Running back non-PPR rankings for Week 4 fantasy football

Friday update: Remember to take Derrick Henry and James Conner and move them to the bench, as their game has been moved to Week 7.

Doug Pederson says Miles Sanders will play against the 49ers despite his glute injury. He’s been a workhorse so far. Get him in your lineups.

Cam Akers doesn’t look like he will be able to go against the Giants, giving Darrell Henderson another good chance of putting up lead back numbers.

Chris Carson has been limited in practice this week, and is trending toward playing against the Dolphins. If he can’t go, Carlos Hyde becomes a must start.

Zack Moss has gotten limited practices in this week and is trending toward playing. His presence doesn’t kill Devin Singletary’s fantasy value, but it does hurt his upside.

Raheem Mostert hasn’t practiced yet this week and with Jerick McKinnon and Jeff Wilson available, I doubt they push him too hard. Both Wilson and McKinnon have value for fantasy in Week 4.

Kareem Hunt’s groin injury is reportedly not serious, but he hasn’t practiced yet. As long as he plays, he’s a start. If he doesn’t, Nick Chubb gets a good boost.

Leonard Fournette is on his way to being out for Week 4 with an ankle injury. If so, Ronald Jones should get enough touches to be startable in most leagues.

I’ve moved Singletary down and Henderson and Jones up in this update, but will likely wait until we get a full report on these injuries before moving any others.

Week 4 injury report

Teams returned to practice on Wednesday, and we have an idea of some of the players to keep an eye on as the final injury reports arrive later this week. Below are the running backs who showed up in some capacity.

Full participants: Josh Jacobs (hip, knee), Justin Jackson (quadricep), David Montgomery (wrist), Jerick McKinnon (ribs)
Limited participants: Zack Moss (toe), Nyheim Hines (shoulder), Duke Johnson (ankle), Sony Michel (quadricep), Miles Sanders (glute), Chris Carson (knee), Carlos Hyde (shoulder)
Did not practice: Kareem Hunt (groin), Leonard Fournette (ankle), Cam Akers (ribs), Raheem Mostert (knee)

Titans-Steelers postponed

The NFL announced that Titans-Steelers will not take place in Week 4 as another Titans player and non-player tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. The game will be played later in the season on an unspecified date. For running backs, this means Derrick Henry, James Conner, and Benny Snell will not be available in Week 4.

Last week gave us a huge game from Alvin Kamara, as he helps make up for Michael Thomas’ injury while Austin Ekeler got back on track as the elite fantasy option he often is. Derrick Henry just needed to find the end zone again to boost his numbers back to fantasy royalty and he did so twice against the Vikings. We also get to root for Illinois State alum and UDFA rookie James Robinson, as he proves himself on the Jaguars and on our fantasy teams. And let’s not forget about Darrell Henderson, who went from future star, to bust, back to future and somewhat present star.

Covid-19 News

We’re still getting information on the Tennessee Titans Covid-19 breakout, but at the moment it looks like the NFL is going to do all they can to get both the Titans-Steelers and Vikings-Texans to play this week. If they do, the Titans and to some extent, the Vikings, won’t have been able to practice as much as their opponent’s have. But, we are still waiting for definitive news on the status of these matchups, which means there is also a chance they move the games to a later date.

Injury news

Chris Carson has a knee sprain after getting gator rolled last week, but has a chance to play against the Dolphins in Week 4. If he can’t go, Carlos Hyde gets a big bump.

Cam Akers will likely be dealing with his ribs injury for a while, but could play through the pain as early as this week. But Darrell Henderson appears to have won the starting job for the time being.

Tevin Coleman is on I.R. but Raheem Mostert is still active and could work his way into starting against the Eagles this week.

Streaming RBs

Sony Michel, Patriots

The Patriots likely won’t be able to beat the Chiefs if they go tot-to-toe in the passing game, so they will likely give Michel a long leash in this one. He looked good last week and he’ll likely be the lead back in their game plan agains the world champs.

Ronald Jones, Buccaneers

He’s not a high upside player at this point, but he has managed to hold onto the lead role in Tampa Bay. I expect he’ll keep that role for the most part and with the Bucs offense getting on track, I like his chances to score this week.