Fantasy Running Backs

Week 5 was not a banner week for running backs. There were just 15 running backs to have at least 10 fantasy points in Week 5. Perhaps more bizarre is the fact that three of the 15 recorded single-digit rushing yards. Running backs had just 11 rushing touchdowns in Week 5, the lowest total since Week 10 of the 2015 season. Doug Martin’s return was certainly a bright spot. He had 74 rushing yards and a touchdown in his return from a suspension. He looks like he could be a borderline RB1 going forward. There was also some good…

Week 5 is the first of the NFL season to incorporate scheduled byes, and could not come at a worse time for many fantasy owners who were dealt significant injury blows to their running backs in Week 4. Vikings’ running back Dalvin Cook tore his ACL and is out for the season, ending what started out as a spectacular rookie year. Chris Carson suffered a fractured leg and high ankle sprain and was placed on injured reserve. (True story - I dropped Cam Newton and picked up Carson last week. Sigh.) Ty Montgomery barely played in…

What will happen in Week 4? It was another strong week for the running back position in Week 3. Once again, there were 21 running backs who scored at least 10 fantasy points in standard scoring. Four of the top seven running backs in Week 2 (Todd Gurley, Kareem Hunt, Chris Thompson, and Devonta Freeman) repeated the feat in Week 3. Hunt and Gurley are the only backs to be an RB1 in each of the first three weeks of the 2017 season. Le’Veon Bell, Ezekiel Elliott, and Jordan Howard showed that rumors of their demises have been…

To illustrate just how quickly things can change in fantasy football, one just needs to view the current running back landscape compared to a few short weeks ago. In standard scoring leagues, there are two (TWO!) Baltimore Ravens currently performing as RB1s, neither of which is Danny Woodhead. PPR flier Chris Thompson is the overall RB6 in standard scoring, and four of the top seven NFL rushing leaders are rookies, including one who is still listed fourth on his own team’s depth chart! Another NFC rookie currently ranks as…

Last week I came right out of the gate in midseason form when I suggested fantasy owners should sit Kareem Hunt based on a difficult matchup. I guess the good news is there’s only one way to go from here. Aside from Hunt having one of the best games we’ve ever seen from a running back in fantasy, there were several other notable takeaways from Week 1. David Johnson, fantasy’s consensus No. 1 pick, is out 2-3 months as he will be having surgery to repair a dislocated wrist. His absence and the emergence of Tarik Cohen and…