This column is typically arranged alphabetically by team, but sometimes it just works out that the first team listed is also the most noteworthy backfield of the week. That’s the case this week, as we learned that Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman is heading to injured reserve. No scrolling down necessary to get to the lead story!
As always, if a team is not listed here, it’s because my thoughts on that backfield haven’t drastically changed. You can check out the “Roundup” archives for my take on those teams, or shoot me a question on Twitter. Now on to the Falcons.
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Atlanta Falcons
Devonta Freeman played a grand total of two games this season due to nagging knee and foot injuries, but it’s groin surgery that has finally sent him to injured reserve. He is eligible to return, but it’s unclear if that is realistic and he’ll have to miss eight games, regardless, so he isn’t worth holding in fantasy leagues.
Tevin Coleman hasn’t done a lot in Freeman’s absence, but he’ll now have a golden opportunity to lead this backfield for the rest of the season. Coleman has played on about 60 percent of the snaps in the games Freeman has missed, so expect that to continue with rookie Ito Smith handling the rest.
Regular readers of this column will recall that the Falcons’ running game was good enough to produce two top-20 fantasy running backs in both 2016 and 2017. Atlanta has found it much tougher sledding this year, though, as the Falcons currently rank 29th in the league in rushing yards per game.
If the Falcons can get their ground game back on track, there is a good chance that Coleman can provide the RB1 value that Freeman has in years past, and Smith may even be able to produce sneaky RB2 value in Coleman’s old role. But given the team’s current struggles, it’s safer to view Coleman as an upside RB2 and Smith as an intriguing stash and bye-week flex option.
Baltimore Ravens
Just when it looked like Buck Allen was overtaking Alex Collins in terms of fantasy value, Collins reemerged in Week 6, out-touching Allen 19-to-four and converted two red zone scoring opportunities. It was a very good fantasy day, but Collins only averaged 2.8 yards per carry, raising questions about whether he’ll see the same kind of workload again next week.
But if John Harbaugh does decide to go away from Collins, it is no longer entirely clear that Allen would be the one who benefits. While Allen was given just one carry against Tennessee, undrafted rookie Gus Edwards handled 10 carries for 42 yards. And Edwards’ involvement wasn’t merely due to the lopsided final scoreline — he saw action in the second and third quarters when the game was still very much in doubt. According to Baltimore Sun beat writer Childs Walker, Edwards “found success as a power runner” and “built on his tough running from the preseason to make a case for a bigger role going forward.”
So the Baltimore backfield is suddenly messier than ever. While an even timeshare isn’t ideal, a three-way committee is even worse. If Collins can continue to see around 20 touches a game, he can still be an RB2, but it is becoming impossible to predict what this team will do from week to week.
Chicago Bears
For the second week in a row, Tarik Cohen put up a massive stat line that included seven catches for 90+ yards, while Jordan Howard again underwhelmed. Howard seemed like the obvious back to own in Chicago coming into the season, and he was even hyped as a potential three-down back in the preseason. But it is becoming increasingly clear that Cohen is now the more useful fantasy asset on a team that better utilizes its running backs in the receiving game than on the ground.
Howard isn’t going away, mind you — he played a couple more snaps and handled a couple more touches than Cohen in Week 6. But Cohen’s touches have proven to be much more impactful from a fantasy perspective.
Howard is still the clear goal-line back, and shouldn’t be dropped in most fantasy leagues, but he is more of a flex option than an RB2 at the moment. Meanwhile, Cohen is the one pushing for every-week RB2 consideration in an improving offense.
Denver Broncos
Phillip Lindsay received fewer carries than Royce Freeman for just the second time this season in Week 6, but Lindsay still had one more touch than Freeman thanks to his extensive role in the passing game. Lindsay is still the preferred weekly play in this backfield and remains on the RB2 radar. He hasn’t gone over 100 yards from scrimmage since Week 2, but has established himself as a fairly high-floor fantasy asset. Freeman, on the other hand, hasn’t been given double-digit touches in any of the last three games and remains a touchdown-dependent RB3/flex option.
