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2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs for Week 4

What is Wayne Gallman’s value this week with Saquon Barkley out?

By NHB
NFL: New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Significant separation is the name of the game for Week 4. The established studs have a tier to themselves, as the top five best backs in fantasy. Mark Ingram and Marlon Mack are knocking on their door though, with monstrous workloads on deck. Wayne Gallman and Miles Sanders edge their way into the RB2 discussion while Sony Michel returns to his preseason free fall.

Week 4 Running Back Rankings

Rank Running Back Team Opponent Elite High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s
Rank Running Back Team Opponent Elite High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s
1 Christian McCaffrey CAR at HOU Kyle Allen's installation at quarterback was a boon for the offense, as a whole, in Week 3. CMC is locked-in as Week 4's RB1.
2 Ezekiel Elliott DAL at NO This week's Battle of the Backs takes place on New Orleans' legengary Superdome turf. Expect 25 touches through 4-full quarters of football.
3 Alvin Kamara NO DAL The Battle of the Backs Week 4 counterpart looked phenomenal last week and should shoulder a similar workload this week. Last week Kamara handled 16 carries for 69 yards and a score. He caught 9 of 10 targes for 92 yards and a second score as well.
4 Austin Ekeler LAC at MIA Ekeler will return to dominant form in Miami. Justin Jackson's injury brings Ekeler into the discussion for an overall RB1 finish.
5 Dalvin Cook MIN at CHI As hard of a matchup as he'll ever see, next week's RB1 (@NYG) takes the 5-spot this week.
High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s
6 Mark Ingram BAL CLE Ingram is the unquestioned bell cow in Baltimore at this point. 100+ yards and a score can be expected.
7 Marlon Mack IND at OAK With T.Y. Hilton reaggravating his quad injury, Mack should see a season-high workload against the bumbling Raiders defense.
8 Derrick Henry TEN at ATL The cat-like 247 pounder just keeps scoring. The significant loss of ATL's tone-setter, safety Keanu Neal (Achilles) cannot be overstated and Dan Quinn already schemes his defense to allow short passes to running backs, in favor of locking down the deep-field.
9 David Johnson ARI SEA Alvin Kamara, a running back who plays with similar style, just waxed Seattle (in Seattle!) for 169 scrimmage yards and 2 touchdowns.
10 Chris Carson SEA at ARI A date with the Cardinals' defense is just what the doctor ordered. Pete Carroll reaffirmed his committment to Carson as Seattle's lead back in last week's post-game interview*.
11 Kerryon Johnson DET at KC The departure of C.J. Anderson delivered a 21-touch workload to Kerryon in Week 3. He should see something similar in Week 4, against a Kansas City defense that just gave Mark Ingram the overall RB1 finish.
12 Joe Mixon CIN at PIT Mixon got things going last week, finding the endzone and escaping without any ankle setbacks. The Bengals will likely lean on Mixon against their division rival. Mason Rudolph's inability to move the Steelers offense helps Mixon's chance of seeing a 20-tough workload.
High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s
13 Nick Chubb CLE BAL After a lackluster Week 2 snap count, Chubb was on the field for **70 of the Browns' 72 offensive snaps. We can expect similar usage in this matchup, however, the Ravens' ferocious defensive line drops him to an RB2.
14 Leonard Fournette JAX at DEN Fournette's ***comical rushing results from last week aside, he's seeing bell cow usage and faces a surprisingly maleable Denver Broncos defense.
15 Lesean McCoy KC DET We'll have to see how his ankle holds up through the week but his Week 4 matchup with Detroit is one to exploit. ****Defensive tackles Mike Daniels and Da'Shawn Hand are both likely to miss the game, opening up running lanes for the rejuvinated Shady.
16 Josh Jacobs OAK IND Jacobs was ill last week but should be good to go this week. Per Rotoworld, ******Gruden is intent on getting Jacobs going in the passing game. The Colts run defense has been generous to opposing backs this year and All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard has yet to be cleared from the concussion protocol*******.
