Fantasy Football: Which RBs To Start and Sit in Week 5
Sep 25, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) stiff arms Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Vernon Hargreaves (28) during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Week 5 of the fantasy football season is upon us and that means making some more really tough decisions on who to start and who to sit on your fantasy football team. Is Todd Gurley finally going to be worth his draft stock? What should you do with Jordan Howard this week? Find out this and more in this week’s edition of start/sit running back edition.
Fantasy Football START THESE RBs…
Todd Gurley, LA (vs. BUF)
Normally Gurley would be an automatic start, but he’s been the biggest bust in all of fantasy football through the first four weeks of the season. He’s rushed for only 216 yards and two touchdowns so far, and doesn’t have a single 100-yard game to his credit. Luckily for Gurley owners, things are about to change this week when the Buffalo Bills travel all the way across the country to take on the Rams. The Bills have given up the 10th most fantasy points to running backs on the year and Their defense has also allowed 23-plus fantasy points to two of the first four No. 1 running backs on their schedule, so Gurley should rebound for fantasy fans.
C.J. Anderson, DEN (vs. ATL)
Anderson still hasn’t run for over 100 yards yet this season, but he has scored four touchdowns in four games, ranks in the top 10 in snaps among running backs, and he’s posted 20 or more touches in all but one contest. So while Anderson might not be putting up big time numbers, he’s consistent and consistency is what fantasy owners love. This week Anderson and the Broncos welcome the high-scoring Atlanta Falcons to town, which brings along a positive game-script for Anderson as well as the fact that Falcons defense isn’t really any good. They’re currently allowing 4.5 yards per carry, which is 26th in the league.
Jordan Howard, CHI (@ IND)
The Bears rookie is doing what Jeremy Langford couldn’t, and that’s break tackles and create something from nothing. He showed off his skills to the tune of 132 total yards in last week’s win over the Lions, and this week gets another great match up as the Bears travel to Indy to take on the Colts. Howard might end up being the #1 fantasy RB this week thanks to the Colts, who have surrendered an average of more than 24 fantasy points per game to the position.
Terrance West, BAL (vs. WAS)
Kenneth Dixon, who is set to make his NFL debut in Week 5, is widely expected to take over this backfield long-term, but he should be eased back into action, while West, who turned 21 touches into 113 yards last week, should get at least one more week to prove himself. He’s averaging 5.1 yards per attempt over his last 31 carries, and now he’s at home with a positive game script (four-point favorites) against a Washington defense that is 31st in the NFL in yards per carry allowed.
Fantasy Football SIT THESE RBs…
Sep 25, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray (28) carries the ball as Tennessee Titans cornerback Brice McCain (23) defends during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Latavius Murray, OAK (vs. SD)
A whopping 43.4 percent of Murray’s fantasy production has come from three touchdowns. You don’t want to blame a guy for scoring touchdowns, but at the same, it’s not something you can bank on when he has played just 50.5 percent of the offensive snaps and received just 43.8 percent of the RB touches over the last three weeks. A match up at home against the Chargers is a great one, but Murray is tough to trust as long as he’s in a committee with DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard.
Charles Sims, TB (@ CAR)
Whatever the opposite of a vote of confidence is, Sims got it from his coach this week. Dirk Koetter suggested the Buccaneers will determine specific roles for his players, which suggests Sims won’t be an every-down back even with Doug Martin out. The match up against the Panthers is tough and Sims himself has a right knee injury. No one should feel comfortable starting Sims this week against Carolina who have been mostly able to stop the run this season, and they’ve yet to allow a 100-yard rusher.
Ryan Matthews, PHI (@ DET)
Mathews had a hot start to the season, but he lost work to Darren Sproles and Wendell Smallwood in the game before Philadelphia’s bye and could now be stuck in an unattractive committee. The veteran back is fighting an ankle injury and this week is going up against a Lions defense that hasn’t allowed a rushing score, so beware of Mathews this week.
Matt Forte, NYJ (@ PIT)
I know it might be really hard to bench Forte this week with four teams on their bye weeks and all the injuries at the position, but you shouldn’t expect a dominant stat line on the road against the Steelers. After Forte’s hot start through two games against Cincinnati and Buffalo with a combined 42 Fantasy points in a standard league, he’s slowed down with nine points combined against Kansas City and Seattle in his past two outings. We’ve also seen backup Bilal Powell take on more work, and he played more snaps than Forte (37-34) last week against the Seahawks. The Steelers are a tough match up for Forte, as they have allowed only 78.3 rushing yards per game to running backs and with the Jets likely to have to throw the ball to keep the game close, single-digit fantasy points might be in store for Forte.
Best of luck in your fantasy football Week 5 match-ups!
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