Week 6 Fantasy Football Rankings: RB

Tony Pollard hopes to begin regressing to the mean in Los Angeles, Raheem Mostert preps to carry the load without De’Von Achane, and Breece Hall confronts a tough matchup against the Eagles.

Other positions: Quarterback | Receiver | Tight End/Kickers/Defense

Updated 10/15 at 12:00 PM ET. Moved Saquon Barkley down.

Week 6 Running Backs

Looking for more fantasy football content? Rotoworld has you covered. Watch Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry weekdays at noon ET LIVE on Peacock and the Rotoworld Football Show on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays wherever you get your podcasts.

RB Notes: Someone should look into stopping this Christian McCaffrey guy. … The “Jamaal Williams role” remains the most prolific non-CMC touchdown job in the business. It helps that David Montgomery is leaving less meat on the bone than Williams did in 2022. Montgomery’s two 100-yard days on the ground are already as many as Williams managed all of last year. Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) has yet to resume practicing. … Travis Etienne’s production finally caught up with his gangbusters usage in Week 5. He has handled fewer than 20 touches one time all year and has played at least 83 percent of the Jaguars’ snaps each of the past two weeks. The Jags are comfortable home favorites vs. the Colts. … Tony Pollard is tied with Christian McCaffrey for the league lead in red-zone carries and leads the NFL in handles inside the 10. How does he have just two total scores? We don’t know, but Monday evening’s guaranteed shootout with the Chargers’ soft run defense seems like the perfect time to regress to the mean. … However frustrating you might find Bijan Robinson, he remains an RB1 by average PPR points. The Commanders are becoming an ATM for every enemy position.

Kenneth Walker has been the season’s most boring RB1. Fourth in red zone carries even though the Seahawks have already had their bye, Walker’s floor is fortified by both touches and touchdowns. … Becoming something of a “keep grindin’” entrepreneur during his marathon recovery from a high-ankle sprain, Austin Ekeler is finally practicing in full and set to return against the Cowboys. Although he gets a modest injury penalty in the ranks, it’s difficult to envision Ekeler handling anything other than his typical role in this must-win, probable shootout. Joshua Kelley had nothin’ doin’ during Ekeler’s absence. … Josh Jacobs’ touches have returned to 2022 levels but his efficiency has not. There will be no God in this weekend’s Patriots/Raiders tilt. The Pats remain ground tough despite their manifold issues. … De’Von Achane’s I.R. placement is arguably the biggest bummer of the season so far. That is for everyone except Raheem Mostert. Jeff Wilson’s (finger/core, I.R.) return looms, but even if Wilson is active for Week 6, it will be Mostert gobbling up work with the Dolphins’ death star offense operating as two-touchdown home favorites against the putrid Panthers. How things shake out beyond Sunday is a legitimate question.

As Zach Krueger points out, it’s been the penthouse for Derrick Henry when the Titans win, and the outhouse when they lose. They are four-point underdogs against the Ravens this Sunday. Tennessee could certainly win outright, but Henry’s increasingly environment-dependent role and decreased efficiency make him a lower-end RB1 than we are used to seeing. … The Saints will continue slamming Alvin Kamara into brick walls until morale improves. Jamaal Williams is sidelined at least one more week, keeping Kamara locked into 20-plus touches. … D'Andre Swift has handled at least 17 touches every game since Week 2. That’s a satisfactory usage floor for a player with Swift’s ceiling. The Jets are a tough overall defense but have been bleeding run-game volume as they play from behind. The Eagles will dominate the pace of play in East Rutherford. … The Jets said no more Mr. Nice Snap Count for Breece Hall and he delivered to the tune of 22/177/1. Although Hall has long been known as a ceiling option, it is that safer floor that will make all the difference. The only reason Hall isn’t a clear-cut RB1 for Week 6 is the Jets’ rough assignment as touchdown ‘dogs vs. the mighty Eagles.

It’s been a disappointing few weeks for James Cook, but that is nothing the Giants can’t solve. We like lead backs who are two-touchdown favorites at home, even if they keep ceding an infuriating amount of high-value touches. … Four weeks later and Saquon Barkley (high-ankle sprain) still isn’t practicing in full. With the Giants’ season already all but over, perhaps he is no longer being rushed back. If Barkley finally goes against the Bills, he will be a high-risk RB2 with the G-Men embarrassing two-touchdown ‘dogs in Upstate New York. … Alexander Mattison’s post-Cam Akers bear case came into greater focus against the Chiefs, primarily that the Vikings’ already limited run-game volume could end up split by two backs in wonky game scripts. Mattison was then thrown an unexpected lifeline by Justin Jefferson’s hamstring injury. He’s simply going to have to catch more passes with the alpha All-Pro on the sidelines. … The Patriots’ deepening disaster has been nothing but bad news for Rhamondre Stevenson, but the Raiders won’t be blowing anybody out this Sunday. I also can’t help but interpret Bill Belichick’s pledge to “start over” as a greater ground-game commitment. … Well it certainly can’t get any worse for Jonathan Taylor. As unfortunate as it is for Zack Moss, we’ll continue to tiebreak in favor of Taylor’s new $14 million annual average salary.

Rachaad White is not the king, but Sean Tucker and Ke’Shawn Vaughn keep coming at him and missing. Bye weeks are the time for re-evaluation, but there is little reason to expect White’s playing time to decrease coming out of Tampa’s sabbatical. Heading in, he had yet to handle fewer than 70 percent of the Bucs’ snaps in any one contest. … Jerome Ford didn’t slam the door shut on Kareem Hunt and Pierre Strong before the Browns’ bye. He is still a strong bet to lead this committee. He just has not consolidated his touch share. The ground game will be the Browns’ focus against the 49ers’ hellacious defense even if Deshaun Watson (shoulder) plays. … Khalil Herbert (high-ankle sprain) is out multiple weeks, presenting a golden opportunity for Roschon Johnson. There’s just one problem: He’s concussed. Johnson still has time to get cleared to face the Vikings’ struggling defense, but his Wednesday practice absence all but guarantees a committee with D’Onta Foreman. Johnson will be an upside FLEX if he’s a go. If not, Foreman will vault into the top 30. … Emari Demercado was almost literally the only back available on waivers this week. He’ll be a top-30 option if Keaontay Ingram (neck) sits. Otherwise, the two backups are guaranteed to cannibalize each other’s FLEX odds.