{"id":253704,"date":"2025-11-06T09:30:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T14:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=253704"},"modified":"2025-11-27T18:31:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T23:31:03","slug":"fantasy-football-rankings-top-10-running-backs-week-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/06\/fantasy-football-rankings-top-10-running-backs-week-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 10 Running Backs For Week 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

Week 9 was a bit of a weird week for our running back rankings, with only three backs topping 20 fantasy points for the week. Christian McCaffrey returned to his rightful spot atop the position in fantasy thanks to another game of being force-fed the ball with 28 rush attempts, along with 6 pass targets. He has miraculously stayed healthy, and his owners are going to continue to enjoy this magical ride as long as he can stay on the field.<\/p>\n

The other two top-scoring backs were Rico Dowdle of Carolina<\/a> and Kyle Monangai of the Bears<\/a>. What’s interesting about these two backs is that they illustrate how we can sometimes fall into the trap of thinking a player’s ability is the main factor in their fantasy success, when it’s clearly more about opportunity and team context. Dowdle burst onto the scene four weeks ago when Chuba Hubbard missed a game with an injury. While Dowdle has clearly been more explosive than Hubbard ever was this season, his monster fantasy games came against Miami and Dallas, leaving many of us to wonder if it was him or the Panthers’ opponents.<\/p>\n

When he put up a big game this past weekend against a stout Green Bay<\/a> team in Lambeau Field, we have to now consider Dowdle a legitimate top-12 option every week. Similarly, Monangai was given the entire Bears backfield to himself last week with both D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson out, and he responded with 176 yards on 26 carries against the Bengals and their bottom-ranked defense. So, how will we rank him for this week against a Giants<\/a> team that is bottom 5 in the league against the run? Let’s take a look at this week’s top 10 running back rankings and see if we can avoid some of the pitfalls that got us last week, like Kimani Vidal and Bam Knight.<\/p>\n

1) Jonathan Taylor vs. Falcons<\/h3>\n
\"Indianapolis
Photo Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you talk about down weeks, this player tops the list of Week 9’s disappointments. JT has easily been the RB1 all season long, but last week he finished as the RB30 with just 45 rushing yards and just two catches for another 12 yards with no scores. We can cut him some slack since it was his first week scoring under 14 points all year in PPR formats, and you most likely drafted him in the second round after at least seven or eight of the other backs in the league. You can thank the owners who picked right in front of you for taking Chase Brown and De’Von Achane and leaving you with the best player in fantasy for this season. I expect Taylor to get back in gear this week against the Falcons<\/a> and their 23rd-ranked run defense. Expect him to get into the end zone and total over 100 combined yards just as he has in 6 of his 9 starts thus far this season. Remember, he’s scored three touchdowns more often than he has failed to score in a game so far this year. He’s still a stud, keep him in your lineup.<\/p>\n

2) Christian McCaffrey vs. Rams<\/h3>\n
\"Christian
Photo Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The last time these two teams met, CMC scored over 28 PPR points as he led the 49ers in receiving with 82 yards and a score on eight catches while adding another 57 yards on the ground. The 49ers<\/a> seem dead set on feeding their top back as much as he can handle, so let’s keep rolling him out there as long as he’s still standing. I’ll probably keep saying this all year, but this isn’t going to last forever, so enjoy it while it does. If you still own him, keep him in your lineup. This really is the perfect time to trade him, but it would take a lot of guts. If I could trade him now and get a combo of Jahmyr Gibbs and a wide receiver that I would be able to play every week (D.K. Metcalf or Michael Pittman level), I would do it. It’s better to make that deal a week too early than a week too late. I might be wrong, and CMC might be the guy who leads you to a fantasy crown, but the amount he’s being used combined with his age and injury history makes me too nervous to enjoy him every week.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

3) James Cook vs. Dolphins<\/h3>\n
\"James
Photo Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keep an eye on Cook this week as he’s nursing an ankle injury that cropped up during the Bills<\/a>‘ Week 9 win over Kansas City. It didn’t hold him back from taking on a large workload against the Chiefs<\/a> as he was able to convert 27 rushes into 114 yards in what turned out to be a solid day, despite the lack of a touchdown. This matchup against Miami<\/a> is one we hope he will be able to take the field for since he was able to pile up 118 total yards and a score in their last meeting. If you have Cook, go ahead and make sure you have Ty Johnson on your roster just in case the Bills decide to rest their top back this Sunday.<\/p>\n

\n

For more help with your fantasy football rosters, make sure to check out the best streaming options in Week 10<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

4) Bijan Robinson vs. Buccaneers<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Photo Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Does anybody remember when Bijan Robinson was great? I’m being silly, since he’s still amazing, but it’s been a few weeks now of less-than-stellar stats from our top draft pick. Robinson has failed to eclipse 50 rushing yards now for three straight weeks, but thanks to his pass-catching ability, it hasn’t been a total disaster. Last week he was able to add 50 yards on eight catches and salvage a 17.6-point PPR day against New England<\/a>. The sledding won’t get much easier this week as the Falcons take on Indianapolis<\/a> and their #4-ranked run defense. Expect Bijan to be heavily involved in the Falcons’ game plan, which should include plenty of carries as well as pass targets. The bright spot in these past 4 games has been Robinson’s usage rate, as Tyler Allgeier has become an afterthought in Atlanta’s game plan. Get Bijan in your lineup and leave him there.<\/p>\n

5) De’Von Achane vs. Bills<\/h3>\n
\"Buy
Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Dolphins just stink right now, but their lone bright spot has been this guy. Achane is basically matchup proof since Miami needs to keep him involved regardless of the game script as both a runner and a pass catcher. His home run hitting ability makes him an attractive option for daily fantasy play, as he can be the overall RB1 in any given week as a result of just a handful of plays. The Bills are still pretty soft against the run, and Achane should be a lock for double-digit rush attempts as well as pass targets. The last time these two teams met, he totaled 91 combined yards on 12 rush attempts and 7 receptions. Look for that number to increase in this matchup with a very good chance for a touchdown.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

6) Derrick Henry vs. Vikings<\/h3>\n
\"Baltimore
Photo Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lamar is back, and things are good again for King Henry and his fantasy owners. As Lamar goes, so does the Ravens<\/a> offense, and this past week, Baltimore was able to score four touchdowns against the Dolphins. While Henry didn’t actually get a piece of the end zone action, he was able to pile up some decent fantasy points thanks to 121 combined yards. This week, he should find his way back into that painted paradise as the Viking run defense is ranked 20th in the league against the run. Henry has a great schedule going forward, so get him in your lineup and enjoy the production going forward.<\/p>\n

7) Josh Jacobs vs. Eagles<\/h3>\n
\"Josh
Photo Credit: Tork Mason\/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jacobs scored a touchdown last week. I’m just going to leave that there as the opening line in his write-up because he basically scores every week. The Green Bay rushing leader has been the model of consistency for his fantasy owners this season, scoring at least one touchdown in all but 1 game, and that was against Cleveland<\/a>‘s top-ranked run defense. This week, the Packers get an Eagles<\/a> team that has added a few key players to their defense, but none of them should really affect Green Bay’s ability to run the ball. Jaire Alexander and Jaelin Phillips will be factors in pass coverage and rushing the quarterback, but it will still be Jalen Carter who presents the biggest challenge for opposing running backs. This should be a close game, and the Packers will need to establish the run to keep Jordan Love clean on pass plays, so expect Jacobs to get a healthy dose of carries on Monday Night.<\/p>\n

8) Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Commanders<\/h3>\n
\"Jahmyr
Photo Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gibbs and the Lions<\/a> were shocked last week by a Minnesota<\/a> defense that held them to just 65 total yards on 20 carries. Gibbs wasn’t able to add much through the air either, as his 3 receiving yards were his lowest of the season, outside of Week 7 against the Chiefs, when he was held to just one catch for zero yards. This week, I expect the Lions to come out swinging, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them put up north of 40 points on the Commanders. Jared Goff will get his stats throwing the ball, and I expect Gibbs to be a part of that attack against Washington’s 29th-ranked pass defense. If the game ends up being a blowout, it will probably be a big David Montgomery day, but Gibbs should pile up fantasy points on the way.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

9) Kyren Williams vs. 49ers<\/h3>\n
\"Fantasy
Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Williams had a big day the last time these two teams met back in early October with 131 total yards, 8 receptions, and 2 touchdowns on his way to a 31+ point fantasy day in PPR formats. His workload came into question a bit heading into the Rams’<\/a> Week 8 bye with Blake Corum getting more and more touches each week. Fantasy managers were able to breathe a sigh of relief last week when the Rams appeared as though they were just keeping Williams fresh for the second-half run. Against the Saints<\/a>, Williams was fed a healthy 25 carries, which he converted into 114 yards and a score. We should expect more of the same each week as Williams continues his role as the Bell-Cow in Sean McVay’s offense.<\/p>\n

10) Rico Dowdle vs. Saints<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As I mentioned earlier, this dude is the real deal. It’s one thing to put up 30 points; it’s another thing to do it two weeks in a row. When you do it for the third time in a five-week span, and this time it was against a top 5 defense, that’s when we know for sure that you have a potential league winner on your roster. If you were smart enough to draft Dowdle and hold him all season long, you are sitting pretty going forward with the Carolina<\/a> lead back on your fantasy roster. This week, he gets a soft Saints defense that just allowed Kyren Williams to eclipse 100 yards with a score, and I think Dowdle does that and then some. He’s a top 12 back in any format for the rest of the season and should easily be a top ten option this week.<\/p>\n

For more great fantasy football analysis, check out DrRoto.com<\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Week 9 was a bit of a weird week for our running back rankings, with only three backs topping 20 fantasy points for the week. Christian McCaffrey returned to his rightful spot atop the position in fantasy thanks to another game of being force-fed the ball with 28 rush attempts, along with 6 pass targets. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5637,"featured_media":253707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,33912],"tags":[349,2320,33805],"class_list":["post-253704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","category-fantasy-rankings","tag-fantasy-football-rankings","tag-nfl-schedule","tag-running-back-rankings"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5637"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253704"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253714,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253704\/revisions\/253714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}