Running back non-PPR rankings for Week 6 fantasy football

Final injury report

Melvin Gordon is the biggest question mark heading into Week 6 Sunday. He was cited for a DUI during the week and sent home from Wednesday practice. He returned to practice on Thursday but then sat out Friday’s practice due to an illness that is not Covid-19. It’s unclear whether or not he’ll play.

Out: Dalvin Cook (groin)
Questionable: Jordan Wilkins (calf), Melvin Gordon (illness), Leonard Fournette (ankle), Jeffery Wilson (calf)

Friday AM update

The were two notable changes to the Thursday injury report. One was the addition of Adrian Peterson with an illness that would not seem to be coronavirus-related. The other was Melvin Gordon returning to practice after missing Wednesday’s following a DUI citation. Meanwhile, Dalvin Cook remained a DNP and Kareem Hunt remained limited.

Friday morning saw the Indianapolis Colts close their facility due to multiple positive Covid-19 tests. They are working to confirm those positives and figure out next steps. We’ll keep an eye out for more information on the game status and potential impact on Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines, and Joe Mixon this weekend.

Wednesday injury report

NFL teams returned to practice on Wednesday to begin on-field preparations for Week 6. The big news at the running back position was Melvin Gordon getting cited for a DUI. His status for Sunday is unclear, but will be something to track all week. The biggest injury issue is Dalvin Cook. He is dealing with a groin injury, and with the Vikings having a Week 7 bye, odds seem decent he sits this weekend and Alexander Mattison starts in his place.

DNP: Dalvin Cook (groin), Melvin Gordon (DUI citation), Darrynton Evans (hamstring)
Limited: Giovani Bernard (groin), Jordan Wilkins (calf), Kareem Hunt (thigh), Leonard Fournette (ankle), LeSean McCoy (ankle), Antonio Gibson (toe)
Full: Phillip Lindsay (foot)

In Week 5, we saw plenty of our usual top performing running backs, with some surprises worth noting. Panthers RB Mike Davis continued to dominate, totaling 149 scrimmage yards and a score on 25 touches. He is a weekly RB1 if he continues to get this significant workload, having been in on 70% or more offensive snaps in each of the Panthers three outings without Christian McCaffrey.

Cardinals RB Kenyan Drake scored his second touchdown of the season to save his day for fantasy managers, but the real takeaway from Week 5 seems to be Drake’s more-consistently-present-than-we’d-like teammate, Chase Edmonds. Edmonds is currently averaging 6.1 yards per touch to Drake’s 3.7, looking like the far better back running with the Cardinals.

The Ravens backfield continues to be a bit of a question mark, as we saw Mark Ingram lead the team’s RBs in touches for the week with neither Gus Edwards or JK Dobbins exceeding seven total attempts on the week. The Ravens RB room has yet to win us a fantasy week, and Week 5 hasn’t done much to change our hopes for that to change.

Injury news

Vikings RB Dalvin Cook also went down in prime time, exiting SNF with a groin injury. Though Mike Zimmer acknowledged that Cook’s follow up MRI “went pretty well,” per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, given the team’s Week 7 bye, we shouldn’t expect the team will push him to return early. Backup RB Alexander Mattison played 49% of offensive snaps Sunday, totaling 136 yards on 23 total touches. Managers should expect to be without Cook until at least Week 8.

Fantasy managers should expect to see Denver RB Phillip Lindsay (toe) return to the active lineup against the Patriots in Week 6. It remains to be seen what type of split we’ll see between him and teammate Melvin Gordon, but it’s worth noting that the Patriots defense has allowed just one rushing score through four games so far in 2020.

Bye weeks

Week 6 will bring some difficulties to fantasy managers, with the Saints, Seahawks, Raiders and Chargers on bye. It will be a particularly painful week, considering that three of the top-six RBs in non-PPR formats will be on bye: Alvin Kamara, Chris Carson and Josh Jacobs.

Alvin Kamara enters the bye as the overall RB1 in standard scoring formats and has absolutely dominated as a receiver. Wondering what wideouts he’s surpassing through five weeks?

Raiders RB Josh Jacobs ranks first among RBs in rushing attempts and second in rushing yards. He’s also on pace for a career-high in targets and receiving yards within a Raiders offense that has surprised, ranking top-10 in yards per play through the first five weeks of the season.

We head into the Chargers bye week finally having gained some insight into the battle in the backfield between Justin Jackson and rookie Joshua Kelley.

Streaming options

Vikings RB Alexander Mattison

It’s the week of the backup running back. This may go without saying, but in the absence of Dalvin Cook, Mattison is a must-start. In the absence of Dalvin Cook, against the Falcons? He’s a must, must-start. We’ve seen varying versions of the Vikings offense so far in 2020, but one thing is for sure: the run game is consistent. Atlanta ranks top-12 in yards allowed per rushing attempt, and they are tied for the 10th most rushing scores. Mattison will see 20+ touches in Week 6 and has legitimate top-five upside in this matchup against the Falcons.

Cardinals RB Chase Edmonds

It’s time we bite the bullet and admit that Kenyan Drake may not be the back we saw to close out the 2019 NFL season. Edmonds provides the Cardinals offense a spark — a stark contrast to Drake in his limited touches, ranking fifth among RBs in fantasy points per touch and 10th among NFL backs in fantasy points per snap. It seems, by all accounts, that this could be Edmonds’ offense to gain. The Cardinals face the Cowboys in Week 6, who have allowed the third-most rushing yards per game to RBs. Without Dak Prescott under center, we may see a more slowly-paced, run-friendly matchup conducive to an Edmonds breakout.