NFL Running Back Workloads: Week 5

Cardinals

The death of Kenyan Drake was greatly exaggerated. Kidding aside, he continues to see the majority of the touches and was FINALLY able to score a touchdown thanks to four red zone touches. Fantasy owners can't be pleased with just a single target in the team's passing offense as it's clear that Chase Edmonds is going to fulfill that role in the offense which makes him a nice flex play in PPR leagues.

Falcons

Gurley is trucking right now as he comes off his first 100-yard game of the season. The touchdowns are what we need to focus on here as he scored for the fifth time this season and fourth time over the last three games. Gurley looks healthy and the Falcons are being smart with his usage. Love seeing the five targets as it was the second time this season he has seen that many.

Ravens

One of the most frustrating backfields in the NFL right now. Even with Lamar Jackson dealing with a knee injury and managing just three rushing yards in Week 5 we saw a near even time share in the backfield between these three with Edwards and Ingram handling most of the carries. If you own any of these three backs you can only play them in bye week or dire situations.

Bills

Zack Moss was again ruled out which meant that Singletary was going to get a lot of the work. He struggled in this game against the Titans, as did most of the Bills offense, but in Week 6 Moss is expected to return. I expect Moss to takeover the snap share that Yeldon saw here with similar levels of involvement in both the run and pass game.

Panthers

Mike Davis continues to give fantasy owners near similar production as to what would be expected from Christian McCaffrey . He added another nine catches on 10 targets while finding the end zone against the Falcons. With news that CMC may not return until Week 8, fantasy owners should continue to squeeze all the juice they can from Davis.

Bears

Bingo, eight targets to Montgomery in Week 5. I understand that Tarik Cohen is an elite pass catcher but Matt Nagy would be better suited just allowing Montgomery to be a three-down back and now he really doesn't have a choice. Though Montgomery's 10 carries isn't anything great, his pass game involvement gives his fantasy floor a big boost.

Bengals

It looks like the Bengals coaching staff finally realized they had Joe Mixon on their roster huh? A week after his breakout performance against the Jaguars in which he rushed for 151 yards on 25 carries while adding six catches on six targets he toted the rock another 24 times in Week 5 while catches six passes on eight targets. THIS is what we want as Mixon owners. Maximize the touches to your best player and make defenses respect the run so Joe Burrow has an easier time throwing the football.

Browns

If you spent a lot of FAAB on Johnson heading into Week 5 you were very disappointed to see he only had eight carries while Hunt took a 70/30 split with the snap counts. If you own Hunt however, rejoice, as he is going to be the lead back for Cleveland with little competition it seems for his touches.

Cowboys

This is Elliott's backfield, no reason to think otherwise and with Dak Prescott going down, we should honestly expect even more carries to come his way in my opinion. 

Texans

Johnson nearly had his first 100-yard game of the season in Week 5 as he rushed for 96 yards against the Jaguars. Johnson and the Texans have another good match up in Week 6 as they face the Titans. It's good to see that even with Duke Johnson active, that David Johnson still saw more targets as Houston needs to get him involved in the team's passing attack.

Colts

Maybe it is just too much to ask of the Colts to feed Taylor 20 carries a game at this point in his career but you can't love the near even snap split between Taylor and Hines. In Week 6 the Colts face off against the Bengals so maybe he can get it going here with some increased volume.

Jaguars

We expected a bigger performance out of Robinson in Week 5 as he ran against a Texans defense that was getting torched by opposing running backs all season. Unfortunately, he struggled, but his involvement in the team's passing offense continues to be a huge plus for his fantasy value. Robinson has another great match up in Week 6 against a Lions defense that is allowing a ton of rushing yards this season.

Chiefs

This is the big news of the week as the Chiefs signed Le'Veon Bell . Now, Bell is not going to play in Week 6 so this backfield snap share should still strongly lean in  CEH's favor but once Bell does get some practice in and enter the Chiefs lineup I would expect much closer to an even split with Bell seeing much of the red zone work given CEH's struggles in the red zone area this season.

Chargers

Justin Jackson started and was more effective than Joshua Kelley in the Chargers first game without Austin Ekeler . Jackson's involvement in the passing game is also a huge plus for his fantasy value. If you want to take one thing away for Kelley it's that he still maintained his role in the team's red zone offense so while Kelley may get the lion share of the carries, the touchdown upside can keep him fantasy relevant. 

