Week 6 RB Fantasy Rankings PPR: Derrick Henry to Plow to #1

Week 5 was such an odd week. Many of the predictions by experts, including myself, got turned upside down. We saw James Robinson having a bad week and Antonio Gibson failing to get anything going after the first drive. However, you win some and you lose some as Jacobs did end up having a monster week and my blind faith in Jon Gruden became justified.

Week 6 has some incredibly juicy matchups for your favorite running backs. If you are debating on which one to start, then this is the perfect article for you. Find out where your RB2 and RB3 land on the weekly rankings as we take a deeper dive into the projections for Week 6.

The Top 3

The number one RB on the week, without a doubt, is Derrick Henry. Despite the entire organization is in hot water with Covid, and several starters out, I am not scared one bit to confidently say that Henry will be the best back on the week. The reason has everything to do with playing against the Houston Texans. The Texans’ defense did put up more of a fight against James Robinson and the Jaguars. However, the high of finally being freed from the clutches of Bill O’Brian’s awful coaching and general managing decision will not last more than a week. This defense, especially against the run, is bad. Nobody on the line, including oldman JJ Watt, can stop Derrick Henry’s power and speed. This is the kind of team that Henry can easily break off multiple 20+ yards runs against, and Dalvin Cook gave Henry the model on how to do so from his Week 4 performance.

Speaking of Dalvin Cook, I have him ranked second right in front of Zeke Elliott. Despite his slight setback with his groin, Dalvin Cook should have an explosive week against the Falcons, even on limited touches. Mike Davis was able to burn this team for 89 yards on the ground and 60 through the air. Cook could easily double that in half the touches. Cook proved in the 1st half of the Seahawks game that he is the best pure RB in football. He is able to do insane things behind a horrible offensive line, against good teams. Now we get to watch him go up against one of the worst defenses in recent memory. Zeke should get mentioned as he also is set up for a big week against the mediocre Cardinals’ defense, and without Dak, the Cowboys will heavily lean on Elliott’s shoulders.

Back-end RB1s and High-end RB2s

One of the first players that I want to highlight is Raheem Mostert in SF. While the 49ers are not a great football team this year, Kyle Shanahan is still an incredible offensive mind. He is able to scheme his RBs open constantly and Mostert is no different. The Rams are still not that great against running backs, despite holding the Washington backfield to a subpar week. I believe that Mostert is going to have a monster day on the ground and through the air against the Rams. If the game script would have allowed for more opportunity, then Mostert may have had a top 3 week. He averaged 8.1 yards per carry and 9.6 yards per catch on 11 rushes and 3 receptions against Miami. I expect the same kind of efficiency against this Rams’ defense.

Antonio Gibson failed to break out last week like I predicted, but do not give up on him. Gibson suffered due to the fact that when Alex Smith came in, the offensive line and the offensive scheme fell apart. On the first two drives, Gibson looked explosive in the receiving game and was able to make something out of his runs. However, the production would end there. The Giants have a solid rush defense. However, they lost Lorenzo Carter, an outstanding OLB, last week. Blake Martinez is still one of the best ILBs in the league, but he cannot do it all by himself. I expect Gibson to jump back into that top RB2 territory and give you a solid week.

David Montgomery has an extremely favorable matchup that saw grandpa Gurley have a top RB week. Carolina is winning games but their rush defense is still near the bottom of the league. With the opportunity that Montgomery gets he simply needs a pulse to have a solid RB1/2 week. I expect Matt Nagy to be smart enough to stick with the ground game more in this matchup, and Montgomery should be on pace for 100 total yards and a score.

Lower Tier Plays That I Like

Myles Gaskin is playing the New York Jets, and I currently have a rule: if a fantasy-relevant player is playing the Jets, then their floor is great and the ceiling is sky-high. Gaskin, especially with Howard as a now healthy inactive, has tons of upside. He should get multiple scores against this poor excuse for a football team. He is still splitting quite a bit of work with Breida but should be played with extreme confidence that he can explode for a top RB2. The hope is that he plays so well that maybe the Jets finally fire Adam Gase.

Speaking of the Jets, I do believe that Bell is startable this week. Miami does not have a very effective rush defense, and despite Gase’s complete and utter ineptness as a coach, Bell can still put up some fantasy points. Maybe Bell liking Twitter posts about his usage being too low will inspire Gase to play him, but I have no idea. What I do know is that even on limited touches Bell will be a solid flex option. As mentioned earlier Miami is the furthest thing from a scary rush defense, allowing 5 yards per attempt by opposing offenses. If we just say that Bell gets 4/5ths of that on a good 15 carries and a few catches, then you have yourself a great RB3. However, Gase needs to get him that, at the bare minimum, in this game.