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With byes not a factor for them, the Preseason Top 3 has returned — Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, and Alvin Kamara are back on top. Concerns over Kamara losing touches to Latavius Murray are valid, but in this matchup against Atlanta they can be cast aside. Derrick Henry’s good times should keep on rollin’ as Tennessee plays host to Kansas City and their paltry run D. Although ranked as a high-end RB2, David Montgomery could easily take Top 12 honors this week as he faces off with Detroit’s bottom of the barrel run defense. Kareem Hunt makes his return and is immediately flex-able, given Freddie Kitchens’ ass-ery.
Teams on bye: Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Football Team.
Week 10 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 GB | Green Bay's run defense is among the worst in the league. |
| 2 | Saquon Barkley | NYG | at NYJ | The Jets are falling apart. Losing to the Dolphins shouldn't have been possible. Smash spot for Barkley. |
| 3 | Alvin Kamara | NO | ATL | Latavius Murray has likely earned himself a flex-worthy role, moving forward. The Falcons' defense is impossibly bad though so Kamara should have no issue putting up big numbers in the box score. |
| 4 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | MIN | Although Minnesota's run defense has been relatively strong through 9 games, they've allowed blow-up spots to three different backfields (GB, PHI, and KC). Dallas is likely to be added to that list. |
| 5 | Dalvin Cook | MIN | at DAL | There are arguments to be made for other running backs, with stronger matchups, to be ahead of Cook. There's no need to get cute with it though. He'll see 20+ touches in a Battle of the Backs. Fire him up as a normal, Top 5 option. |
| 6 | Aaron Jones | GB | CAR | Last week was a dud but Carolina's run defense is awful. Jones should have no issue bouncing back, big time. |
| 7 | Derrick Henry | TEN | KC | Kansas City's run defense is in the Top 3 of Most Charitable to Opposing Backfields, through 9 weeks. |
| 8 | Marlon Mack | IND | MIA | Although Miami got scrappy last week with the Jets and pulled out a victory, the defense is still outrageously porous overall. With QB Jacoby Brissett ailing, expect Mack to see 25+ touches. |
| 9 | David Johnson | ARI | at TB | Kenyan Drake has likely earned himself flex-worthy relevance in the Cardinals' offense. DJ should still see 20+ touches against Tampa Bay, many of them through the air. |
| 10 | Josh Jacobs | OAK | LAC | The Chargers' run defense had been one to target up until last week. They tightened things up against Green Bay. Jacobs should see 20+ carries though and it's likely last week's showing from LAC was an outlier. |
| 11 | Mark Ingram II | BAL | at CIN | A date with a division rival, and their 2nd worst-ranked run defense, sets Ingram up for a smash spot. |
| 12 | Nick Chubb | CLE | BUF | Buffalo's run defense has been stout more in name than in actuality. The return of Kareem Hunt is a problem though. The matchup keeps him barely in the RB1 conversation. |
| High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s | ||||
| 13 | Chris Carson | SEA | at SF | There's a volume-based argument to be had here that Carson should be a back-end RB1. Keeping him on the RB1/2 fringe is reasonable for our expectations. |
| 14 | Le'Veon Bell | NYJ | NYG | Bell should see 18+ touches against a very bad defense. We'll monitor injury reports to figure out this knee/MRI business. |
| 15 | David Montgomery | CHI | DET | The last two weeks have shown that Montgomery has taken over as the Bears' offensive focal point. Detroit provides the league's worst .5PPR run defense. Consider this a floor ranking. He's got serious RB1 upside. |
| 16 | Damien Williams | KC | at TEN | With LeSean McCoy Out as a healthy scratch, Damien Williams' floor and ceiling just shot up significantly. He's an excellent play with the potential to finish as a back-end RB1. |
| High Floor/Moderate Ceiling RB2s | ||||
| 17 | Devin Singletary | BUF | CLE | Singletary, as we predicted, wrestled control of the Buffalo 1A RB duties last week. This week, he tees off against a floundering Cleveland Browns defense. |
| 18 | Melvin Gordon III | LAC | at OAK | 20+ touches, albeit inefficient, against the Raiders is good for mid-to-high RB2 production. |
| 19 | Tevin Coleman | SF | SEA | The multi-personnel aspect of SF's backfield limits Coleman's upside in a great matchup. |
| 20 | Todd Gurley II | LAR | at PIT | 18 or so touches keeps Gurley in the middle of the RB2 pack. |
| 21 | Jaylen Samuels | PIT | LAR | Samuels will operate as the team's lead back. It's a tough matchup but he's likely to be a featured part of the Steelers' passing game. |
| 22 | Ronald Jones II | TB | ARI | Jones has been announced as the full time starter. Given the way things have played out thus far, he's conservatively being ranked as a back-end RB2. In such a stellar matchup though, his ceiling is solidly in the Top 15. He's a great start as an RB2. |
| 23 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | at NO | Freeman remains a slow and steady RB2 producer. |
| 24 | Jamaal Williams | GB | CAR | Another great matchup on tap here for the two-headed GB backfield. |
| High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3s | ||||
| 25 | Ty Johnson | DET | at CHI | Ty Johnson's yo-yo act continues. The Bears run defense is nothing to write home about and fellow-backfield ball carrier Tra Carson has been placed on IR. Expect 15 carries, with limited passing game usage, for him this week. |
| 26 | Austin Ekeler | LAC | at OAK | Ekeler retains great .5PPR flex value, even in the sadly reduced role. |
| 27 | Joe Mixon | CIN | BAL | It's a difficult matchup but AJ Green's supposed return could open things up for the running game a bit. He's a decent flex option. |
| 28 | Matt Breida | SF | SEA | Breida's 15 touches between the 20s keep him as a viable flex option, especially in this great matchup. His lack of red zone usage caps his ceiling though. |
| 29 | Latavius Murray | NO | ATL | The possible-1B should see 10 touches in a stellar matchup. |
| 30 | Kenyan Drake | ARI | at TB | Like Murray, Drake should retain rights to a 1B-role in the Cards' backfield. TB plays good run defense but Drake proved his passing game prowess against a similarly stout 49ers front last week, gashing them for 162 yards from scrimmage and a score. Drake was actually tied for the team lead in both receptions and targets as well. |
| 31 | Trey Edmunds | PIT | LAR | Edmunds will be used as a ground-base change-of-pace back. |
| 32 | Kalen Ballage | MIA | at IND | Ballage should be in line for bell cow duties this week, in an albeit tough matchup. Mark Walton's 4-game suspension will give Miami plenty of time to evaluate the over-sized pass catching back. |
| 33 | Kareem Hunt | CLE | BUF | HC Freddie Kitchens restricted Chubb's passing game usage, instead (boneheadedly) opting to use the lesser Dontrell Hilliard. Hunt should immediately takeover Hilliard's role. He's flex-viable on an expected 10 touches. |
| 34 | JD McKissic | DET | at CHI | McKissic should see 10 touches in a great matchup after being elevated to full time pass catching duties with both Kerryon Johnson and Tra Carson shelved on IR. |
| 35 | Darrell Henderson Jr. | LAR | at PIT | Henderson has earned low-end flex consideration after taking hold of the change-of-pace duties in L.A. He's got double-digit touches in back-to-back weeks. |
| 36 | Gus Edwards | BAL | at CIN | Edwards is a bottom-of-the-barrel flex option in a great matchup. He could see some 4th-quarter work this week. If so, he's got a shot to score. |