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As Week 6 approaches, we're getting a pretty strong sense of how certain backfields are shaping up. Some of these committees make a lot of sense now, though there are still some question marks around the league.
With a five-week sample size under our belt, we wanted to take a look at some fantasy running back tandems from across the league and assess who the starter will be going forward and who fantasy managers should prioritize for the rest of the season.
Today, we'll be looking at four teams whose running back position still carries some questions entering Week 6, and will try to answer those questions.
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Cincinnati Bengals
Chase Brown out-touched Zack Moss. What does it mean going forward?
Three games into the season, it didn't look like we would have any kind of running back controversy in Cincinnati. Chase Brown had just 14 carries at the time and Zack Moss looked pretty settled into the lead back role.
Then came Week 4, when Brown's usage jumped. Both backs had 15 carries in that game. Brown turned those into 80 yards and two touchdowns while Moss turned his into 51 yards.
That trend continued in Week 5 against the Ravens, with Brown carrying the ball 12 times for 46 yards while Moss had nine carries for 24 yards. Both caught three passes, with Brown finding the end zone on one catch but Moss finishing with a 28-8 edge in receiving yards.
Chase Brown's percentage of Cincinnati running back rushes by week:
Week 1: 25%
Week 2: 25%
Week 3: 37%
Week 4: 50%
Week 5: 57%— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) October 7, 2024
What does it mean? That this is essentially a fully split backfield now, with the edge going to Brown. Moss is a good veteran back, but Brown brings versatility and speed that Moss doesn't. This is a messy situation for fantasy managers right now, but Brown is trending up.
Dallas Cowboys
Has Rico Dowdle finally wrestled the RB1 job from Zeke?
2024 was supposed to be the year Rico Dowdle took over the Cowboys' backfield. With Tony Pollard gone to Tennessee, Dowdle had a major edge over Deuce Vaughn in the fight for the lead role.
But then things got complicated, as the Cowboys went out and signed Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott is a Cowboys legend, leading the NFL in rushing yards twice with America's Team.
But those two years were 2016 and 2018. It's been a while. Elliott left Dallas after the 2022 season and spent last year in New England, where he had the worst season of his career.
Or, well...the worst season up to that point, because 2024 is on track to be his real worst season.
Elliott is averaging just 19.6 rushing yards per game. Through five contests, he has yet to eclipse 100 yards, and I mean total. Not that he hasn't had a 100-yard game; he hasn't had 100 total rushing yards. In 2016 and 2017, Elliott averaged more yards per game than he's totaled so far.
Dowdle isn't setting the world on fire, but he had 20 carries to Elliott's six in Week 5, so I think we can officially conclude that Dowdle is the team's No. 1 back. He's only a high-end RB3 rest-of-season, but that's better than Zeke, who basically has no value right now.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Is Tank Bigsby now the RB1 over Travis Etienne?
This is a position battle that no one expected, as this was Travis Etienne's backfield entering the season. Tank Bigsby disappointed as a rookie and no one really expected any major change to the pecking order. Sure, Bigsby getting more opportunities was a possibility, but surely he wouldn't wind up being a star or anything, right?
Bigsby had 12 carries in Week 1, but he had just two across the next two games. Like I said, this was Etienne's backfield. But then in Week 4, Bigsby looked impressive, gaining 90 yards on his seven carries. It looked like he was gaining.
Then came Week 5. Against the Colts, Bigsby had 13 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He also added a 28-yard reception.
The second-year back now leads the NFL in rushing yards per attempt with 8.0 and has looked elite on a per-touch basis.
Tank Bigsby this season:
* 1st in Rush Yards Over Expectation Per Attempt
* 3rd in PFF grades
* 50.0% Success Rate
* 1st in Yards Per CarryTravis Etienne this season:
* 18th in Rush Yards Over Expectation Per Attempt
* 55th in PFF grades
* 56.6% Success Rate
* 27th in Yards Per… pic.twitter.com/EhijcgYYEL— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) October 7, 2024
Bigsby had 13 carries to Etienne's six, so I think it's safe to say Bigsby was the primary ball carrier this week, though Etienne had seven targets to Bigsby's one. As far as snap counts went, Bigsby played 23 and Etienne played 22, while D'Ernest Johnson played 13 snaps because...well, why not, I guess?
To answer the main question here, Bigsby has taken over as the early-down guy, but Etienne's usage in the passing game will keep him from losing too much value. This is a fairly split backfield, but Bigsby getting about double the carries of Etienne going forward would make Bigsby the top fantasy back in Jacksonville.
New England Patriots
Is Rhamondre Stevenson out of the doghouse or is Antonio Gibson still going to get his touches?
After fumbling in each of the first four games, New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo announced that Antonio Gibson would replace Rhamondre Stevenson as New England's starting running back.
Technically, that was true. In Sunday's loss to the Dolphins, Gibson got the carry on the first play of the game, gaining seven yards.
But Stevenson was in on the second drive, with two carries including one that went for 33 yards and a touchdown. On the third drive, Gibson was back out and had a reception, then on the fourth drive it was back to Stevenson.
Ultimately, Stevenson would have 12 carries for 89 yards and a score plus four targets. Gibson had six carries for 52 yards and one target. More importantly, Stevenson didn't fumble.
Take away the turnover issues and Stevenson is the more talented of the two backs. It sounds like the decision to start Gibson was really just about trying to scare Stevenson into working on ball security.
The #Patriots begin prep for Sunday’s game vs. the Texans:
Absent - RB Rhamondre Stevenson, S Kyle Dugger (ankle), S Jabrill Peppers
Stevenson left last week’s game briefly with what he said was a helmet to the calf.
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) October 9, 2024
There is one other thing, though. Stevenson took a helmet to the calf last week and didn't practice on Wednesday. That's worth monitoring, though I doubt it impacts the long-term outlook for him beyond potentially missing the Week 6 meeting with the Texans.
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