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The good news regarding Week 3 fantasy football running backs is all the current top five rushers performed near or above expectations. The horrible news is that we’ll be without Saquon Barkley for multiple weeks as he recovers from a high ankle sprain. James White was made unavailable on Sunday morning so he could be with wife who is expecting (congrats!) which left plenty of opportunities for Rex Burkhead to reward DFS players who were brave enough to roster him. Ito Smith left his game early due to a concussion. This left Devonta Freeman to carry the load en route to his best game of the season.
Week 4 brings byes for The San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets. We’ll be without the services of Le’Veon Bell and Matt Brieda. Saquon Barkley’s extended absence will bring on another Wayne Gallman era in New York. He’ll be very affordable in the Week 4 contests so it will be interesting to see how he plays against Washington. Devin Singletary, Rashaad Penny and Damien Williams all missed their Week 3 games. Be sure to monitor the injury reports to see if they’ll be inactive once again.
With 3 weeks in the books we have a general understanding of the role of most running backs. Tarik Cohen has seen his role reduced significantly from 2018. He’ll be a tough play until there’s a shakeup in the Chicago Bears offense. Austin Ekeler continued to impress, but Justin Jackson’s snaps and touches are rising. Both are playable against the Miami Dolphins. Other running backs with potentially plus matchups include Marlon Mack against the Oakland Raiders and Adrian Peterson versus the New York Giants.
On to the rankings!
Running Back (standard) rankings, Week 4
Rk | Player | Team | Opp |
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Player | Team | Opp |
1 | Christian McCaffrey | CAR | vs. HOU |
2 | Alvin Kamara | NO | vs. DAL |
3 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | @ NO |
4 | Dalvin Cook | MIN | @ CHI |
5 | David Johnson | ARI | vs. SEA |
6 | Marlon Mack | IND | vs. OAK |
7 | Todd Gurley II | LAR | vs. TB |
8 | Mark Ingram | BAL | vs. CLE |
9 | Kerryon Johnson | DET | vs. KC |
10 | Nick Chubb | CLE | @ BAL |
11 | Derrick Henry | TEN | @ ATL |
12 | Carlos Hyde | HOU | @ CAR |
13 | Leonard Fournette | JAC | @DEN |
14 | Austin Ekeler | LAC | @ MIA |
15 | Aaron Jones | GB | vs. PHI |
16 | Josh Jacobs | OAK | @ IND |
17 | Wayne Gallman | NYG | vs. WAS |
18 | Joe Mixon | CIN | vs. PIT |
19 | David Montgomery | CHI | vs MIN |
20 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | vs. TEN |
21 | LeSean McCoy | KC | @ DET |
22 | Sony Michel | NE | @ BUF |
23 | James Conner | PIT | @ CIN |
24 | Chris Carson | SEA | @ ARI |
25 | Phillip Lindsay | DEN | vs. JAC |
26 | Royce Freeman | DEN | vs. JAC |
27 | Adrian Peterson | WAS | @ NYG |
28 | James White | NE | @ BUF |
29 | Miles Sanders | PHI | @ GB |
30 | Frank Gore | BUF | vs. NE |
31 | Malcolm Brown | LAR | vs. TB |
32 | Jamaal Williams | GB | vs. PHI |
33 | Jordan Howard | PHI | @ GB |
34 | Rex Burkhead | NE | @ BUF |
35 | Rashaad Penny | SEA | @ ARI |
36 | Chris Thompson | WAS | @ NYG |
37 | Peyton Barber | TB | @ LAR |
38 | Ronald Jones | TB | @ LAR |
39 | Jaylen Samuels | PIT | @ CIN |
40 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | vs. PIT |
41 | Duke Johnson Jr. | HOU | @ CAR |
42 | Latavius Murray | NO | vs. DAL |
43 | Devin Singletary | BUF | vs. NE |
44 | Kenyan Drake | MIA | vs. LAC |
45 | Nyheim Hines | IND | vs. OAK |
46 | Tarik Cohen | CHI | vs MIN |
47 | Justin Jackson | LAC | @ MIA |
48 | Ty Johnson | DET | vs. KC |
49 | Dion Lewis | TEN | @ ATL |
50 | Tony Pollard | DAL | @ NO |
C.J. Anderson | DET | ||
Damien Williams | KC | vs. BAL | |
Saquon Barkley | NYG | vs. | |
Le'Veon Bell | NYJ | ||
Matt Breida | SF | ||
Raheem Mostert | SF |