RB Rankings
- Which is the more shocking ranking: Leonard Fournette RB7, Cordarrelle Patterson RB9, or Darrel Williams RB11? Welcome to Week 7, where a healthy share of snaps and a touchdown scoring role is enough to lock a running back into your starting lineup.
- Alex Collins is a big question mark with his health, as well as his matchup against a Saints defense allowing the eight-fewest PPR points to opposing running backs so far this year. I’d rather have the pass-catching role in this matchup, making DeeJay Dallas an interesting desperation play this week. Dallas has begun to earn the third-down role over the past few weeks, racking up 34% of the snaps and a 16% target share last week with Geno Smith checking the ball down at quarterback. Unfortunately, Rashaad Penny is set to come off IR this week and is reportedly ready to play a significant role, jumbling up this backfield even further. Collins is worth a start if given the green light on running back needy teams, and if he were to miss, both Penny and Dallas suddenly become intriguing starting options for those who are in dire straits. If you have a free spot on your bench, grab Penny or Dallas and see what happens come Sunday.
- D’Ernest Johnson is all the way up at RB17 this week for a few reasons. With Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt both out, there is obviously a huge vacancy in this running game. And despite a banged-up offensive line and a backup quarterback under center, this is still a team that wants to run the ball, and maybe more importantly knows how to run the ball. The same can’t be said for many of the players behind Johnson, and while his floor is certainly low, he has a relatively high ceiling this week. John Kelly has been signed off the practice squad to be the backup, while Demetric Felton is a bit more receiver than running back at this point for the Browns. That leaves Johnson to carry the load, who enters his third year on the Browns’ roster. Johnson did contribute a 13 carry, 95-yard line against the Cowboys last year, so the coaches have seen him in action in the regular season. If you added Johnson off of waivers needing a starter this week, you can feel relatively confident putting him in your lineups this week, even against a decent Broncos defense.
- News is still scarce on Damien Williams this week as he recovers from COVID-19. If he plays, he projects with the better role against a Tampa Bay defense that you simply can not run the ball against, and he should be a viable RB2 or flex option with his passing game role. That would make the rookie Khalil Herbert borderline unstartable, as he would project for the rushing role against this stout front. But if Williams were to miss the game, Herbert would look to be in line for a workload similar to last week, where he played on 89% of the Bears’ offensive snaps. That usage alone would make him a solid RB2 option this week, even in a brutal matchup.
Green=Strong Starter, Yellow=Solid Starter, Red=Look for Better Options
Week 7 RB Rankings