You'd like to think we'd have more clarity on certain running back committees by this point in the year, but Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Kansas City, and New England (among others) remain start 'em, sit 'em nightmares. We might (emphasis on "might") be seeing a breakout in Tampa with Ronald Jones, but we've thought that before only to be disappointed, so we're still taking it easy with Bucs backs in our Week 5 fantasy RB rankings.
With the Lions and Dolphins on bye, fantasy owners should still have almost all of their top backs available this week. Injuries are causing problems, as always, but Marlon Mack (ankle) is really the only "big" injury worry. A Sunday night matchup against Kansas City makes his situation even more difficult, as his owners will definitely want to start him if he's available. Jordan Wilkins will be a popular waiver pickup this week if there's any concern about Mack's status.
WEEK 5 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
The potential returns of Tevin Coleman (ankle), Devin Singletary (hamstring), Damien Williams (knee) and Rashaad Penny (hamstring) could significantly alter the outlooks of their teams' respective backfields. Coleman would turn San Francisco into even more of a mess (especially with a Monday night matchup against the Browns on tap), while Singletary might render everyone in Buffalo useless this week against the Titans. Williams would return to a great Sunday night matchup against the Colts, but LeSean McCoy and Darrel Williams owners wouldn't mind if he stayed away at least one more week. Chris Carson got back on track (read: didn't lose a fumble) in Week 4, so it's unlikely Penny would supplant him as lead back on Thursday night against the Rams, but even five fewer touches would limit Carson's ceiling.
WEEK 5 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Of course, the most watched "committee" this week will be in the Chargers backfield, where the return of Melvin Gordon against the Broncos threatens the fantasy stud status of Austin Ekeler. It's unclear how carries will be divvied up right away, but we expect Gordon to see slightly more work. Ekeler will still be valuable, especially in PPR leagues, but his upside certainly takes a hit.
WEEK 5: Waiver pickups
As always, there's a lot to unpack when it comes to running backs. No one predicted Jordan Howard's three-TD Thursday night or Rex Burkhead getting one touch last week, but we'll do our best to prepare you for the week ahead.
Reminder: These rankings will be adjusted throughout week, so check back often for the latest updates and analysis!
Week 5 Fantasy RB Rankings
These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues.
Player analysis coming soon
| 1 | Ezekiel Elliott, DAL vs. GB. |
| 2 | Dalvin Cook, MIN @ NYG. |
| 3 | Christian McCaffrey, CAR vs. JAX. |
| 4 | David Johnson, ARI @ CIN. |
| 5 | Marlon Mack, IND @ KC. |
| 6 | Alvin Kamara, NO vs. TB. |
| 7 | Joe Mixon, CIN vs. ARI. |
| 8 | Mark Ingram, BAL @ PIT. |
| 9 | Le'Veon Bell, NYJ @ PHI. |
| 10 | James Conner, PIT vs. BAL. |
| 11 | Leonard Fournette, JAX @ CAR. |
| 12 | Derrick Henry, TEN vs. BUF. |
| 13 | Nick Chubb, BAL @ SF. |
| 14 | Todd Gurley, LAR @ SEA. |
| 15 | LeSean McCoy, KC vs. IND. |
| 16 | David Montgomery, CHI vs. OAK (in UK). |
| 17 | Melvin Gordon, LAC vs. DEN. |
| 18 | Wayne Gallman, NYG vs. MIN. |
| 19 | Austin Ekeler, LAC vs. DEN. |
| 20 | Chris Carson, SEA vs. LAR. |
| 21 | Phillip Lindsay, DEN @ LAC. |
| 22 | Carlos Hyde, HOU vs. ATL. |
| 23 | Aaron Jones, GB @ DAL. |
| 24 | Sony Michel, NE @ WAS. |
| 25 | Josh Jacobs, OAK vs. CHI (in UK). |
| 26 | Damien Williams, KC vs. IND. |
| 27 | James White, NE @ WAS. |
| 28 | Ronald Jones, TB @ NO. |
| 29 | Miles Sanders, PHI vs. NYJ. |
| 30 | Jordan Howard, PHI vs. NYJ. |
| 31 | Frank Gore, BUF @ TEN. |
| 32 | Devonta Freeman, ATL @ HOU. |
| 33 | Royce Freeman, DEN @ LAC. |
| 34 | Tarik Cohen, CHI vs. OAK. |
| 35 | Devin Singletary, BUF @ TEN. |
| 36 | Adrian Peterson, WAS vs. NE. |
| 37 | Rashaad Penny, SEA vs. LAR. |
| 38 | Duke Johnson Jr., HOU vs. ATL. |
| 39 | Raheem Mostert, SF vs. CLE. |
| 40 | Latavius Murray, NO vs. TB. |
| 41 | Ito Smith, ATL @ HOU. |
| 42 | Peyton Barber, TB @ NO. |
| 43 | Jaylen Samuels, PIT vs. BAL. |
| 44 | Tevin Coleman, SF vs. CLE. |
| 45 | Matt Breida, SF vs. CLE. |
| 46 | Chris Thompson, WAS vs. NE. |
| 47 | Nyheim Hines, IND @ KC. |
| 48 | Chase Edmonds, ARI @ CIN. |
| 49 | Rex Burkhead, NE @ WAS. |
| 50 | Alexander Mattison, MIN @ NYG. |
| 51 | Gus Edwards, BAL @ PIT. |
| 52 | Malcolm Brown, LAR @ SEA. |
| 53 | Giovani Bernard, CIN vs. ARI. |
| 54 | Darrel Williams, KC vs. IND. |
| 55 | Jordan Wilkins, IND @ KC. |
| 56 | Dion Lewis, TEN vs. BUF. |
| 57 | C.J. Prosise, SEA vs. LAR. |
| 58 | Dontrell Hilliard, CLE @ SF. |
| 59 | Ty Montgomery, NYJ @ PHI. |