Rams

Akers made his return in Week 5 and was on a snap count but he looked good in his nine carries which included a very nice run that put his talents on display. Sean McVay said at the beginning of the season that he was going to ride the hot hand but if I had to guess, Akers will be the lead back here sooner rather than later with Henderson acting as the change of pace and Brown likely fading out of the picture.

Raiders

The numbers above tell the whole story here. There is no threat to the snap count or carries for Jacobs. Continue to play him with confidence. 

Dolphins

Though the Dolphins were hot on the tail of Le'Veon Bell , they did not land him, and therefore Gaskin remains as the team's lead back. He dominates the snap share and overall touches in this offense with Jordan Howard completely out of the picture and likely on his way out to be honest. This is a great week for Gaskin as Miami faces the New York Jets.

Vikings

Dalvin Cook was tearing up the Seahawks in Week 5 but then an injury took him out. With Cook sidelined, in stepped Alexander Mattison who proceeded to rush for 112 yards on his own. With Dalvin Cook already ruled out for the week Mattison will get  to put his talents on display once again in a great match up against the Atlanta Falcons.

Saints

The Saints running game didn't have much going in Week 5 but Kamara still put forth a strong fantasy effort thanks to yet another double-digit target game. The Saints are on a bye in Week 6 and should be getting Michael Thomas back in Week 7 which may impact Kamara's target upside.

Giants

The snap counts tell the story here as Freeman has a firm grip on the team's lead role here. Though he averaged just 3.5 yards per carry against the Cowboys, it's a plus to see him with the 17 carries and the four targets in the team's passing attack. The Giants offense is not good but Freeman is the back to own.

Jets

Well, the Jets released Le'Veon Bell this week so the backfield duo above will be different come next week's report. We should expect Frank Gore to likely handle most of the work with rookie La'Mical Perine likely seeing increased usage as a change of pace and pass catching back.

Eagles

The only thing holding Sanders back is the Eagles putrid offense. He is on the field for 85-percent of the offensive snaps but saw just 13 touches?? He saved fantasy owners with a big 74-yard touchdown run and then later added a one-yard punch as well for a two touchdown day. Things do not get easier for Philly in Week 6 as they draw a match up against the Ravens.

Steelers 

Conner struggled against the Eagles in Week 5 as he averaged just 2.9 yards per carry but he did save fantasy owners by finding the end zone for the third straight week. The Steelers face the Browns in Week 6 who have a decent front seven so Conner may not have the biggest output this week either.

Seahawks

A bit surprised to see the snap counts here be fairly even but Carson still saw the majority of the touches and his huge involvement in the team's passing attack is a big plus for his fantasy upside. Seattle has a bye in Week 6 but return to face the Cardinals in Week 7.

49ers

The 49ers got spanked in Week 5 as the Dolphins ran them out of their own stadium. That said, Mostert still dominated the touches in his return and looked good, rushing for 90 yards on the 11 carries. Surprising that even in a blowout, the likes of McKinnon or Wilson were so far behind Mostert. It's clear this is his backfield. The 49ers have a tough test in Week 6 as they draw the Los Angeles Rams.

Buccaneers

Another 100-yard game from Jones here as the Buccaneers backfield was dealing with injuries to LeSean McCoy and Leonard Fournette . McCoy is expected back in Week 6 but Fournette is still questionable. It's hard to think the Buccaneers go away from Jones given how he has looked over the past few weeks even if Fournette is active against the Packers this weekend.

Titans

I mean, Henry is a monster, the Titans are going to run him as often as they need and while McNichols saw some extra work, when the chips are down you can expect close to 20-carries from Henry on a weekly basis. In Week 6 the Titans have a nice match up against a Texans defense that does not defend the run very well.

Washington

After vulturing a few touchdowns early on, it looks like Barber is out of the picture and we have somewhat defined roles for Gibson and McKissic. Gibson continues to see the early down work and gets to utilize  his pass catching ability while McKissic also finds himself heavily involved in the team's passing attack. A bonus for both backs is the move to Kyle Allen at quarterback as he loved to check down to his running back during his tenure as the Panther starting quarterback last season.