Christian McCaffrey prepares to keep devouring touches for the 49ers, Quinshon Judkins wonders if he’s matchup-proof against the Steelers, and Kyren Williams attempts to keep Blake Corum in the rear-view mirror.
Other positions:Quarterback|Receiver|Tight End/Kickers/Defense
Week 6 Running Backs
1 Christian McCaffrey SF at TB
2 Bijan Robinson ATL vs. BUF
3 Jonathan Taylor IND vs. ARI
4 Saquon Barkley PHI at NYG
5 Jahmyr Gibbs DET at KC
6 Josh Jacobs GB vs. CIN
7 James Cook BUF at ATL
8 Javonte Williams DAL at CAR
9 Rico Dowdle CAR vs. DAL
10 Kyren Williams LAR at BAL
11 De’Von Achane MIA vs. LAC
12 Ashton Jeanty LV vs. TEN
13 Breece Hall NYJ vs. DEN
14 Quinshon Judkins CLE at PIT
15 Travis Etienne JAC vs. SEA
16 Rachaad White TB vs. SF
17 Derrick Henry BAL vs. LAR
18 J.K. Dobbins DEN at NYJ
19 Kenneth Walker III SEA at JAC
20 Jacory Croskey-Merritt WAS vs. CHI
21 David Montgomery DET at KC
22 Cam Skattebo NYG vs. PHI
23 Michael Carter ARI at IND
24 D’Andre Swift CHI at WAS
25 Chase Brown CIN at GB
26 Zach Charbonnet SEA at JAC
27 Tony Pollard TEN at LV
28 Rhamondre Stevenson NE at NO
29 Jaylen Warren PIT vs. CLE
30 Alvin Kamara NO vs. NE
31 Kenneth Gainwell PIT vs. CLE
32 Kareem Hunt KC vs. DET
33 Hassan Haskins LAC at MIA
34 Kendre Miller NO vs. NE
35 Kimani Vidal LAC at MIA
36 Isiah Pacheco KC vs. DET
37 TreVeyon Henderson NE at NO
38 Tyler Allgeier ATL vs. BUF
39 Tryrone Tracy NYG vs. PHI
40 RJ Harvey DEN at NYJ
41 Brashard Smith KC vs. DET
42 Tyjae Spears TEN at LV
43 Emari Demercado ARI at IND
44 Justice Hill BAL vs. LAR
45 Bhayshul Tuten JAC vs. SEA
46 Isaiah Davis NYJ vs. DEN
47 Sean Tucker TB vs. SF
48 Trevor Etienne CAR vs. DAL
49 Chris Rodriguez Jr. WAS vs. CHI
50 Blake Corum LAR at BAL
51 Jerome Ford CLE at PIT
52 Ollie Gordon II MIA vs. LAC
53 Kyle Monangai CHI at WAS
54 Kaleb Johnson PIT vs. CLE
55 Raheem Mostert LV vs. TEN
56 Jaydon Blue DAL at CAR
RB Notes: “So, that happened” was one of the most trite millennial memes of the two thousand teens, but, uhh … what else can you say about Rico Dowdle dropping a 200 piece on the Dolphins? Not much! Now Dowdle is vowing vengeance against the Cowboys team that let him walk in free agency. With Big D coughing up the sixth most RB fantasy points, we are inclined to believe him. (Chuba Hubbard remains sidelined with his calf injury.) … Kyren Williams and Blake Corum both lost fumbles in Week 5. One of them came at the goal line (Kyren). We’ll let you guess which player got shadow zoned. Corum’s miscue — an admittedly disastrous dropped pitch for some reason technically credited to Matthew Stafford — saw his snap percentage slashed from 29.3 to 8.8, while Williams’ skyrocketed from 68.0 to 91.2. It pays to be a veteran. We are assuming the split won’t be as extreme vs. a Lamar Jackson-less Ravens squad the Rams should handle easily, but it’s probably also safe to say the Rams’ brief flirtation with a two-back backfield is on hold.
