We are heading into Week 5 of the fantasy football season. This is the first week of bye weeks of the year. The Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are all off. Combine those missing players with the injuries around the league, and your roster could be looking sparse. With that in mind, here is how we are approaching the running back position in Week 5 standard leagues.
Injury news to monitor
Jonathan Taylor is expected to resume practicing this week off the PUP list. He could be a difference-maker for both your lineup and the Indianapolis Colts. While Zack Moss has been playing well in relief, Taylor would likely resume getting the bulk of the work in the backfield.
Running backs to monitor include Javonte Williams, Kyren Williams, Saquon Barkley and Elijah Mitchell. Barkley is the biggest name to monitor, and the New York Giants desperately need him back. Javonte suffered a hip flexor injury, while Kyren also has a hip injury. Mitchell was questionable for last week’s game with a knee injury.
Streaming options for Week 5
The Denver defense allows the most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs. Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook are on a struggling New York Jets offense, but both deserve to be included in a lineup this week because of the matchup.
It’s been a struggle for Gus Edwards to stay consistent in the Baltimore Ravens’ run game. He has a good matchup this week against a Pittsburgh Steelers defense allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs.