Week 7 Stat Projections: Running Back Rankings

During the NFL season, I walk through the player pool for each team to get a feel for their offense. Unfortunately, injury news isn’t clear on Tuesday, so many players’ health will change by game time on Sunday. I’ll do another update later in the week. Here are some running backs whose status is in flux early in the week:

Deon Jackson (28.1 fantasy points) and Rhamondre Stevenson (25.1 fantasy points) finish 1-2 in running back scoring in PPR formats in Week 6. Jackson’s success was a surprise while almost delivering a Jonathan Taylor-type outcome. Stevenson moved to 11th in the running back rankings. Nick Chubb (8.0 fantasy points) posted his worst game of the year.

Keaontay Ingram, Arizona Cardinals
With Arizona playing on a short week, I don’t expect James Conner or Darrel Williams to play. In addition, Eno Benjamin came out of last week’s game with a foot issue that puts his playing time at risk against the Saints. In the first run of the Week 7 projections, I gave Ingram just under 50% of the running back opportunity for Arizona until I see an update on the status of Benjamin. This backfield will be updated on our new projections page once there is clarity on which running backs will suit up.

J.K. Dobbins, Baltimore Ravens
Dobbins saw limited action (16 snaps) against the Giants last week due to his surgically repaired knee acting up. The issue may be minor, but I had to give him RB2 playing time for the Ravens this week until Baltimore adds more insight into his status. Kenyan Drake played well last week off the bench, giving him the inside track to start if Dobbins isn’t ready to go.

Denver Broncos Backfield
Any piece of the Broncos’ offense feels like a losing investment after six weeks. The loss of Javonte Williams was expected to increase the value of Melvin Gordon and/or Mike Boone, but the decision-making by Denver’s coaching staff continues to bring murky water to their running back rotation. As a result, I moved Latavius Murray to their RB2 for Week 7 while also waiting for an update on the health of Gordon.

Indianapolis Colts Backfield
Coming into Week 7, Jonathan Taylor, Nyheim Hines and Deon Jackson all have the questionable tag. Taylor turned in a couple of limited practices last week, pointing to him returning against the Titans. Hines should be cleared by Sunday from his concussion issue. I expect both players to play, while the status of Jackson’s quad is unknown.

D’Andre Swift, Detroit Lions
I gave Swift starting snaps against Dallas. With two missed games and a bye week, I expect him to play in Week 7.

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Updated: October 19, 2022