Brian Robinson Jr. is set to miss his third overall and second consecutive game of the season. In his absence, Austin Ekeler has served as the lead back, but Jeremy McNichols and, last week, Chris Rodriguez Jr. have also gotten some burn. Which Washington Commanders running backs are startable in fantasy football in Week 10?
Austin Ekeler’s Week 10 Fantasy Projection
After multiple years handling way more volume than his team ever wanted, Ekeler had a desire to move back into a more complementary role as he entered his age-29 season. That’s exactly what happened with his move to the Commanders.
Ekeler is the perfect complement to Robinson’s between-the-tackles rushing style. Unfortunately, Robinson has had some struggles with injury this year. As a result, Ekeler has been asked to once again do more.
Ekeler is averaging 10.9 fantasy points per game this season. He’s been a solid, floor-based RB3…most of the time. In two games without Robinson, though, Ekeler has been much better. He’s touched the ball an average of 13.5 times in those two games and has averaged 14.1 fantasy points — mid-to-high RB2 numbers.
It was always going to be a difficult matchup for whoever played RB for the Commanders since the Pittsburgh Steelers allow the eighth-fewest fantasy points per game to the position. However, one area where Pittsburgh has been a bit below average is at defending pass-catching running backs.
The Steelers have seen a 19.5% target share against them to running backs, with 17.8% of their total receiving yards allowed going to the position. This bodes well for Ekeler, who has seen an 11.7% target share on the season, 15th in the league.
Austin Ekeler powers it in for the @Commanders TD!
📺: #WASvsNYG on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/oF0B2XG36x— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
Chris Rodriguez Jr.’s Week 10 Fantasy Projection
I’m not quite sure what prompted the Commanders to even put Rodriguez on the field last week. Prior to Week 9, he had been a healthy inactive for most of the season. His 11 carries for 52 yards were his first touches of the year.
Although Rodriguez did see work last week, he still played behind Jeremy McNichols, and I would expect that to be the case once again.
Fantasy managers play in leagues of all shapes and sizes. However, Rodriguez’s roster percentage on Yahoo is 0% for a reason. Even if you’re in the deepest league imaginable, do not start Rodriguez.
Which Commanders RB Should You Start in Week 10?
PFN’s Start/Sit Optimizer is a great tool to help you with those tough lineup decisions. It goes without saying this is not a real decision.
The Optimizer has Ekeler projected for 12.7 fantasy points and Rodriguez 4.2… and I think the 4.2 is very generous. I personally do not expect Rodriguez to touch the ball much, if at all, in what should be a competitive game against the Steelers.
I have Ekeler as the RB25 in my Week 10 rankings. He’s only that low because there are several good running backs in fantasy this year.
I’m expecting 15+ opportunities for Ekeler and, at least, low-RB2 production. Whether you have Robinson or not, if you have Ekeler, he’s a very solid start this week.