Four backfields get the nod this week. One team that missed the cut was the Giants, but I’ll address them right here, in the intro. The Giants announced yesterday that Geno Smith will start this week, and Smith and rookie Davis Webb will both see snaps the remainder of the year to evaluate their long-term value for the organization. By waving the white flag, the Giants have clearly indicated that their primary focus the remainder of the year is evaluating players and developing their youngsters. I suspect that means increased reps for rookie running back Wayne Gallman, though, Orleans Darkwa isn’t long in the tooth at only 25 years old. The evaluation period coupled with the possibility of the NFL’s second-lowest scoring offense (15.6 points per game, per Pro-Football-Reference) actually being worse the rest of the year makes all of Big Blue’s backs unstartable and only fringe rosterable in 12-team leagues. Now, let’s move on to the rest of this week’s highlighted backfields.

View snap counts for all NFL teams and players

Ravens last week vs. Texans, this week vs. Lions

 
The Ravens have been featured numerous times in this column recently, and Alex Collins‘ value remains unchanged. They’re here again to acknowledge that Woodhead hasn’t taken on the sole complementary back role. Buck Allen actually outcarried Woodhead five to four last week, and Allen scored a rushing touchdown. Woodhead did predictably lead the backfield in receiving work with four targets, four receptions, and 23 yards receiving, but he’s not getting enough work to feel comfortable trotting out as a reliable Flex in PPR leagues.

Browns last week @ Bengals, this week @ Chargers

 
Since Cleveland’s Week 9 bye, Crowell has rushed for 90 yards or more twice. Prior to the bye, his single-game high was 64 yards rushing in Week 8. That’s the good news for Crowell. The bad news is that he’s done almost nothing in the passing game with a pair of grabs on just four targets, and Johnson has out snapped him in all three games. Crowell’s nearly complete inactivity in the passing game creates an exceptionally low floor on a team that’s winless and often playing catch up. In that same three-game stretch, Johnson has scored a touchdown and totaled 221 yards from scrimmage (73.7 yards from scrimmage per game) on 18 carries and 14 receptions. Johnson’s a solid Flex play in even half-point per reception formats, and he’s a fringe Flex in standard formats. Crowell’s run well enough to use a bench spot on in 12-team leagues or larger in the hopes that the return of Josh Gordon and a healthy-and-playing-well Corey Coleman can pump some life into the NFL’s lowest scoring offense (15.1 points per game).

Raiders last week vs. Broncos, this week vs. Giants

 
Could Michael Crabtree‘s ejection and one-game suspension prove to be a blessing in disguise for the Raiders? Maybe! In addition to Crabtree getting booted from last week’s contest, Amari Cooper exited early with a concussion. Without their top two receivers, the Raiders finally unleashed Beast Mode. Lynch easily bested his previous season highs of 37 offensive snaps, 18 carries, and 92 yards from scrimmage (all set in the season opener) by playing 47 offensive snaps, carrying the ball 26 times, and besting the century mark for the first time this year with 111 yards from scrimmage (67 yards rushing with a touchdown and 44 yards receiving on three receptions). Lynch’s 2.58 yards per carry against the Broncos was ugly, but the matchup was brutal, and his work through the air was a pleasant surprise. The Raiders have won both of Lynch’s most productive games, and they would probably be wise to use him more down the stretch — if for no other reason than to attempt to keep their wretched defense off of the field as much as possible. The Raiders are 9.5-point favorites at home this week against the visiting Giants, and the visiting Giants are tied for the 11th most fantasy points allowed per game to running backs this year, according to Pro-Football-Reference. Lynch is a strong RB2 this week.

Titans last week @ Colts, this week vs. Texans

 
Could the changing of the guard finally be taking place? Maybe, but Tennessee’s reluctance to hand the reigns over to their better back casts at least some doubt on Murray slipping into the change-of-pace role he should be in at this point. For the second time this year, Henry outsnapped Murray, but the combined snap advantage for those two games is only three. Still, last week might represent the final straw for a Murray-led backfield. Henry rushed the ball 13 times for 79 yards and added a reception for 10 yards while Murray rushed for nine yards on 12 carries and caught three passes for 33 yards. For the year, Henry’s rushed for 68 more yards than Murray on 15 fewer carries. Henry is the back to, well, back going forward, but the matchup is tough this week. The Texans have allowed the sixth-fewest rushing yards (821) to running backs at a paltry 3.51 yards per carry, and the three rushing touchdowns they’ve ceded are tied for the lowest amount allowed. Having said that, they did yield two of those three rushing scores last week, and a 7-point spread favoring the Titans bodes well for Henry’s usage. Henry’s probably best viewed as a Flex, but if you’re of the belief that Mike Mularkey will pull his head out of his rear and lean more heavily on the second-year back, then it’s not a stretch to call him an RB2. Murray’s stat line was saved by a touchdown last week, but he’s not startable this week.

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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.