As the NFL quickly approaches Week 10, wins have started to become more crucial in fantasy football leagues. As a handful of running backs return to health or come off bye weeks, making the right RB1, RB2, and flex decisions has become even more important than they were in the first half of the season. Our Week 10 fantasy RB rankings will discuss everything you need to know at fantasy’s most important position — and put you in position to get your team a huge “W.”
A lot can change in a week in the NFL, a sentiment that’s never been more true entering the loaded Week 10 slate. A slew of stud RBs who were either off or out last weekend will be returning to the field, including Christian McCaffrey, Travis Etienne, Javonte Williams, and Jahmyr Gibbs off byes and possibly James Conner, David Montgomery, and Khalil Herbert coming back from injuries.
With this talented lot of rushers potentially returning to the field, some deep-league lineup decisions get simpler while shallow-league starts and sits become harder than ever. If you’re in a standard 10-team or 12-team league, we’re here to help — whether you’re stacked and deciding between studs or piecing together your lineup with weekly sleepers and dart throws.
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Which RBs are on bye in Week 10?
Four teams will be on bye this week: the Dolphins, Eagles, Chiefs, and Rams. That takes some big-time studs off the table, including Miami’s Raheem Mostert, Philly’s D’Andre Swift, Kansas City’s Isiah Pacheco, and the Rams’ two-headed monster of Darrell Henderson and Royce Freeman.
WEEK 10 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Of course, ‘Fins stud rookie De’Von Achane (knee) remains on the IR, as does Rams second-year breakout Kyren Williams (ankle). We’ll talk about them — and the rest of the injured backs — a little further down this column. For now, let’s just focus on the studs we expect to see on the field in Week 10.
WEEK 10 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Who are the best fantasy RBs in Week 10?
Fresh off the 49ers’ much-needed bye, Christian McCaffrey (@ Jaguars in Week 10) will be looking to score a TD in a record 18th-consecutive game (we’re betting on it happening). It’s also a safe bet that Austin Ekeler (vs. Lions) will have a strong game against a Lions D that allowed two straight RB1s to score a TD and average over 4.0 yards per carry. Detroit’s coming off a bye, but Ek’s back to full health. CMC is the only RB we would want on our team more than him.
Two other guys who are “fully back,” bro — Alvin Kamara (@ Vikings) and Jonathan Taylor (vs. Patriots) — will be locked, loaded, and looking forward to the soft run defenses of Minnesota and New England. We also can’t get enough of Breece Hall (@ Raiders), but we especially love him against a Las Vegas D that has surrendered the second-most ground yards and third-most rushing TDs. Similarly, reigning rushing king Josh Jacobs (vs. Jets) should lead the Vegas charge against a New York D that’s great against the pass but beatable on the ground.
Falcons rookie Bijan Robinson (@ Cardinals) and Cowboys workhorse Tony Pollard (vs. Giants) have been underwhelming lately, but we project bounce-back weeks for both of them in juicy matchups. The same applies to Seattle’s Kenneth Walker III (vs. Commanders) at home against a Washington D that just traded multiple d-linemen and got gashed by the Patriots’ Rhamondre Stevenson (vs. Colts). Yet another rushing king, Derrick Henry (@ Buccaneers), rounds out our list against a Tampa D that just got destroyed by Houston.
WEEK 10 FANTASY ADVICE:
Sleepers | Busts | Projections | Start ’em, sit ’em
Who are the best fantasy RB sleepers, waiver pickups in Week 10?
David Montgomery (@ Chargers) should finally return from his rib injury this week, and he should be all systems go in all lineups with the Bolts surrendering the 13th-most standard fantasy points to RBs this season. For now, if we have better options, we’re reserving Jahmyr Gibbs’ status as a must-start to PPR leagues only.
Don’t sleep on the Bucs’ Rachaad White (vs. Titans), who has amassed 325 all-purpose yards over his past three games and scored two TDs last weekend in Houston. A matchup with Tennessee meant “start your wideouts, bench your backs” as recently as five weeks ago, but Mike Vrabel’s squad can’t figure anything out defensively right now. The Steelers’ Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris gashed the Titans for 189 combined yards and a TD last Thursday.
With Bears back Khalil Herbert (vs. Panthers) once again out due to his ankle injury, bump D’Onta Foreman up significantly against his old team in Carolina. You can also give rookie Roschon Johnson consideration in your flex, since the Panthers have been abysmal against the run all season. They have allowed 27.3 standard points per game to RBs entering Week 9.
He’s no longer a sleeper, but Chuba Hubbard (@ Bears) has been awesome this season and now he gets to feast against a terrible Bears defense. The Falcons’ Tyler Allgeier (@ Cardinals) does qualify as a sleeper, and he’s very involved behind Bijan against Arizona’s subpar run D.
Two deeper sleepers — high-upside RBs owned in a combined 20 percent of Yahoo leagues — are the Cardinals’ Keaontay Ingram (vs. Falcon) and the Cowboys’ Rico Dowdle (vs. Giants). Ingram’s first in line behind Conner, who is expected to come off IR, and Dowdle is heir to the struggling Tony Pollard’s throne in Dallas. At the very least, stash them both.
WEEK 10 DFS: DK lineup | FD lineup | Best values | Best stacks
Who are the biggest potential fantasy RB busts in Week 10?
We knocked Jerome Ford (@ Ravens) down the list — below running mate Kareem Hunt — because Ford looks about as dependable as an old F-150 with no oil changes and the Ravens D has been insanely good over the past month. Did you see how bad Baltimore made Kenneth Walker III look last week? He scored 1.7 fantasy points.
