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2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running backs for Week 6

Is Aaron Jones a Top 5 option? Not quite...

By NHB
NFL: Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Derrick Henry and Aaron Jones seize their highest rankings of the season while Le’Veon Bell drops to the middle of the RB2 rankings. Jordan Howard and Ronald Jones II continue their waltz upwards as Phillip Lindsay finally separates himself from Royce Freeman.

Byes: Buffalo, Indianapolis, Oakland, Chicago

Week 6 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 at TB Tampa Bay's front-seven is playing very, very well but CMC is the RB1 until further notice.
2 David Johnson ARI ATL Matchups with Atlanta are what pass-catching RBs dream of.
3 Derrick Henry TEN at DEN Denver's run defense is a team weakness, not a strength. Henry kept his 2019 streak alive, posting anouther double-digit fantasy finish across all formats for the fifth time in five games.
4 Ezekiel Elliott DAL at NYJ Middling defenses don't move Elliott's prospects much. He's a no-brainer Top 5 option.
5 Dalvin Cook MIN PHI This will be Cook's stiffest competition on the season, outside of the fantasy-irrelevant Week 17 date with Chicago. He's matchup proof though.
6 Aaron Jones GB DET Jones' Week 5 feature back explosion should be too much for Matt LeFleur to ignore. Detroit's D-Line has been banged up this year. We'll monitor practice reports throughout the week and adjust accordingly.
7 Alvin Kamara NO at JAX Jacksonville's run defense is not the impenetrable force it's thought to be.
8 Leonard Fournette JAX NO Very tough matchup, however, Jacksonville has placed their offense squarely on Fournette's shoulders.
9 Mark Ingram BAL CIN Mark Ingram's locked in as an RB1 against the impossibly bad Bengals defense. He's got Top 5 upside.
10 Nick Chubb CLE SEA Seattle has been generous to running backs and Chubb's newfound dual threat usage has him firing on all cylinders.
11 Kerryon Johnson DET at GB Green Bay's run defense has been a boon for every lead back its faced in Weeks 2-5.
12 Chris Carson SEA at CLE The matchup drops Seattle's 20+ touch running back to the high-end RB2 ranks.
High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s
13 Todd Gurley II LAR SF This should be a great week for Gurley. His bell cow usage has returned (for now) and he's had extra time to recover, coming of last week's Thursday game against the Seahawks.
14 James Conner PIT at LAC LAC has stifled bad running backs and been hammered by good ones. Conner qualifies as a member of the latter. He's a high-end RB2.
15 Austin Ekeler LAC PIT With Gordon back, Ekeler assumed the role of the pass catching back full-time, racking up an absurd 15 catches on 16 targets. Although the "pass catcher" he is the fantasy lead back in this offense for now.
16 Sony Michel NE NYG Contrary to popular belief, the Patriots offensive game plans aren't hard to figure out. They scheme to exploit their weekly opponent's weakness. Last week, that was done by feeding Michel. This week will be similar.
17 Le'Veon Bell NYJ DAL Sam Darnold's likely return should help Bell. The Jets offense has produced a total of two touchdowns through five games though and this is not an easy matchup.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB2s
18 Melvin Gordon III LAC PIT It's a reltively good matchup and Gordon looks to be the Chargers' lead ball carrier.
19 Jordan Howard PHI at MIN It's a very tough matchup but Howard is solidifying his role as Phildelphia's lead back.
20 Damien Williams KC HOU It's a great matchup and Williams looks to have retaken the lead back role in KC.
21 Matt Breida SF at LAR Breida and Coleman split the 49ers snaps at a perfect 50/50 share last night. Breida operated as the lead though -- and knocked it out of the park -- so he gets the higher spot.
22 Phillip Lindsay DEN TEN Tennessee has really only allowed high-floor games to opposing running backs but Lindsay's playing very well.
23 Ronald Jones II TB CAR Last week's low fantasy outing was expected against the Saints' top notch run defense.
24 Devonta Freeman ATL at ARI Dan Quinn suggested he plans on getting Ito Smith more involved, especially near the goal line.
The High Floor/High Ceiling RB3
25 Adrian Peterson WAS at MIA Peterson's ceiling is actually sky-high here. Interim HC Bill Callahan announced plans to run the ball even more than Washington had been previously. Against the tanking Miami Dolphins, Peterson's a decent bet at more than one rushing score.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3s
26 Tevin Coleman SF at LAR Coleman looked great in his return and immediately slots into the RB2/3 conversation.
27 Joe Mixon CIN BAL The matchup keeps Mixon from being relegated to RB3 status.
28 Carlos Hyde HOU at KC KC's run defense is always charitable.
29 James White NE NYG White's got a role, no matter what the situation is. Great matchup too.
30 Miles Sanders PHI at MIN Sanders continues to post rock-solid yardage totals.
31 Royce Freeman DEN TEN Regardless of playing time or touches, Lindsay's managed much higher ceiling games that Freeman has.
32 John Hilliman NYG at NE A brutal matchup for the likely starter. There's a whole lotta coach speak indicating that Barkley will be back this week, I'm sticking to a more realistic timeline though, based on the wisdom of the Pro Football Doc.
33 LeSean McCoy KC HOU McCoy shoud grab 10+ carries.
34 Ito Smith ATL at ARI Smith's on his way to 12+ touches and goal line work.
35 Peyton Barber TB CAR He'll still see 10 touches with redzone work.
36 Kenyan Drake MIA WAS Drake could actually be usable against the hapless Washington Football Team.
Shaky Floor/Capped Ceiling RB4s
37 Gus Edwards BAL CIN Edwards has a shot to grab 40-50 garbage time yards and a score in this one.
38 Duke Johnson Jr. HOU at KC Good matchup and he continues to play well on a criminally low touch count.
39 Rashaad Penny SEA CLE Penny should see 5-8 touches.
40 Chase Edmonds ARI ATL He made some noise last week and could see work in the 4th quarter this week.
41 Elijah Penny NYG at NE He'll spell Hilliman from time to time.
42 Dion Lewis TEN at DEN Denver's bad run defense could even make Lewis relevant.
43 Giovani Bernard CIN BAL Good matchup.
44 Dare Ogunbowale TB CAR Continues to look good, despite his tiny workload.
45 Tony Pollard DAL at NYJ Should see 5 or so touches.
46 Tra Carson GB DET Saw mild usage last week.
47 Dontrell Hilliard CLE SEA Hilliard been very boom or bust.
48 Ryquell Armstead JAX NO Just a dart throw.

Source links: Jets TDs, Chargers run defense, Ekeler catches/targets, Tennessee run defense, Bill Callahan wants to run the ball, Dr. David Chao’s Saquon Barkley info, the 49ers snap count, and the Devonta Freeman/Ito Smith future usage info.

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