Ray Ray McCloud 98%

McCloud is a highly available player (95% available) but a player to keep an eye on. McCloud played virtually every snap in Week 5, and he’s averaging 90% of the snaps this year. He also scored nine times for 66 yards this week. Of course, this was a barnburner game with Kirk Cousins ​​throwing for over 500 yards, so any numbers seem a bit inflated. Still, there is a chance for McCloud.

He doesn’t see as many targets as Drake London or Darnell Mooney, but he’s frequently featured on a team that’s just starting to get things together offensively.

I’m not recommending you pick him up yet, but he could become something quasi-interesting, especially if you play in a deep league.

Diploma: Keep an eye on Ray-Ray McCloud.

Travis Etienne 38%; Tank Bigsby 40%

The mood around Travis Etienne is not good at the moment. He hasn’t been spectacular all season, the team is losing a lot of games and Tank Bigsby has shown flashes as a runner. That sentiment continued for Etienne in Week 5 (except the Jags won).

Bigsby was by far the better runner that day. Etienne saved his day with six receptions, but nothing about his performance was exciting. Meanwhile, almost everything Bigsby did was exciting, including the passing game. Bigsby only caught one pass, but he completed it for 28 yards, while Etienne only managed 43 total yards on six catches. Bigsby was also the player who scored the touchdowns and ended up playing more snaps than Etienne.

The game was crazy, with the Jaguars and Colts combining to score 41 points in the fourth quarter alone. What’s notable is that Bigsby played far more in the second half as the Jaguars essentially blanked out Etienne’s usage. This is very notable as one would expect Etienne to be heavily involved in a shootout game.

This is exactly the kind of situation in which a changing of the guard can occur. A coach on the hot seat will have to try some unconventional things, which might include deemphasizing a running back in the first round. Also, don’t forget that Etienne was selected during Urban Meyer’s tenure, while Bigsby was a selection of current coach Doug Pederson. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Bigsby took over that backfield (if he hasn’t already).

Etienne shows nothing in the film that suggests he should keep his job as RB1. If anything, all of the footage suggests that it’s Bigsby who is more exciting, better for the team, and deserving of more effort.

Diploma: Pick up Tank Bigsby.

Rhamondre Stevenson 47%; Antonio Gibson 47%

True to his word, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo started Antonio Gibson in response to Stevenson’s fumbling issues. But Gibson didn’t become the Patriots’ RB1. Instead, the playing time was exactly 50:50, but more importantly, Stevenson still saw significantly more opportunities. Gibson scored just six runs and one target, while Stevenson had 12 and four hits, respectively. Stevenson was also more efficient and scored a touchdown.

The public “demotion” appears to be nothing more than an attention-grabbing punishment for Rhamondre to get his head back on track. I think it worked as Stevenson didn’t fumble and played quite well.

Despite this, the Patriots offense is still very poor. Plus, it’s only a matter of time before the rookie QB steps in for Brissett, which could make the offense even worse.

Diploma: You can ignore Antonio Gibson again. The workload makes Stevenson a good fit as a low-end RB2/flex.

Rico Dowdle 50%; Ezekiel Elliott 30%

You’d probably be surprised to find out, Rico Dowdle only Had 50% of the snaps due to his box score (20 for 87 on the ground and two for 27 with a touchdown through the air). Dowdle played 38 snaps and saw the ball on 22 of them. That is fantastic Use in limited playing time.

The fact is that Dallas is, first and foremost, a team built to win. Consider that the Cowboys played 20% of snaps without a running back on the field. Still, Dowdle has scored through the air in two consecutive weeks. So who cares how he gets the fantasy points, right?

Dowdle has become the clear backfield leader he should be. His numbers still aren’t eye-popping, but the fact remains that he’s a leader in the backfield with a very good offense. While his efficiency numbers aren’t spectacular (4.35 yards/carry), they were still pretty good against a very good Pittsburgh defense, so perhaps I shouldn’t discount his efficiency.

Dowdle moves into the playable category, but probably not next week against Detroit, which arguably has the best run defense in the NFL right now. He would be a big trade target next week after Detroit likely deals him.

Diploma: Dowdle is approaching a reliable starting area.

Malik Heath 76%

Malik Heath is your replacement for Romeo Doubs, not only in terms of depth chart but also in terms of utilization. The Packers ran more or less the same offense as before, except with Heath filling in for Doubs and Doubs sulking about his role on the team.

You can file this under “a minor thing” as Heath didn’t seem to be doing very well. Honestly, that’s probably good news because the Packers have become much more focused and almost all of their offense runs through Dontayvion Wicks, Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft. All of these players are more attractive without Doubs.

Diploma: Feel great when you have a wick, kraft paper or reed. Heath isn’t worth busting.

Tyrone Tracy 62%; Eric Gray 36%’

Without Devin Singletary dominating the backfield, the Giants started Eric Gray. And then he had a brutal fumble at the goal line that was returned for a Seattle touchdown. After that, it was almost entirely Tyrone Tracy’s time.

Tracy took advantage of his chance to shine (18 carries for 129 yards) against a team that was just defeated by the Lions on Monday Night Football last week. The Seahawks are missing a lot of defensive linemen and appear to be a defense to target with running backs (next week they play San Francisco – crazy, Jordan Mason).

Eric Gray started the game and caught three passes on the first drive. Apparently, the Giants were trying to bring in Gray to make up for the loss of their alpha receiver Malik Nabers. Plus, this dual-threat ability is more similar to what Devin Singletary was for the Giants. But when Gray fumbled in such a costly manner, the Giants no longer trusted him and gave Tracy a chance.

Tracy was an interesting candidate and made a pretty good impression in the preseason. He might have earned more playing time, but I tend to believe the Giants will go back to Singletary immediately given the amount of trust they have in him. Also, I think it’s more likely that the Seahawks just can’t stop anyone right now than that the Giants’ offense suddenly turned into a strong running game just by subbing out the rookie.

Diploma: Tracy is a backup if Devin Singletary continues to be sidelined. Don’t expect another performance like this against a stronger run defense.

Jerome Ford 58%; D’Onta foreman 34%

Jerome Ford still leads the backfield by a significant margin, but the running back opportunities were evenly distributed (nine runs each). Ford saw two more goals scored (three to one), but he didn’t capitalize on those additional chances at all (two receiving yards total). In fact, Foreman passed Ford through the air with just a single catch (18 yards).

The point of all this is that Jerome Ford’s days of being playable may be over. He’s playing in the worst offense in the league and Nick Chubb’s 21-day window is already open. Ford’s best asset was his ability to catch out of the backfield, but it looks like that ability was largely exaggerated by the fact that Joe Flacco was a much, much, much better quarterback than Deshaun Watson.

Diploma: Jerome Ford approaches Dumpsville. If not this week, very soon.