Green Bay Packers
Mike McCarthy continues to frustrate Packers fans and Aaron Jones owners alike by refusing to give Jones a chance to take control of this backfield, even though he’s averaging nearly 6.0 yards per carry. Jones has played fewer snaps than both Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery each of the last two weeks.
It’s theoretically possible that the Packers rethink their backfield committee over their Week 7 bye, but unless we see concrete evidence of a change, we have to assume that McCarthy will continue to deploy a three-way RB committee. That will make it tough to trust any Green Bay running back as anything more than a dicey flex option, although Jones will still be the preferred choice due to his impressive rushing ability.
Houston Texans
Lamar Miller returned from a one-game absence to again take hold of Houston’s backfield, with unsurprisingly mediocre results (17 touches for 71 yards). Even as the clear lead back, Miller is only a low-end RB2 in favorable matchups and an RB3/flex option in tougher ones.
Alfred Blue looked to be pushing Miller for the lead back job, but it now seems like that may have just been a function of Miller being banged up. Like Miller, Blue is a low-upside player that is unlikely to approach weekly RB2 value even if giving greater opportunity.
We also learned this week that D’Onta Foreman is unlikely to return in Week 7, a fact that significantly dampens my enthusiasm about stashing him on fantasy rosters. The Texans play again just four days after that, and then have only one more game before their Week 10 bye, so we may not get to see Foreman until late November. Even then, he could be brought along slowly.
Indianapolis Colts
I addressed the Colts in this week’s “10 Things We Learned” column, so click on through to the other side for a breakdown of the Indy backfield.
Jacksonville Jaguars
With rumors swirling that Leonard Fournette may not play again until Week 10, and Corey Grant landing on IR with a foot injury, the Jaguars went out and signed former fantasy football superstar Jamaal Charles to back up T.J. Yeldon. Charles got a fair amount of run in his first game, handling six touches and playing on 35 percent of the snaps compared to 11 touches and 65 percent of the snaps for Yeldon, but don’t expect to see the Charles of old anytime soon (or ever again, really).
Jaguars coach Doug Marrone was reluctant to rule Fournette out of last week’s game, so perhaps we won’t have to wait until Week 10 to see him after all. But in the meantime, Yeldon will be a borderline RB1/2, while Charles is merely a desperation bye week fill-in.
Miami Dolphins
Kenyan Drake finally got more snaps and touches than Frank Gore in Week 6, so of course it was Gore who put up the Dolphins’ first 100-yard rushing performance of the year. Gore topped the century mark on just 15 carries, while also chipping in an 18-yard catch. Meanwhile, Drake nearly cost Miami the game by fumbling the ball at the goal line in overtime, but somewhat made up for it by contributing to the eventual game-winning drive.
This backfield remains a near-even committee, with Gore establishing himself as the primary rusher while Drake has essentially become a passing down back. Drake’s inflated snap count in Week 6 may have been a product of game flow since the Dolphins were trailing in the second half. For now, Gore and Drake are both decent flex options, but neither is particularly close to being a reliable RB2.
Minnesota Vikings
Dalvin Cook surprisingly missed another game due to ongoing hamstring issues, as the Vikings continue to take a cautious approach with their prized second-year back. It is quickly shaping up as a lost fantasy year for Cook, who has yet to score double-digit fantasy points in a game and is unlikely to regain bell-cow duties anytime soon. If you can still get high-end RB2 value for him, I’d probably pull the trigger.
Latavius Murray once again stepped in for Cook, but unlike the previous games that Cook missed, Murray delivered the goods for fantasy owners this time around, rushing 24 times for 155 yards and a touchdown. The matchup with Arizona was about as favorable as it gets, and Murray obviously won’t see this kind of workload when Cook is back in action. But he showed the kind of upside he has when Cook is out and could remain in the flex conversation even when Cook returns.