17 James Conner PIT CIN Expect the Steelers to go back to the drawing board after last week's offensive meltdown. Mason Rudolph does not look ready to man the helm of this offense. Conner should see 20 touches against a workable Cincinnati defense.
18 Devonta Freeman ATL TEN Over the last two weeks, Freeman has wrested control of the Falcons' backfield snaps *****.
19 Phillip Lindsay DEN JAX Lindsay finds himself higher than Freeman for the first time this year, owed solely due to Freeman having a banged up shoulder.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB2s
20 Aaron Jones GB PHI Jones is in a full-on 50/50 committee with the sloth-like Jamaal Williams. You're betting on his talent to buoy his 12-15 touch workload.
21 Wayne Gallman NYG WAS 15+ touches against Washington's make-believe defense is worth a back-end RB2 ranking, regardless of who the back is.
22 Todd Gurley II LAR TB Gurley's got a great matchup as this game has shootout potential and he should see some work via the passing game.
23 Royce Freeman DEN JAX Assuming he see 40% of the backfield work this week to ease the load on his shoulder, Freeman should still work his way into RB2/Flex production against an unimposing Jacksonville run defense.
24 Miles Sanders PHI at GB Short weeks are scary but the Green Bay defense has been a godsend for opposing running backs.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3s
25 Ronald Jones II TB at LAR Jones has severely outplayed Peyton Barber as of late.
26 David Montgomery CHI MIN It's a tough matchup but the workload and gamescript should keep him on the RB2/RB3 border.
27 Rex Burkhead NE at BUF Burkhead has soundly outplayed Sony Michel and loss of fullback James Develin reduces the likelihood the Patriots use a player Michel's style.
28 Carlos Hyde HOU CAR It's not an easy matchup but he should see 10-15 touches.
29 Chris Thompson WAS at NYG Washington's going to have to throw to keep pace and Thompson's the man for that job.
30 Darrel Williams KC DET The nominal starter should still see 12 or so touches.
31 Jamaal Williams GB PHI 10-15 touches gets the plodder an RB3 ranking.
32 James White NE at BUF White should immediately return to his normal role.
33 Devin Singletary BUF NE The talented rookie should get 12-15 touches in a tough matchup.
Low Floor/Low Ceiling RB3s
34 Peyton Barber TB at LAR He's like to continute to see relevant work, even though he won't do much with it.
35 Duke Johnson Jr. HOU CAR The talented playmaker is barely seeing any work.
Low Floor/Low Ceiling RB4s
36 Sony Michel NE at BUF Theoretically, he's still New England's goal-line back.
37 C.J. Prosise SEA at ARI Prosise saw serious playing time last week and there should be plenty of backfield touches to go around in the desert.
38 Alexander Mattison MIN at CHI The backup should see 7 or so touches.
39 Adrian Peterson WAS at NYG Peterson's got a shot to score against New York's paltry run defense. He won't get you anything if he doesn't hit paydirt though.
40 Kenyan Drake MIA LAC Drake's got a shot at 10 touches.
41 Malcolm Brown LAR TB Brown will still rotate with Gurley.
42 Frank Gore BUF NE Singletary's back, making Gore the rotational back.
43 Jaylen Samuels PIT CIN Expect Pitt to commit to a more run-heavy approach this week.
44 Jordan Howard PHI at GB Howard always has a shot to rumble for a score.
45 Gus Edwards BAL CLE Should see 7 or so touches.
46 Giovani Bernard CIN at PIT Bernard could be called upon in this "put up your dukes"-style matchup.
47 Jalen Richard OAK at IND He sees meaningful snaps, whether we like it or not.
48 Ty Johnson DET KC Johnson could see passing game work as the Lions try to keep pace.

Source Links:
*Pete Carroll’s commitment to Chris Carson.
**Nick Chubb hogging offensive snaps.
***Leonard Fournette’s goofy rushing results.
****Lions injuries.
*****Devonta Freeman’s snaps.
******Josh Jacobs’ passing game usage.
*******Darius Leonard’s concussion info.

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