Top Tier
Derrick Henry, TEN – Henry is a monster. He has scored 50.7, 22.4, 28.7, 34.0, and 38.6 points over the last five weeks… when 22.4 is a bad game, you’re doing something right, considering only one other back on the slate is averaging over 20.0 points per game this season… and Henry is averaging over 30. Now he gets a matchup with KC, which ranks favorably towards running backs. Yes, he is expensive, but nobody on the slate is offering the type of floor and type of ceiling that Henry offers.
Darrell Henderson, LAR – Henderson keeps rolling as he has scored 15.7, 17.2, 16.6, 16.9, and 24.7 fantasy points this season across his five games of action, showing a floor of 15 points, which is something you love to see. Has the ceiling been crazy high? No, but I love that floor (making him great in cash) and I think he does have a big ceiling this week with the matchup that he has on tap. The Lions rank as THE BEST matchup in all of football for running backs and they are the worst team in the NFL, which means game flow should certainly be in Henderson’s favor. The only thing that could be a concern is the Rams blowing them completely out early and Michel cutting into Henderson’s work.
Mid Tier
Cordarrelle Patterson, ATL – As mentioned in Henry’s section, only one other back is averaging north of 20.0 points this season and that back is the man, the myth, the legend Mr. Patterson. He has scored 23.9, 16.2, 34.6, and 18.4 fantasy points over the past four weeks, showing both upside and a nice floor. He has at least seven targets and at least five receptions in five straight games and he is coming off a game in which he saw a season high carry total of 14 with an also season high touch total of 21. Now he gets a great matchup against Miami which ranks as one of the best in the league. I expect the emergence of Patterson to continue.
Chuba Hubbard, CAR – Hubbard hasn’t been CMC by any means (I know a really shocker there), but he has been fine, scoring 10.9, 9.1, 21.4, and 13.5 points over the last four games. He has 29 and 17 touches over the last two games and is the clear workhorse back right now. Now he gets a fantastic matchup with the Giants which ranks as the second best matchup in all of football for running backs and he should get plenty of work. We haven’t seen massive upside potential from him yet, but I do think he has that in him this week. With that being said, the floor should be strong and I would be kind of surprised if he doesn’t score at least 15 points.
Value Tier
Michael Carter, NYJ – Carter is starting to take over the Jets backfield. He has had at least three targets in four straight games and at least nine carries in those four games as well. He has found the end zone in back-to-back games and scored double digit DFS points in three of the past four. Now he gets a pretty solid matchup with the Patriots and should be able to keep that momentum going. His floor is low and his upside is capped a bit, but at the same time he is extremely cheap and if he can put up 15+ points he would be a great play at this price and I would not be shocked to see him do that.
Fades
Josh Jacobs, LV – Jacobs is just always overpriced. He hasn’t scored more than 17 points in a game this season and his average is far less than the other guys around his price. On top of that, in the first week after a coaching change the team got Drake more involved, which just hurts Jacobs’ upside even more. Even with a good matchup on tap against the Eagles, it really just doesn’t make any sense to play Jacobs in any format as his floor his low and his ceiling is even lower. He hasn’t averaged more than 3.4 yards per carry in ANY GAME this season… he just isn’t a very good player.