New York Giants
Nothing has changed in the makeup of this backfield, but let’s use this as an opportunity to acknowledge how impressive Saquon Barkley has been despite playing in an utterly broken offense. Barkley has reached 100 yards from scrimmage in every game this season and has scored in all but one. He is easily a top-five fantasy RB rest of season. Wayne Gallman is Barkley’s direct backup for those scoring at home, but let’s hope we don’t have to see him step in for Barkley anytime soon.
Oakland Raiders
Marshawn Lynch had a disappointing afternoon against his former team in London, handling the ball 17 times for just 59 yards as the Raiders were blown out by the Seahawks. But the much bigger concern for Lynch owners is the revelation that he is dealing with a groin strain that will require an MRI and could potentially cost him some time. NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport says it “[d]idn’t sound too serious,” but time will tell.
Jalen Richard has been serving as the complementary back to Lynch so far this season, but if Lynch were to miss time, it’s his direct backup Doug Martin that would likely step into his role in the offense. Lynch has been a workhorse this season, so Martin could be looking at 15-20 weekly touches in such a scenario. The Raiders are on bye this week, but it makes a lot of sense to stash Martin in any league where starting RBs are hard to come by, at least until we learn the results of Lynch’s MRI.
Philadelphia Eagles
Wendell Smallwood operated as the Eagles’ lead back in their first game without Jay Ajayi, but it was Corey Clement who was the more effective rusher, converted a goal-line touchdown, and chipped in some receiving yardage. Smallwood and Clement aren’t entirely dissimilar players — meaning this is not a “thunder and lightning” type of situation — so it could take some time for them to settle into distinct roles in the offense. Clement is the slightly better fantasy bet at the moment since he outperformed Smallwood last week and is now one more week removed from the quad injury that cost him two games. Darren Sproles‘ eventual return could complicate matters, but for now, think of Clement as a borderline RB2 and Smallwood as a decent flex option.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Outside of a tweet that appears to be fake news, it has remained quiet on the Le’Veon Bell front, despite earlier reports that he would report to the team over their Week 7 bye. The Steelers no longer expect Bell to show up this week, and if he isn’t showing up to collect an $855,000 paycheck for a couple days of practice, it wouldn’t make a ton of sense for him to show up for an actual game in Week 8, either.
Ultimately, just about everyone not named Le’Veon Bell — including the Steelers themselves — is in the dark about Bell’s plans. But click through to last week’s “Roundup” for some analysis of what Bell’s return would mean for his fantasy value and James Conner’s.
San Francisco 49ers
Well, it looks like the Alfred Morris era could end with a whimper in San Francisco. With Matt Breida looking questionable to play throughout the week, the 49ers gave Raheem Mostert more reps in practice, and they liked what they saw.
Breida ultimately gutted out his ankle injury and performed reasonably well, but it was Mostert who stepped into the number two RB role and ate up just about all of Morris’ snaps. Mostert finished with 12 carries for 87 yards, production that might be good enough to permanently jump Morris on the depth chart. However, we won’t know for sure until we see how San Francisco lines up following a week of practice in which all three backs are healthy.
Despite Mostert’s emergence, Breida is still clearly the best back to own in San Francisco and should continue to produce RB2 value most weeks. Mostert is still just a stash in deeper leagues — he can’t be trusted in lineups in Week 7 — and Morris has quickly become a drop candidate.
Seattle Seahawks
Chris Carson continued to serve as the Seahawks’ primary ball carrier in London, but the more noteworthy event was rookie Rashaad Penny getting 11 touches compared to just seven for Mike Davis. Still, it would be unwise to overreact and assume it is only a matter of time before Penny inherits the starting job.
Penny did haul in a 24-yard catch in the first quarter, but eight of his 11 touches came in the second half when the game was already well in hand. This game didn’t show us enough to firmly believe that Penny has overtaken Davis on the depth chart, let alone Carson.
Seattle is on bye this week, so Carson is the only Seahawks RB that is a must-hold right now. Davis and Penny are both reasonable bench stashes given how well Seattle has been running the ball, but I’d still consider Davis the ever-so-slightly preferable one.
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Andrew Seifter is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrew_seifter.
