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Running back non-PPR rankings for Week 6 fantasy football

We take you through some of the best non-PPR running backs going in Week 6 for fantasy football, including a few viable streamers.

Vikings running back Alexander Mattison (25) runs the ball against the Houston Texans during the fourth quarter at NRG Stadium. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

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.

Running back non-PPR rankings Week 18

Rk Name Team Opp
Rk Name Team Opp
1 Jonathan Taylor IND @ JAC
2 Austin Ekeler LAC @ LV
3 Alvin Kamara NO @ ATL
4 Dalvin Cook MIN vs CHI
5 Nick Chubb CLE vs CIN
6 David Montgomery CHI @ MIN
7 Joe Mixon CIN @ CLE
8 Najee Harris PIT @ BAL
9 Josh Jacobs LV vs LAC
10 Rashaad Penny SEA @ ARI
11 Sony Michel LAR vs SF
12 Elijah Mitchell SF @ LAR
13 Rhamondre Stevenson NE @ MIA
14 Devin Singletary BUF vs NYJ
15 Darrel Williams KC @ DEN
16 D'Andre Swift DET vs GB
17 Antonio Gibson WAS @ NYG
18 Javonte Williams DEN vs KC
19 Ezekiel Elliott DAL @ PHI
20 Boston Scott PHI vs DAL
21 Melvin Gordon III DEN vs KC
22 Saquon Barkley NYG vs WAS
23 Damien Harris NE @ MIA
24 James Conner ARI vs SEA
25 D'Onta Foreman TEN @ HOU
26 Patrick Taylor Jr. GB @ DET
27 Devonta Freeman BAL vs PIT
28 Chase Edmonds ARI vs SEA
29 Cordarrelle Patterson ATL vs NO
30 Tony Pollard DAL @ PHI
31 Dare Ogunbowale JAC vs IND
32 Rex Burkhead HOU vs TEN
33 Tevin Coleman NYJ @ BUF
34 Jeff Wilson Jr. SF @ LAR
35 Jamaal Williams DET vs GB
36 Ronald Jones II TB vs CAR
37 Kareem Hunt CLE vs CIN
38 Michael Carter NYJ @ BUF
39 AJ Dillon GB @ DET
40 Ke'Shawn Vaughn TB vs CAR
41 Ty Johnson NYJ @ BUF
42 Mike Davis ATL vs NO
43 Chuba Hubbard CAR @ TB
44 Devontae Booker NYG vs WAS
45 Derrick Gore KC @ DEN
46 Duke Johnson Jr. MIA vs NE
48 Le'Veon Bell TB vs CAR
49 Jordan Howard PHI vs DAL
50 Aaron Jones GB @ DET
51 Jaret Patterson WAS @ NYG
52 Justin Jackson LAC @ LV
53 Craig Reynolds DET vs GB
54 Mark Ingram II NO @ ATL
55 Jeremy McNichols TEN @ HOU
56 Latavius Murray BAL vs PIT
57 Alexander Mattison MIN vs CHI
58 Austin Walter NYJ @ BUF
59 Nyheim Hines IND @ JAC
60 Ameer Abdullah CAR @ TB
61 Dontrell Hilliard TEN @ HOU
62 Phillip Lindsay MIA vs NE
63 Kenneth Gainwell PHI vs DAL
64 Cam Akers LAR vs SF
65 Zack Moss BUF vs NYJ
66 Peyton Barber LV vs LAC
67 Brandon Bolden NE @ MIA
68 DeeJay Dallas SEA @ ARI
69 Myles Gaskin MIA vs NE
70 D'Ernest Johnson CLE vs CIN
71 Samaje Perine CIN @ CLE
72 David Johnson HOU vs TEN
73 Khalil Herbert CHI @ MIN
74 Alex Collins SEA @ ARI
75 Ryquell Armstead JAC vs IND
76 JaMycal Hasty SF @ LAR
77 Royce Freeman HOU vs TEN
78 Benny Snell Jr. PIT @ BAL
79 Jonathan Williams WAS @ NYG
80 Wendell Smallwood WAS @ NYG
81 Eno Benjamin ARI vs SEA
82 Kyle Juszczyk SF @ LAR
83 Damien Williams CHI @ MIN
84 Joshua Kelley LAC @ LV
85 Wayne Gallman Jr. MIN vs CHI
86 Michael Burton KC @ DEN
87 Kene Nwangwu MIN vs CHI
88 Nathan Cottrell JAC vs IND
89 Travis Homer SEA @ ARI
90 Corey Clement DAL @ PHI
91 Deon Jackson IND @ JAC
92 Jake Funk LAR vs SF
93 Ty Montgomery NO @ ATL
94 Jalen Richard LV vs LAC
95 Elijhaa Penny NYG vs WAS
96 Godwin Igwebuike DET vs GB
97 Jakob Johnson NE @ MIA
98 Demetric Felton CLE vs CIN
99 Clyde Edwards-Helaire KC @ DEN