It’s also hard for us to fully trust the little engine that is Zack Moss (@ Patriots) any longer because the rust seems to be fully off the wheels of the Jonathan Taylor locomotive. As for the Texans, both Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary (@ Bengals) have become liabilities. If Pierce (ankle) gets back to full health this week, he’s an okay start, but if he’s “questionable” behind Houston’s porous line, fade them both. Singletary couldn’t do a thing last week against Tampa.
Lastly, we don’t care that the Panthers are playing the Bears — Miles Sanders still shouldn’t sniff your starting lineup. Chuba Hubbard is the only competent and healthy back on these Panthers, and Bryce Young is enduring such blatant growing pains that even a workhorse roll in this offense has a very capped ceiling. Chuba looked great at times against Indy last week, and he still finished with just 67 yards on 20 touches.
What are the biggest RB injuries in Week 10?
David Montgomery (ribs) will make his return to the Lions’ lineup this week, following a multi-week absence and Detroit’s Week 9 bye. The Cardinals’ James Conner (knee) should also return to the field, which will be huge for an Arizona team that also welcomes back starting QB Kyler Murray from his ACL rehab. The Cards really need Conner back, as fellow RBs Emari Demercado (toe) and Damien Williams (rib) are also hurt.
We won’t see the return of Khalil Herbert (ankle) on Thursday Night Football, even though he was eligible and expected to return in Week 10. His absence tonight makes D’Onta Foreman a must-start in all formats against the Panthers, and rookie Roschon Johnson also takes a big jump.
Dameon Pierce (ankle) missed last week and is no sure thing to suit up against the Bengals after missing multiple practices this week. Devin Singletary will once again start and hold down the backfield if Pierce is out, but Singletary has been very underwhelming fantasy-wise.
Rams second-year breakout Kyren Williams (ankle) and Dolphins stud rookie De’Von Achane (knee) both remain on IR for at least the next week. We will provide updates on their expected returns to L.A. and Miami as we hear them.
As we have noted, check back for RB injury updates throughout the week.
Fantasy RB Rankings Week 10: Who to start, sit at running back
Rankings based on standard, non-PPR scoring
Ranks Player
1 Christian McCaffrey, 49ers @ Jaguars
2 Austin Ekeler, Chargers vs. Lions
3 Alvin Kamara, Saints @ Vikings
4 Jonathan Taylor, Colts vs. Patriots
5 Breece Hall, Jets @ Raiders
6 Bijan Robinson, Falcons @ Cardinals
7 Josh Jacobs, Raiders vs. Jets
8 Tony Pollard, Cowboys vs. Giants
9 Kenneth Walker III, Seahawks vs. Commanders
10 Travis Etienne, Jaguars vs. 49ers
11 Derrick Henry, Titans @ Buccaneers
12 David Montgomery, Lions @ Chargers
13 Saquon Barkley, Giants @ Cowboys
14 Javonte Williams, Broncos @ Bills
15 Rachaad White, Buccaneers vs. Titans
16 Gus Edwards, Ravens vs. Browns
17 D’Onta Foreman, Bears vs. Panthers
18 Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots vs. Colts
19 Joe Mixon, Bengals vs. Texans
20 Alexander Mattison, Vikings vs. Saints
21 Chuba Hubbard, Panthers @ Bears
22 James Cook, Bills vs. Broncos
23 Brian Robinson Jr., Commanders @ Seahawks
24 James Conner, Cardinals vs. Falcons
25 Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions @ Chargers
26 Kareem Hunt, Browns @ Ravens
27 Aaron Jones, Packers @ Steelers
28 Dameon Pierce, Texans @ Bengals
29 Zack Moss, Colts vs. Patriots
30 Jerome Ford, Browns @ Ravens
31 AJ Dillon, Packers @ Steelers
32 Najee Harris, Steelers vs. Packers
33 Tyler Allgeier, Falcons @ Cardinals
34 Keaontay Ingram, Cardinals vs. Falcons
35 Jaylen Warren, Steelers vs. Packers
36 Roschon Johnson, Bears vs. Panthers
37 Jamaal Williams, Saints @ Vikings
38 Tyjae Spears, Titans @ Buccaneers
39 Devin Singletary, Texans @ Bengals
40 Miles Sanders, Panthers @ Bears
41 Justice Hill, Ravens vs. Browns
42 Ezekiel Elliott, Patriots vs. Colts
43 Latavius Murray, Bills vs. Broncos
44 Rico Dowdle, Cowboys vs. Giants
45 Dalvin Cook, Jets @ Raiders
46 Jaleel McLaughlin, Broncos @ Bills
47 Craig Reynolds, Lions @ Chargers
48 Keaton Mitchell, Ravens vs. Browns
49 Elijah Mitchell, 49ers @ Jaguars
50 Jordan Mason, 49ers @ Jaguars
51 Tank Bigsby, Jaguars vs. 49ers
52 Samaje Perine, Broncos @ Bills
53 Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks vs. Commanders
54 Antonio Gibson, Commanders @ Seahawks
55 Zamir White, Raiders vs. Jets
56 Darrynton Evans, Bears vs. Panthers
57 Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Buccaneers vs. Titans
58 Joshua Kelley, Chargers vs. Lions
59 Matt Breida, Giants @ Cowboys
60 Pierre Strong, Browns @ Ravens
Week 10 RB fantasy projections, rankings from Draft Sharks
Draft Sharks projections for the new week will update every Tuesday and be constantly adjusted throughout the week
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