Honorable mention Start: Derrick Henry (BAL), Aaron Jones (JAX), James Cook (BUF)
Honorable mention Sit: Austin Ekeler (WAS), Rico Dowdle (DAL), Tony Pollard (TEN)
Start: Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints
Kamara just continues to be there for us, week after week. Outside of the Kansas City and Denver games, he’s had four top-10 finishes and has landed no lower than RB17 in the rest. We knew he’d have a day against Carolina (RB4), so no surprises there. And you might be concerned with the Atlanta matchup. Don’t be. While the Falcons have been quite good on the season, they’ve been far worse this past month – even Dallas RBs got them for 20+ points this past Sunday. New Orleans is a hot mess, but one thing is for certain – Kamara will get fed regardless. 35 touches this past week, with Kendre Miller hitting the IR. Thirty. Five. Volume speaks volumes.
Start: Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles
This one is from the probably too obvious to use, but here we are. Barkley is RB2 on the season due in large part to explosive output – he has four games over 30.0 points. Barkley can drop a 30 burger on you at any point (take, for example, last week against the Jags – 30 touches, 199 yards, two tuddys), but I will also cede that he’s fairly inconsistent (16.0 or fewer in the other four games, including a 6.4 point dud against the Browns), but so what. He’s an absolute every-week starter, especially against a defense (Dallas) that has given up fewer than 20 points to RBs just once on the season and has yielded 10 touchdowns to the position as well.
Sit: Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
FINALLY. Maybe. Which just about sums it up. The 49ers designated McCaffrey to return from injured reserve, which officially opens McCaffrey’s 21-day practice window. Reports indicate CMC is expected to be on the field Monday. If that’s the case, of course, we’re starting him (which seems like an odd thing to say in a sit recommendation). But this is your warning not to expect much for a couple of reasons. First, returns from IR take time, and my guess is he’ll be on a snap count. Second, and maybe even more worrisome for ROS – the 49ers run game has been decent without him. Translation – Jordan Mason (who is questionable for Sunday) and Isaac Guerendo are going to cut into that workload. I love the matchup, for what that’s worth. And he’ll be in my lineup if he plays. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Sit: Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
Javontae Williams has shown just enough this season to wet our appetite for what could be. Generally speaking, however, it never materializes – just two top 15’s on the season, sandwiched in between these gems – 53, 27, 50, 31, 45, 36, 31. The volume has been fairly steady for Williams since Week 4, it’s just not translating for him. The strength of schedule is definitely a factor, as when he has a decent matchup, he’s been quite serviceable (as an RB3-type). But that’s not this week. This week, it’s the Chiefs who have yielded fewer than 10 fantasy points to RBs in five out of eight games. Now, for what it’s worth, pass-catching RBs have fared well against Kansas City, so maybe that’s an exhibit of the case for Williams on Sunday. I don’t trust that it will be, and Javontae is a nope for me this week.