I thought the quarterback position took a hit with the heavy 6-team bye week, but the running back position gets hit harder in fantasy than the former. Take a look at some of these names on bye this week: David Johnson, Jordan Howard, Lamar Miller, LeGarrette Blount, James White, Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard. At the very least, four of those guys are definitive starts on a weekly basis. Hopefully you have some contingency plans for the position this week, because this bye week is absolutely brutal. On the other hand, if you have one of the five guys below in your lineup, you should be feeling pretty good at the position in Week 9.

Here are the top 5 running backs for Week 9 of the NFL season.

Ezekiel Elliott @ CLE

The Browns can’t stop the run and Dallas loves to feed Zeke, so Elliott is a no-doubter at this spot this week. He should get plenty of work in this one and you shouldn’t be even remotely surprised if he comes close to 200 yards on Sunday. He’s a lock in every format against a Browns defense that is allowing the fourth-most fantasy points per game this season.

Devonta Freeman @ TB

In terms of fantasy points allowed per game to running backs, the Bucs are only a little over three points behind Cleveland on the season. If Tevin Coleman is unable to play, Freeman will receive essentially the carries and will have a monster fantasy day. Freeman scored twice last week and he has an excellent opportunity to score this week against the Bucs.

Le’Veon Bell @ BAL

Baltimore has been tough against running backs this season, but Bell’s volume of work makes him an RB1 every week. Since returning to action in Week 4, the fewest number of touches he’s had in a game was 16. Last week, he had 21 carries and 10 receptions against New England. No matter what, he will get his touches and is a valuable fantasy asset.

DeMarco Murray @ SD

The team is going to limit his work in practice due to a toe injury, but barring anything crazy, he should be out there handling a normal workload this weekend. Murray has received 21 or more carries in five straight weeks, scoring five touchdowns and eclipsing the century mark three times in that span. Monitor his status during the week, but if he’s a full-go, he’s a top RB1 this week.

Carlos Hyde vs. NO

Hyde missed the team’s game in Week 7 before going on bye last week, but he has a chance to suit up on Sunday against a Saints defense that has allowed a total of 13 (11 rushing, 2 receiving) touchdowns to opposing running backs. If he plays, and has a full workload, he’ll easily be a top running back this week.

Be sure to check out the rest of the NFL Week 9 Fantasy Football Player Rankings here at Fantasy Alarm.