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Aaron Jones cracks the Top 5 with Tevin Coleman hot on his heels. Le’Veon Bell manages just a high-end RB2 ranking in what should be a Top 5-er. This is a make-or-break week for head coach Adam Gase as the Jets square off with the tanking Miami Dolphins. The Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles’ backs have a stranglehold on the mid-tier of the RB2 ranks. Week 8 Waiver Wire celebrity, Ty Johnson, tumbles into the RB3 pit. And what to make of the KC backfield?
Teams on bye: Bengals, Falcons, Rams, and Saints.
Week 9 Running Back Rankings
| Rank | Running Back | Team | Opponent | High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Running Back | Team | Opponent | High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s |
| 1 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | TEN | CMC's upside is unlike any other. |
| 2 | Dalvin Cook | MIN | at KC | Kansas City's run game defense is among the league's worst. They just allowed the similar all-purpose back Aaron Jones to hang 226 yards from scrimmage and 2 scores on them. |
| 3 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | at NYG | Surreal smash spot for him here. |
| 4 | Saquon Barkley | NYG | DAL | Having him this low almost feels criminal. The other 3 just have better matchups and (and ceiling, in CMC's case). |
| 5 | Aaron Jones | GB | at LAC | Last week's RB1 in .5PPR/PPR and RB2 in Standard gets another blow-up spot against the Chargers defense that just gave David Montgomery a Top 7 finish. |
| 6 | Leonard Fournette | JAX | HOU | Lenny and his glorious dual threat usage have a stellar matchup on tap this week. Houston's run defense is sub par and he's sure to have 25+ chances to hammer it. |
| 7 | Tevin Coleman | SF | at ARI | Arizona has been smoked by good run games. The Niners run game would absolutely qualify as such. |
| 8 | Derrick Henry | TEN | at CAR | Last week was tough for the big fella. With Cam Newton out again, we can expect a Battle of the Backs this week. |
| 9 | Chris Carson | SEA | TB | He's a lock for 20+ touches. It's a very tough matchup though. |
| 10 | Nick Chubb | CLE | at DEN | The only thing certain about the Cleveland offense is that no matter what the score it, Nick Chubb will be featured. |
| 11 | Josh Jacobs | OAK | DET | The Detroit D-Line has been banged up all year and it's had a considerable impact on opposing ground games. We'll monitor Lions' practice reports this week to see if they remain shorthanded. |
| 12 | Jaylen Samuels | PIT | IND | It's a tough matchup but Samuels is locked-in for over 20 touches this weekend. |
| High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s | ||||
| 13 | Marlon Mack | IND | at PIT | A tough matchup but the Colts' offensive focal point should see 20 touches. |
| 14 | Mark Ingram II | BAL | NE | Ingram could have blow-up potential here. Belichick will often let teams succeed in areas of little consequence on offense so as to direct them away from their own strengths. The focus of the Patriots' defense should be Lamar Jackson, not Ingram. |
| 15 | Le'Veon Bell | NYJ | at MIA | Running in a discombobulated offense and yet to show us a ceiling game, even against Miami, Bell can't be ranked as anything more than a high-end RB2. |
| High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB2s | ||||
| 16 | Royce Freeman | DEN | CLE | Cleveland is very generous to opposing run games. Freeman has had the edge on Lindsay in the snap department since Week 4 and now he's taking over goal line work. |
| 17 | Miles Sanders | PHI | CHI | Sanders's breakout has been gradual but it arrived in full force last week as he took home the RB9 finish across all formats. He is not expected to miss any time with his shoulder injury and the Bears defense has been posterized by opposing run games all year. |
| 18 | Phillip Lindsay | DEN | CLE | Lindsay should see close to 15 touches in this sublime matchup, even though he's playing second fiddle. |
| 19 | Jordan Howard | PHI | CHI | Howard got in on the fun during Sanders' shoulder-induced mid-game absence, finishing as a back-end RB1 across all formats. Chicago's defense is a run funnel, setting the table for both backs to eat. |
