It has been a chaotic season for fantasy running backs, but it is time to relax and analyze the position and matchups to find must-starts and must-sits for Week 5. Below we will analyze the NFL fantasy football rankings to give you some must-start and must-sit running backs for Week 5 of the NFL season.
Week 5 Fantasy Football Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em: Running Backs
Must Start: Cordarrelle Patterson — Atlanta Falcons (vs. New York Jets)
Patterson has entered must-start territory moving forward. Despite being in the NFL for nearly 10 years, this has been by far the best season of his career. Patterson is RB3 in half-PPR, and last week against Washington he had six carries for 34 yards and five receptions for 82 yards and three touchdowns. Most of Patterson’s value derives from his receiving workload, and against the Jets it would be no surprise if Patterson has another top-five performance.
Must Start: Damien Williams — Chicago Bears (at Las Vegas Raiders)
Williams falls into an excellent role as the Bears lead back following David Montgomery’s injury to his knee. The expectation is that he will miss at least four weeks and up to seven. Because of that, Williams may be a must-start for the next few weeks. He is not the same back as Montgomery, but since Bill Lazor has taken over the play calling, the Bears offense should look better as the weeks go on. Following Montgomery getting injured against the Lions last week, Williams had eight carries for 55 yards and a touchdown. Austin Ekeler dominated the Raiders last week, so expect a heavy dosage of Williams against them in this game.
Must Start: Damien Harris — New England Patriots (at Houston Texans)
Harris had a poor showing last week against the Buccaneers, rushing fur times for negative-4 yards. That said, with James White out and J.J. Taylor likely in the doghouse following a costly fumble last week, Harris should be in for a hefty workload. The Texans defense is awful, so it should be easy for him to have a huge Sunday.
Must Sit: Devin Singletary — Buffalo Bills (at Kansas City Chiefs)
This matchup with the Chiefs should be a high-scoring game, meaning fewer running plays. Zack Moss appears to be the lead back, though last week against the Texans Singletary had 14 carries for 79 yards. While that was a solid game, that came against the Texans. Against the Chiefs it should be a different story.
Must Sit: Miles Sanders — Philadelphia Eagles (at Carolina Panthers)
With the Eagles offensive line banged up and no commitment to running the ball, it is tough to trust Miles Sanders. He is also seeing a split share with Kenneth Gainwell. After a poor performance against the Cowboys in Week 3, Sanders had just seven carries for 13 yards and three receptions for 34 yards in Week 4. At this point starting Gainwell may be more advantageous. Sit Sanders until Nick Sirianni commits to the run with Sanders.
Must Sit: Samaje Perine — Cincinnati Bengals (vs. Green Bay Packers)
With Joe Mixon out, presumably Perine will be the next man up. Last week in relief of Mixon Perine had three carries for 7 yards and one reception for 15. Running backs have also not been successful against the Packers this season, averaging 75.5 yards rushing and 0.5 touchdowns per game. Expect a less-than-stellar day for Perine on Sunday.
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