Fantasy Football RB Report: 5 backfields to keep a close eye on in Week 4

Running backs remain king in fantasy football. While it feels like there are more elite quarterbacks and wide receivers than ever before, the amount of consistent, dependable running backs is dwindling. This makes it all the more important to find value at running back in fantasy football. In order to help you do that, I will be taking a look at a few backfields each week that stick out based on recent trends or new information we learned.

The since-ended Week 3 began my favorite stretch of football, because we now have a solid understanding of the good and bad teams in the league, but everyone still has something to play for. The same applies to fantasy — trade season is officially upon us, as the 0-3 and 1-2 teams in your league will be looking to make some moves to salvage their season. With that in mind, here are some important backfield takeaways heading into the heart of the NFL season.

New York Jets

Breece Hall is by no means in danger of losing his role as the RB1 on this Jets team, but I wanted to use this space to give Braelon Allen his plaudits. Allen, the youngest player in the NFL, has emerged as a legitimate contributor for the Jets in the last two weeks. He scored two touchdowns in Week 2 and was heavily involved against the Patriots on Thursday Night Football. Allen had 14 total touches to Hall’s 20, and ran for one more rushing yard despite playing just 32% of snaps.

Hall is clearly still the alpha in this room, playing 71% of snaps, and is the only back to receive goal-line work so far. However, Allen’s recent success means he should definitely be picked up in leagues if he isn’t already rostered.

Considering the Jets seem to be a solid offense, Allen has FLEX appeal because of how efficient he is with his opportunities. It goes without saying that if Hall were to miss any time, Allen would immediately step into those shoes and be a top-10 weekly starter. I’d be willing to spend around 30% of my waiver wire budget on Allen (and more in deeper leagues) as he has an appealing combination of floor and ceiling.

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Denver Broncos

Back in July, I wrote that the Broncos have the most convoluted backfield in football because they had four different players who could become the starter — Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estimé. Little did I know, a fifth challenger would enter the arena, as third-year back Tyler Badie led the Broncos in rushing yards on Sunday.

Badie ran for an impressive 70 yards on nine carries, while Williams (five carries, 12 yards) and McLaughlin (five carries, seven yards) were far less effective. McLaughlin also ran in a one-yard score after Williams got stuffed in the same situation. I would recommend that you pick up Badie this week on waivers, as he looked like by far the best running back of the three and could continue to lead the team in touches if the Broncos ride the hot hand.

For now, I would bench both Williams and McLaughlin, as I don’t have enough faith in the Broncos' offense to support either of them on purely short-yardage and goal-line work. My guess is that this will continue to be one of the more unpredictable backfields in the NFL.

Green Bay Packers

Emanuel Wilson burst onto the scene in Week 3, totaling 85 scrimmage yards and a touchdown en route to a top-15 finish at the position. The Packers effectively rotated series’ between Wilson and starter Josh Jacobs, as Wilson played 42% of snaps to Jacobs’ 51%.

With rookie MarShawn Lloyd being placed on IR last week and AJ Dillon already ruled out for the year, Wilson has found himself as the clear No. 2 back for the Packers and, if nothing else, is valuable insurance for Jacobs. Wilson outplayed Jacobs on an efficiency basis, running for five more yards on two less carries. He was also used in the passing game and turned a screen pass into an electric 30-yard score.

I expect the Packers to rely less on the running game once Jordan Love returns from his knee injury, which would likely limit the amount of high-value opportunities that Wilson gets. However, he is still definitely worth picking up this week as he looks to have cemented himself into the tier of backup running backs with some standalone value as well, similar to the aforementioned Braelon Allen. I wouldn’t worry just yet as a Josh Jacobs manager, but still wouldn’t mind spending 10-15% of my FAAB budget on Wilson.

Dallas Cowboys

It looks like the Cowboys are shifting away from Ezekiel Elliott in their backfield committee. Rico Dowdle played 37 snaps to Elliott’s 13 during the Cowboys loss to the Ravens on Sunday, and had by far the most touches of the Cowboys' running backs. In fact, Zeke received less work than fullback Hunter Luepke, who played 30 total snaps and had a dynamic 24-yard catch and run. Dak Prescott ran in the team’s only goal-line carry, but Dowdle was on the field during a Cowboys 2-point attempt and clearly looks like the 1A of this running back room.

I doubt that he will see enough volume to be a truly consistent starter, but if Dowdle can add some short-yardage work to his pass-catching profile, he would be a serviceable FLEX for your team. I wouldn’t mind buying low on Dowdle (it shouldn’t cost you much at all) as he had solid usage numbers despite a low fantasy point output. Elliott, on the other hand, is a cut candidate as it looks like he is being phased out of the Dallas offense.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs offense was under close scrutiny this week as it was unclear how they would distribute the backfield carries with Isiah Pacheco out for the foreseeable future. After Sunday night’s game, undrafted rookie free agent Carson Steele appears to have stamped himself as the Chiefs' primary running back. Steele was given 17 carries, which he turned into a respectable 72 yards.

Veteran Samaje Perine had nine touches (six carries, three catches), but was on the field far less than Steele — Perine played 28 snaps to Steele’s 46. Steele was also the only Chief to get carries on the goal line, although he failed to punch in attempts from the three and one-yard line which would have made his fantasy performance look a lot better.

The Chiefs did not elevate Kareem Hunt off the practice squad, which adds a variable to the equation, as Hunt profiles as a potential short-yardage threat with nine scores on the ground last season. Moving forward, I would be comfortable starting Steele as a lower-end RB2 as his usage was extremely promising, but I will be keeping an eye out for how Hunt is worked into the offense. I would avoid playing Perine unless I was in a PPR league with deeper rosters.