What Week 3 tells us about the RB position and Week 4 DFS salaries

The running back position was filled with a few surprises in Week 3 with some of the fantasy points some unlikely names put up. Would you have guessed that Tony Pollard would have outscored Ezekiel Elliot? What about Phillip Lindsay checking in with the fourth-highest DKFP total of the week? If Week 4 is anything like last week, we’re in for quite a ride. Let’s take a look at two players who saw some salary changes in Week 4. Prices come via DraftKings.

Mark Ingram ($6,600) vs. Cleveland Browns

Ingram made his presence felt in Week 3, as he was the highest-scoring running back with 38.5 DKFP. He found the end zone three times while rushing the ball 16 times for 103 yards. He’d also get some work in the passing game, catching all four of his targets for 32 yards. After this huge performance, his salary was bumped up by $900 ahead of the Ravens matchup against the Browns. With how their run defense as looked in the early going, $6,600 simply isn’t a salary you’ll be looking to fade Ingram at.

The Browns didn’t have to defend much against the Rams Sunday night, as they only ran the ball 17 times for a combined 50 yards between Toddy Gurley ($7,000) and Malcolm Brown ($4,400). With this lackluster performance, they’re not averaging only 78 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown allowed. However, let’s not forget that we saw the Titans and Jets average 92 rushing yards in the first two weeks of the season against them. You know, teams who run the ball well.

With the way the Browns have looked, I’m quite confident the Ravens will open as favorites and around -5.5 or -6 wouldn’t surprise me. With Ingram averaging 14 carries per game and the go-to option at the goal line, he should be in for another big performance in Week 4. Don’t let the Rams skew your perception of this Rams run defense.

Kerryon Johnson ($5,400) vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Johnson wasn’t able to get anything going on the ground in Week 3 against the Eagles. If you looked at his yardage, you’d think he got hurt in this game with only 36 yards. Well, I hate to break it to you but those 36 hard-earned yards came on 20 rushing attempts. Quick math tells us that averages to 1.8 yards per carry! Coming into this game, the Eagles had been good against the run but hadn’t faced much competition against Washington and Falcons, two teams who are struggling with their ground game.

Johnson is now facing a Chiefs run defense that allowed Ingram to go off for his massive game. While I’m not expecting that from Johnson, it’s easy to be optimistic that he’ll be much more productive than his Week 3 disaster. If anything, he saw a $200 decrease in salary, which usually isn’t the case for a team that’s about to host the Chiefs. This is a defense that is allowing an average of 102 yards on the ground and 34 through the air. Johnson is involved in both and continues to be the workhorse on this team. In his cheap price point, he should be looked toward as a bounce-back candidate in a home matchup.

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Steveazors) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.