There are four teams on bye this coming week, meaning top running backs such as Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, and David Montgomery won’t be available for fantasy football.
Other top players at the position, however, such as Derrick Henry and emerging star Jordan Mason highlight our fantasy RB rankings for Week 5. Let’s dive into the list and assess the fantasy outlooks for intriguing risers at the position this week.
WEEK 5 POSITIONAL RANKINGS: QB | WR | TE | K | DEF | FLEX
Top 60 Fantasy Running Back Rankings
1) Derrick Henry | Baltimore Ravens (at CIN)
2) Jordan Mason | San Francisco 49ers (vs. ARI)
3) Bijan Robinson | Atlanta Falcons (vs. TB)
4) Alvin Kamara | New Orleans Saints (at KC)
5) James Cook | Buffalo Bills (at HOU)
6) De’Von Achane | Miami Dolphins (at NE)
7) Kyren Williams | Los Angeles Rams (vs. GB)
8) James Conner | Arizona Cardinals (at SF)
9) Kenneth Walker III | Seattle Seahawks (vs. NYG)
10) Jonathan Taylor | Indianapolis Colts (at JAX)
11) Josh Jacobs | Green Bay Packers (at LAR)
12) Breece Hall | New York Jets (vs. MIN {London})
13) Brian Robinson Jr. | Washington Commanders (vs. CLE)
14) Aaron Jones | Minnesota Vikings (vs. NYJ {London})
15) Jerome Ford | Cleveland Browns (at WAS)
16) Chuba Hubbard | Carolina Panthers (at CHI)
17) Joe Mixon | Houston Texans (vs. BUF)
18) Travis Etienne Jr. | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. IND)
19) Devin Singletary | New York Giants (at SEA)
20) D’Andre Swift | Chicago Bears (vs. CAR)
21) Najee Harris | Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. DAL)
22) Zack Moss | Cincinnati Bengals (vs. BAL)
23) Kareem Hunt | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NO)
24) Rachaad White | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at ATL)
25) Bucky Irving | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at ATL)
26) Zamir White | Las Vegas Raiders (at DEN)
27) Rico Dowdle | Dallas Cowboys (at PIT)
28) Javonte Williams | Denver Broncos (vs. LV)
29) Cam Akers | Houston Texans (vs. BUF)
30) Rhamondre Stevenson | New England Patriots (vs. MIA)
31) Roschon Johnson | Chicago Bears (vs. CAR)
32) Chase Brown | Cincinnati Bengals (vs. BAL)
33) Braelon Allen | New York Jets (vs. MIN {London})
34) Jaleel McLaughlin | Denver Broncos (vs. LV)
35) Tank Bigsby | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. IND)
36) Austin Ekeler | Washington Commanders (vs. CLE)
37) Zach Charbonnet | Seattle Seahawks (vs. NYG)
38) Tyler Allgeier | Atlanta Falcons (vs. TB)
39) Alexander Mattison | Las Vegas Raiders (at DEN)
40) Cordarrelle Patterson | Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. DAL)
41) Ty Chandler | Minnesota Vikings (vs. NYJ {London})
42) Justice Hill | Baltimore Ravens (at CIN)
43) Antonio Gibson | New England Patriots (vs. MIA)
44) Trey Sermon | Indianapolis Colts (at JAX)
45) Carson Steele | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NO)
46) Raheem Mostert | Miami Dolphins (at NE)
47) Samaje Perine | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NO)
48) Miles Sanders | Carolina Panthers (at CHI)
49) Emanuel Wilson | Green Bay Packers (at LAR)
50) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | New York Giants (at SEA)
51) D’Onta Foreman | Cleveland Browns (at WAS)
52) Khalil Herbert | Chicago Bears (vs. CAR)
53) Jeremy McNichols | Washington Commanders (vs. CLE)
54) Jamaal Williams | New Orleans Saints (at KC)
55) Trey Benson | Arizona Cardinals (at SF)
56) Ezekiel Elliott | Dallas Cowboys (at PIT)
57) Ray Davis | Buffalo Bills (at HOU)
58) Dare Ogunbowale | Houston Texans (vs. BUF)
59) Ty Johnson | Buffalo Bills (at HOU)
60) Isaac Guerendo | San Francisco 49ers (vs. ARI)
Which RBs Are Intriguing for Week 5?
