Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Report: Week 10

Fantasy football managers are going to have to be on their toes this week. Not only are the Bengals, Bears, Giants and Texans on a bye in Week 10, but COVID is wreaking havoc with active rosters as well. 

As this article is being written, D’Ernest Johnson is the only healthy RB on the Browns’ active roster. Nick Chubb and Demetric Felton tested positive for COVID-19. Since they’re vaccinated, they’ll need two negative tests 24 hours apart in order to play this week. Back up RB John Kelly was also placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. In a worst-case scenario, the Browns could be forced to promote Brian Hill from their practice squad. It should be noted that the last time Johnson was the Browns’ primary back he rushed for 146 yards, scored a TD, and caught two passes for 22 yards.

There are also several injuries to RBs that need to be monitored as kickoffs approach. Panthers RB James Robinson (heel) was inactive in Week 9 but is expected to play this week. Patriots RBs Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson are in the concussion protocol. If they miss Week 10 Brandon Bolden will likely have an increased role this week and rookie J.J. Taylor, who was a healthy scratch in Week 9, could see his first game action since Week 7. Bills RB Zach Moss is also in the league’s concussion protocol and while you might usually avoid starting Bills RBs, Devin Singletary might be a sneaky play against a Jets defense that’s given up the highest weekly average of fantasy points to the RB position. 

Cardinals

With Chase Edmonds on the IR and forced to miss at least three games due to a high ankle sprain, James Conner will be the Cardinals’ primary back with Eno Benjamin backing him up. Keep an eye on the rookie Benjamin. With 77 catches in his last 25 college games, he might have some eventual PPR fantasy value. The Cardinals also may elect to promote Tavien Feaster off their practice squad in order to secure a bit more RB depth. Conner had a monster game this past Sunday and has had a sneaky good season. He’s been splitting time with Edmonds but is still RB19 in PPR scoring for the season. He’s also sixth among NFL RBs with 25 red zone carries, tied for fourth with broken tackles on rushes, and Conner leads the NFL with 11 TDs.

Titans

We got our first glimpse of what the Titans’ backfield will look like with Derrick Henry sidelined due to injury. As expected, Jeremy McNichols was the busiest Titans RB with 45% offensive snaps played. At first glance Adrian Peterson’s overall Week 9 numbers weren’t all that impressive (10 carries for 21 yards, 2.1 YPC), but he did manage to score a TD and the 36-year-old future hall of famer played 33% of the Titans’ offensive snaps. That’s not too bad for a guy who spent the first eight weeks of the season watching NFL games from his living room couch. As we mentioned last week, keep an eye on D’Onta Foreman. He only got five carries but made the most of them, rushing for 29 yards (5.80 YPC).

Eagles

Jordan Howard is living proof that almost any RB with a pulse has the potential to have one, or maybe two last days in the sun when it comes to fantasy football. With 4.4 average yards per carry and three TDs over the past two weeks, Howard already has more red zone carries (12) than Miles Sanders had (10) in seven games.