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NFL Week 6 starts Sunday and here are my running back rankings for fantasy football this week.
Alexander Mattison storms his way into the top five, playing in place of the injured Dalvin Cook. Todd Gurley and David Montgomery squeak into the back-end of the RB1 ranks. Phillip Lindsay is suddenly a mid-tier RB2 with Melvin Gordon’s expected DUI-caused absence. Chase Edmonds leapfrogs backfield partner Kenyan Drake and Matt Breida makes for a sneaky flex play.
Week 6’s .5PPR Tiered Running Back Rankings
| Rank | High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s | Team | Opponent | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s | Team | Opponent | Breakdown |
| 1 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | ARI | Arizona's hole-filled defense won't stand a chance. |
| 2 | Derrick Henry | TEN | HOU | The Texans defense has allowed the most rushing yards in the NFL (sourced below). |
| 3 | Mike Davis | CAR | CHI | The Bears' run-funnel defense keeps Davis a Top 3 option. |
| 4 | Aaron Jones | GB | at TB | Tampa Bay's defense funnels passes to running backs via emergency outlet passes as their overall stout defense thwarts intended game plans. |
| 5 | Alexander Mattison | MIN | ATL | Minnesota will live in Atlanta's red zone. |
| 6 | Miles Sanders | PHI | BAL | Baltimore is weaker than you think against the run. |
| 7 | Kareem Hunt | CLE | at PIT | Tough match-up but massive workload incoming. |
| 8 | James Conner | PIT | CLE | Battle of the Backs on tap. |
| 9 | James Robinson | JAX | DET | Robinson's been producing at his fantasy floor over the last two weeks but against a Detroit front-seven that's set to chance. Detroit has allowed totals like Aaron Jones' 236-yards from scrimmage, four catches, and three touchdowns. Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray combined for 202-yards from scrimmage, plus the exact same catch & touchdown total (sourced below). |
| 10 | Todd Gurley | ATL | at MIN | Another TD-friendly match-up for Gurley. |
| 11 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC | at BUF | Buffalo's run defense has not met expectations. |
| 12 | David Montgomery | CHI | at CAR | Fire up your Bears in one of the best match-ups they'll see all year. |
| Rank | High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB2s | Team | Opponent | Breakdown |
| 13 | Jonathan Taylor | IND | CIN | Even in a decent match-up, Taylor can't be trusted for locked-in RB1 production. Last week's slight bump in snaps (sourced below) was encouraging but this really is a 3-man committee at the moment. Given the talent and scheme, he's still a great start against Cincinnati though. |
| 14 | Raheem Mostert | SF | LAR | The Rams haven't been world-beaters against the run. |
| 15 | Joe Mixon | CIN | at IND | Very tough match-up but his uptick in targets over the last two weeks is extremely encouraging (sourced below). |
| 16 | Myles Gaskin | MIA | NYJ | Gaskin scored on 1st Quarter goal-line carry (sourced below) after the bench kept a healthy Jordan Howard, the team's nominal goal-line back, off of the active roster last week. This is a huge development that rockets Gaskin's value into the high-end RB2 range. Facing a hapless Jets' front-seven sets up for a very nice outing for the budding back. |
| 17 | Ronald Jones | TB | GB | The Packers have been thrashed by opposing backs thus far. Assuming Leonard Fournette isn't able to play, Jones is in a great spot. |
| 18 | Phillip Lindsay | DEN | at NE | Lindsay is suddenly the team's unquestioned bellcow after Melvin Gordon was got himself a DUI on Tuesday night (sourced below). |
| 19 | Devin Singletary | BUF | KC | Singletary flopped last week but assuming Zack Moss's troubling toe keeps him out again, Singletary is in position to smash the box score against a KC defense that allows team's to run their way to losses as Patrick Mahomes lights up the scoreboard. We'll need to monitor practice reports though as backup RB T.J. Yeldon played well last week. |
| 20 | Chase Edmonds | ARI | at DAL | Dallas' defense can't stop anything and Edmonds' passing game (and overall) usage is bulletproof (sourced below). |
| 21 | David Johnson | HOU | at TEN | A great match-up for the BOB-less back. |
| 22 | Antonio Gibson | WAS | at NYG | The Giants have been getting pummeled by opposing backfields. |
| 23 | Kenyan Drake | ARI | at DAL | Drake's maintained the team-lead in red zone rushes last week (sourced below), even with Edmonds emerging as a standalone fantasy back. Dallas' defense provides another great opportunity for him to hit paydirt. |
| Rank | High-Floor/Shaky-Ceiling RB2s | Team | Opponent | Breakdown |
| 24 | Darrell Henderson Jr. | LAR | at SF | The Rams' backfield carousel continued last week with Henderson as the lead horsey. He's the best bet to return RB2 value against the struggling 49ers. |
| Rank | High-Floor/Capped-Ceiling RB3s | Team | Opponent | Breakdown |
| 25 | Mark Ingram | BAL | at PHI | The Eagleas have provided moderate resistance to opposing backfields. |
| 26 | Devonta Freeman | NYG | WAS | Freeman is the unquestioned lead back at this point. |
| 27 | Adrian Peterson | DET | at JAX | Assuming Matt Patricia doesn't sign Le'Veon Bell, Peterson is a good bet for 15 carries in a decent match-up. |
| 28 | Matt Breida | MIA | NYJ | Breida's change of pace role could return flex value this week against the hapless New York Jets. |
| Rank | Shaky-Floor/Capped-Ceiling RB3s | Team | Opponent | Breakdown |
| 29 | Frank Gore | NYJ | at MIA | Now cemented as the lead back following the release of Le'Veon Bell, Gore has a revenge game on tap against the Dolphins. |
| 30 | Jerick McKinnon | SF | LAR | He's a passing game-only player now -- an area where the team is struggling to get things going. |
| 31 | Cam Akers | LAR | at SF | Akers showed burst last week but played well behind Henderson. |
| 32 | J.K. Dobbins | BAL | at PHI | Decent match-up but stuck in a backfield quagmire. |
| 33 | Jamaal Williams | GB | at TB | Tampa Bay funnels passes to RBs. Williams tends to pickup blitzes rather than run routes but he'll be out there for passing game opportunities. |
| 34 | Nyheim Hines | IND | CIN | Hines has a small, but firm role in the offense. Good match-up. |
| 35 | Brian Hill | ATL | at MIN | Great match-up for the rotational back. |
| 36 | Mike Boone | MIN | ATL | It's possible Boone's passing game abilities get utilized in this one. |