DET GB Riddick will get work this week as DET tries to keep pace with GB.

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