Kenneth Walker III’s Fantasy Outlook
Walker missed consecutive games with an oblique injury, furthering the narrative that he might be a little bit of a fragile player. You can call him fragile all you want — I call him one of the more explosive players at the position.
Both things can be true, but fantasy football is a war that is won by earning victories in a bunch of small battles, and as long as Walker is getting his 15+ touches, he’s going to be winning you those battles on an awfully consistent basis.
- 1,287 rushing yards
- 270 receiving yards
- 17 touchdowns
Those are Walker’s numbers over his past six games if you extend them for an entire season. Those rushing and touchdown totals would have both ranked top three at the position for 2023, which is the level of upside we are looking at with him (top-10 producer in both of his games this season).
This flip from Kenneth Walker III was unreal 😳 #SEAvsDET | ABC, ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/Yca5oeMCvt
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 1, 2024
Of course, I’m not thrilled with the short week for Walker after a couple of DNPs, but if he looked at all hindered to you on Monday night, we aren’t watching the same game. Walker is a true threat to lead the position in scoring in Week 5 as he faces the league’s worst run defense in terms of yards allowed to running backs after first contact thus far in 2024.
D’Andre Swift’s Fantasy Outlook
After reports surfaced last week that the franchise wanted to get a better look at Roschon Johnson, Swift posted the best game of his season with ease. His 36-yard score in the third quarter alone accounted for more rushing yards than he had in any of his first three games this season. And when all was said and done, Swift finished last week as the third-highest scorer at the position, his first weekly rank better than RB30 as a Bear.
Does it stick?
Long term, I’m cautiously optimistic. The offensive line can’t play worse than it has through the first month, and Caleb Williams is already showing signs of growth that could result in something close to a respectable passing attack.
If the environment around Swift can improve, I have no doubt that he can post RB2 numbers on a consistent basis. He gets a great chance to carry over the momentum gained from last week on Sunday against a Panthers defense that has allowed the fourth-most yards per carry before contact to opposing running backs this season.
The question has never been about what Swift can do in space — it’s been about finding that space. For Week 5, at least, I don’t have major concerns on that front.
Kareem Hunt’s Fantasy Outlook
Well, that didn’t take long. Hunt touched the ball 16 times in his season debut, his highest opportunity count in 1,077 days, a clear indicator that he is positioned to lead this backfield for the foreseeable future.
Hunt wasn’t necessarily in peak form (his longest gain was just 10 yards), but he did pick up at least five yards on nine of his touches. That’s appealing for an offense that no longer holds the elevated floor that it entered the season with.
Week 4 snap shares (at LAC):
- Kareem Hunt: 43.1%
- Samaje Perine: 41.4%
- Carson Steele: 19%
Perine was essentially a third-down specialist (on the field for 81.3% of third-down snaps), making it Hunt and Steele in a battle for the fantasy-relevant role. It’ll be interesting to see how the Chiefs’ pass rate over expectation adjusts sans Rashee Rice, but I expect it to regress a bit.
With vacated targets in the short pass game, Hunt sneaks into my RB2 tier this week.
Rico Dowdle’s Fantasy Outlook
Dowdle started the game for Dallas on Thursday and was handed the ball on the team’s first two snaps. It’s becoming more and more clear with each passing week that the Cowboys are seeing the same thing the fantasy community is — Dowdle is the top option in this backfield.
That said, even with the Cowboys seemingly committing to him, Dowdle played 43-48% of the offensive snaps for a fourth straight game. I worry that our excitement around him is more context-based than anything.
Dowdle looks far more explosive than Ezekiel Elliott, and that has us wishing for fantasy numbers. But is he an impactful talent when compared to all other backs?
This season, the 26-year-old doesn’t have a carry gaining more than 10 yards (34 attempts) and has seen just two targets on 21 routes run during Dallas wins (his season reception numbers have been inflated by the two one-sided losses — 10 targets on 34 routes).
If we expect the Cowboys to operate with a lead more often than not, I’m not sold that Dowdle is the most versatile of options.
We can argue about his value moving forward, but I’d rather not go Dowdle’s direction in this spot against one of the best defenses in the game that also owns a ball-control offense. I’m penciling in a very similar stat line to what we saw last week (61 yards on 15 touches and zero touchdowns), which isn’t going to get it done in most situations.
All stats are from TruMedia unless otherwise stated.