Breece Hall’s Week 5 snap percentage held disappointingly steady in the 60-65 range despite Braelon Allen’s placement on injured reserve. Hall nevertheless had his best overall game of the season, while new No. 2 Isaiah Davis was mostly on the field as a shock absorber. Hall has game script sensitives some of his “peer backs” lack, but he’s been a steady RB2 more than capable of churning out RB1 performances. … Quinshon Judkins’ carries have increased every week, while his yardage trajectory has been steadily upward, as well. He is monopolizing early downs and even catching the occasional pass. Judkins is looking like the rarest of commodities in fantasy football — a two-down back on a bad team still producing every week regardless of game flow. The Browns aren’t here to win games. They are here to feature and evaluate their young talent. They’ve already found a gem in Judkins, one fantasy managers can safely trust on the RB1/2 borderline. … Jaylen Warren (knee) is back. We’ll see if the Steelers’ coaching staff can un-see Kenneth Gainwell’s excellent Week 4 performance in Warren’s absence. At the very least, we would assume Warren is back in a committee after previously vanquishing third-round rookie Kaleb Johnson. That makes him more of a floor-based FLEX than ceiling-play RB2.
Averaging 3.2 yards per attempt and 37 yards per game since Week 1, it’s hard to believe things could get worse for Derrick Henry. And yet, there the Ravens are, 7.5-point home underdogs against a Rams defense allowing the third fewest RB fantasy points. We know Henry is capable of 200 yards rushing on any given Sunday. We also know that, based on this week’s projected game script, he is best treated as an RB2. … The Bucs are holding out hope — or at least claiming to do so — that Bucky Irving (ankle, shoulder) will return against the 49ers, but we wouldn’t count on it. Rachaad White dominated the backfield in Irving’s Week 5 absence, playing north of 80 percent of the snaps and out-touching Sean Tucker 18-6. White is a strong RB2 whose projected workload could easily create RB1 numbers. … Jacory Croskey-Merritt finally got the ball in scripted situations against the Chargers. He also finally played north of 40 percent of the snaps, reaching 16 touches after previously maxing out at 10 in Week 1. He remained extremely efficient in the process, seemingly leaving the coaching staff with no choice but to finally trust the “Bill” process. We are giving him an RB2 looksee in the fantasy ranks.
Tyrone Tracy (shoulder) is back for the Giants’ short-week matchup with the Eagles’ strong run defense. It’s not good news for Cam Skattebo, who turned 48 touches during Tracy’s two-game absence into 194 scoreless yards. That yardage total is nothing to sneeze at, but Skattebo was inefficient. Now he’s losing his touch monopoly and watching his touchdown odds decline as the G-Men’s backfield again becomes a two-man group. … How did Michael Carter’s first game in place of James Conner and Trey Benson go? Well, the head coach was fined $100,000 for punching his backup, so… yeah. This is Carter’s backfield. The question is if infamous Emari Demercado can hold off Bam Knight for No. 2 status. Carter is on the RB2/3 borderline, with neither Demercado nor Knight threatening for FLEX viability. … The Titans are pledging an “increased role” for Tyjae Spears after he played “just” 25.4 percent of the snaps in his 2025 debut, handling four touches, all totes. It stands to reason Spears will start catching some passes against the Raiders. It would also make sense for Tony Pollard to handle fewer carries after he struggled to reach 4.0 yards per pop during Spears’ absence. Pollard has fallen from the RB2 ranks. Spears isn’t yet a recommended FLEX.
Whereas Najee Harris’ torn achilles’ tendon produced a clear backfield winner in Omarion Hampton, Hampton’s ankle injury leaves behind a murkier environment. Hassan Haskins made the team out of training camp and should handle early downs and short-yardage situations, but Kimani Vidal could see more high-value snaps on third downs/in passing situations. Haskins’ seemingly better scoring odds give him the rankings advantage, but both are weak initial FLEX plays as we wait to see whether this offense says “screw it” and just goes even more pass heavy. … Antonio Gibson suffered a Week 5 torn ACL — after TreVeyon Henderson missed a block. Yikes. Now the Patriots are talking up a game-day role for “Terrell Jennings.” Seemingly hard-capped at 6-8 weekly touches, Henderson isn’t getting the ball enough to rise above desperation FLEX status. … As for the man ahead of Henderson on the depth chart, Rhamondre Stevenson’s fumbling continues not to cost him. No player can get away with that forever, but Stevenson’s role as the goal-line back for an ascending offense makes him a (much?) better RB3 option than Hendo.