| 20 | Devin Singletary | BUF | WAS | Singletary won the snap count battle in Week 8 and looked good doing so. Frank Gore out-carried him 9-3 but Singletary had 6 targets. The matchup is there for Singletary to return RB2 value. |
| 21 | Jamaal Williams | GB | at LAC | Both Williams and Jones are on fire over the last 3 weeks. The Green Bay offense is humming and this is a stellar matchup for the stud RB duo. |
| 22 | Sony Michel | NE | at BAL | Michel came back to Earth a bit last week, failing to find the end zone after Week 7's 3-touchdown bonanza. Baltimore's run defense has tightend a bit but these Pats/Ravens games can turn into slugfests. |
| 23 | Carlos Hyde | HOU | at JAX | Jacksonville's run defense is lackluster and Hyde should see 20 plodding carries against it, making him a back-end RB2 with touchdown-based upside. |
| 24 | LeSean McCoy | KC | MIN | McCoy was the clear cut lead back last week until he fumbled. He has Andy Reid's trust as the superior rusher and pass protector to Damien Williams, who retains better pass catching ability. It's a tough matchup but McCoy should see 15 touches against the Vikings this week. |
| High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3s | ||||
| 25 | David Montgomery | CHI | at PHI | Philadelphia's run defense is top notch. Montgomery is a risky flex play this week. |
| 26 | Matt Breida | SF | at ARI | Assuming his ankle is good enough to play on, Breida should eat on 12+ touches this week. The 49ers run game can't be stopped. |
| 27 | Kenyan Drake | ARI | SF | Drake's workload will depend on what he can absorb of the Arizona offense. He should be solidly utilized in all fazes of the game though. 15 productive touches as an safety valve to neutralize the 49ers stout pass rush seems reasonable. |
| 28 | Austin Ekeler | LAC | GB | Green Bay's run defense is subpar. Ekeler should be able to retain flex value even on his scaled back workload. |
| 29 | Melvin Gordon III | LAC | GB | Gordon will be there to plod his way into the endzone after Ekeler explosively takes the Chargers' offense into the red zone. |
| 30 | Ty Johnson | DET | OAK | To everyone's chagrin, Tra Carson out-carried Johnson last week. Johnson did lead the backfield in snaps though so we can consider him a flex in this plus matchup. |
| 31 | James White | NE | at BAL | As we mentioned in Week 8's Rundown, James White is a lock for roughly 10 .5PPR fantasy points every week. |
| 32 | Ronald Jones II | TB | at SEA | Jones hasn't yet taken hold of the lead back role in TB and until he goes, he's just a low ceiling flex play. |
| 33 | Adrian Peterson | WAS | at BUF | Peterson should tally 20 carries this week and has a slight shot to score. |
| 34 | Tarik Cohen | CHI | at PHI | Cohen should see 10 or so touches. |
| 35 | Frank Gore | BUF | WAS | An incredibly soft matchup could allow Gore to return low-end flex value. |
| 36 | Damien Williams | KC | MIN | Williams should retain slight standalone value, even with McCoy being the intended lead RB. |
| Low Floor/Low Ceiling RB4s | ||||
| 37 | Mark Walton | MIA | NYJ | The departure of Kenyan Drake further solidifies Walton's grip on lead back duties. The Jets' run defense was bad before Leonard Williams was traded this week -- it can only be worse now. |
| 38 | Duke Johnson Jr. | HOU | at JAX | Duke continues to intermittently produce useful .5PPR numbers but his workloads make him too unreliable to be started as anything more than a coin toss-style 2nd-flex. |
| 39 | Alexander Mattison | MIN | at KC | Mattison should see 8 or so touches in a great matchup. |
| 40 | Tra Carson | DET | OAK | Good matchup, questionable workload. |
| 41 | Dontrell Hilliard | CLE | at DEN | Hilliard's getting slight, consistent work. |
| 42 | Gus Edwards | BAL | NE | Edwards should tote the rock 5-8 times this week. |
| 43 | DeAndre Washington | OAK | at DET | Washington should see 3-5 touches. |
| 44 | Dare Ogunbowale | TB | at SEA | Ogunbowale continues to see passing game snaps. |
| 45 | Raheem Mostert | SF | at ARI | Mostert could see 4th quarter work if SF is killing the clock. |
| 46 | Rashaad Penny | SEA | TB | 5-8 touches seems likely for the backup. |
| 47 | Kalen Ballage | MIA | NYJ | The oversized pass catching back is sometimes being used as a goal line rusher. It's a good matchup but a bad situation. |
| 48 | Rex Burkhead | NE | at BAL | It's possible Burkhead see 5-8 touches in this one. He's not a recommended start though. |