Week 10 is in the books, and it’s time to take stock of the crazy week we just experienced. What better way to do that then with a retrospective of the top stories from fantasy’s favorite position – the running back. Each Wednesday, we’ll look back on studs, busts, breakouts, timeshares, situations to monitor, and all things RB from the past week.
So settle in, partner. It’s time to saddle up for the RB Roundup. Yeehaw.
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Stud of the week: Alvin Kamara (NO) 31.3 fantasy points
Is anyone really surprised by Kamara’s name being listed here? After a three-score performance against San Francisco, Kamara is once again the RB1 on the season, but more on him later…
Too easy for Alvin Kamara🎯
— PFF (@PFF) November 15, 2020
Bust of the week: Leonard Fournette (TB) 4.0 fantasy points
The four points were bad enough, but Ronald Jones‘ near 200-yard game was salt in the wound for Fournette managers. Over the course of the season, this backfield has shifted from Jones to Fournette and now back to Jones again, and after this performance, it’s likely RoJo will be the go-to from here on out.
Breakout of the week: Ronald Jones (TB) 24.3 fantasy points
As mentioned above, Fournette has now fallen behind Ronald Jones in the backfield pecking order, and Jones’ 192-yard game against Carolina has surely cemented his lead-back role. Jones is third in the NFL in rushing yards with 730, and at this pace, he’ll finish the year with his first 1,000-yard season.
RONALD JONES 98-YARD TD RUN 🤯
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/mCoiqW7cWG
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 15, 2020
Surprise of the Week: Devontae Booker (LV) 20.8 fantasy points
For the second week in a row, Devontae Booker finished as an RB1, though he’s not someone to run to the waiver wire to acquire. Booker’s Week 9 showing included a long touchdown run and came during a very down week across the NFL for running back performances. His two-touchdown effort in Week 10 was the result of garbage time, as both scores occurred in the fourth quarter with Las Vegas comfortably ahead of Denver. I don’t expect Booker to return this type of value against Kansas City in Week 11.
The Raiders win as the former Ute Devontae Booker carries 16 times for 81 yards and two touchdowns. pic.twitter.com/z8ddL2XWSY
— David James (@DavidDJJames) November 16, 2020
Welcome Back, Nick Chubb!
Nick Chubb made his triumphant return to fantasy lineups Sunday, as he plowed his way to a 19/126/1 day. That day could have included an additional touchdown, but… Chubb decided to be a good teammate and step out of bounds at the one-yard line.
Nick Chubb fantasy owners crying right now pic.twitter.com/RtKWXutbdw
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 15, 2020
Long gainers like this have been the norm for Chubb in 2020. The stat you may have seen frequently circulated as of late is the fact that Nick Chubb led the league in 20-yard rushes heading into the Week, despite not playing since Week 4. He ripped off yet another 20-yarder in Week 10 and yep, you guessed it. Chubb still leads the NFL in that category with seven such carries.
Though he’s played just five games, Chubb is the RB33 in half-PPR formats this season. He’s also third in the NFL with 92.2 rushing yards per game, first among running backs with 6.1 yards per carry, and has scored five times in five games. Cleveland is 6-3 and has a real chance at making the playoffs thanks to a reliance on the ground game. That’s unlikely to change down the home stretch, especially given what the weather conditions can be in Cleveland in the winter.
After a tough matchup with Philly in Week 11, Chubb has ridiculously smooth sailing for the rest of the year. From Weeks 12-16, four of his five games come against teams in the top-10 most favorable matchups for running backs. The lone exception is a Week 14 tilt with Baltimore, though the Ravens’ run defense hasn’t been a world-beater this year. He should be considered an easy top-5 back who’s dripping with upside.
Alvin Kamara on a Historic Pace
After two monster weeks from Dalvin Cook, Kamara’s season-long production seemed to have fallen out of our memories. Kamara made sure to change that with a hat trick Sunday against the 49ers and the highest score at his position for the week.
With 67 receptions through nine weeks, Kamara is on pace for 119 receptions, three more than Christian McCaffrey‘s single-season record of 116 set last season. To put into perspective just how dominant Kamara has been as a receiver, he has 20 more receptions than the next closest back (Mike Davis).
If he were a WR, Kamara would be tied for second-most receptions on the season with DeAndre Hopkins, six below the league-leader Stefon Diggs (73). Kamara’s 122.3 half-PPR points just as a receiver would be good for the WR12, just ahead of Chase Claypool.
Kamara has been no slouch as a runner, either. His seven rushing touchdowns are the fourth-most in the NFL, and his six rushing touchdowns inside the five-yard line are the most in the league among backs.
Kamara has been the focal point of this offense all season, and with Drew Brees out of action for the time being, that trend should continue. Jameis Winston will almost certainly be the starting quarterback for as long as Brees is out, but given his turnover history, it’s possible the Saints try to limit him to safe plays, which could include more passes to Kamara.
J.D. McKissic, PPR Wizard
McKissic featured in a RB Roundup article? That’s unpossible. But here we are. JDM is currently third among running backs in receptions (41), but his production as of late is what we’re here to discuss.
Over the last two weeks, the NFL target leader (among ALL pass-catchers) is McKissic with a whopping 29!
J.D. McKissic has the most targets of any player in the NFL the last two weeks (29), which is five more targets than the player with the next highest total (24), which happens to be the wide receiver averaging the most fantasy points per game this season, Davante Adams
— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) November 17, 2020
He’s eaten into Antonio Gibson‘s production significantly but carved out a role for himself as a legitimate fantasy option. What’s great about McKissic’s role as a receiver this season is that he’s not just catching screens and dump-offs. He’s legitimately lining up like a wideout:
Most targets lined up in the slot or out wide among all RBs (PFF)
J.D. McKissic (31)
…
Cordarrelle Patterson (17)
Chase Edmonds (16)
Alvin Kamara (16)
Nyheim Hines (15)
Aaron Jones (14)
…
Antonio Gibson (4)— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) November 17, 2020
McKissic’s two most heavily-targeted games have come with Alex Smith under center, and with Smith the starter for the rest of the season, it’s not unreasonable to project JDM for plenty more targets and receptions for the Football Team’s remaining games. In PPR formats, McKissic is a legitimate RB2 as long as he remains this involved as a pass-catcher.
Quick Hitters
- Kenyan Drake returned to the field for Arizona in Week 10. He promptly took the reins from Chase Edmonds and rumbled for 100 yards on 16 carries.
- After missing six games, CMC returned for a monster performance in Week 9 and promptly injured his shoulder. He was forced to sit out Week 10, and all indications point to him missing Week 11 as well.
- Jonathan Taylor played a season-low 24% of snaps in Week 10, and he’s seen his snap counts decrease in each of the last three weeks. It’s nearly impossible to trust him as more than a touchdown-dependent, low-end flex.
- After much discussion over the Week 10 outlooks of Darrell Henderson and Cam Akers, it was Malcolm Brown who scored twice in the Rams’ victory over the Seahawks. Henderson scored one of his own. Akers led the backfield in carries, but he was not the preferred goal-line back.
- Miles Sanders failed to score in his return to the field, but Boston Scott and Corey Clement found the end zone. Scott got loose for a big play, but Clement broke the plane on a carry from inside the five-yard line. Nothing to worry about, though. Sanders comfortably led the trio in touches.
- Dalvin Cook’s MNF game against Chicago was his first of the season in which he didn’t score a touchdown.
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Zachary Hanshew is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Zachary, check out his archive and follow him @zakthemonster.
