Week 6 Running Back Starts & Sits: Bench A.J. Dillon?!
With quarterback out of the way, it’s time to dig into our running back decisions.
As a quick, reminder, we’re here to examine the start/sit decisions that are keeping you up at night. Do you bench the RB1 you drafted in the fourth round who has been struggling? Do you take a chance on the waiver-wire guy who might be the new lead back? Do you avoid an injury risk with a high ceiling in favor of a player with a higher floor? We won’t know the right answers until Week 6 is over, but we’re going to try our best to figure it out.
Let’s dive into the Week 6 Start/Sit running back decisions that are keeping me up at night.
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Running back
Start ‘Em
START OF THE WEEK: Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
I’ve been down on ETN since the preseason, but he looks to be in the mist of starting to prove me wrong. While he’s yet to score, the second-year player has been getting better as the season has gone on while James Robinson seems to be getting worse. The two split carries last week with Etienne outperforming Robinson both on the ground and in the air. Robinson will probably vulture a goal line TD just to spite me know, but Etienne should be in your lineups either way.
Raheem Mostert, Miami Dolphins
As someone who has Mostert on a large percentage of my fantasy teams, I can tell you I’ve been wary of him all season. He was coming off an injury and into a very uncertain backfield situation and I’ve been keeping him on my bench most weeks. I think it’s safe to say it’s time to change my ways. Mostert is a thing. He’s been progressively seeing more carries over his last two games (33 total over that span) and is even being targeted 2-3 times a game. Sitting at RB30 on the year, Mostert belongs in your lineup against the Vikings this week.
Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This is mostly for those in deeper leagues and those dealing with bye weeks, but Rachaad White could be a useful play this weekend. He saw eight touches for the second week in a row in Week 5 and sets up to be the solid second option behind Leonard Fournette in the Buccaneers backfield. We’re mostly hunting for ppr points here as White has seen nine targets over his last two games, but that’s a perfectly acceptable strategy when you’re contemplating starting a player like White.
Sit ‘Em
SIT OF THE WEEK: A.J. Dillon, Green Bay Packers
Disclaimer: I’m not telling you to just automatically bench Dillon. I’m just asking you to consider if he’s a must-start. Because I don’t think he is. After a strong Week 1, Dillon has finished as RB29, RB49, RB28, and RB54 over the last four weeks. In those games, his fantasy output has been 7, 4, 8, and 3. He only saw six touches and is most definitely the second fiddle behind Aaron Jones in the Packers backfield. Again, you have to have better options to bench Dillon. But he’s probably part of a lot of 1-4 fantasy teams right now.
Antonio Gibson, Washington Commanders
It was fun while it lasted. Gibson didn’t play himself out of a job, but he didn’t exactly win himself a job either. With Brian Robinson’s return to the fold, Gibson is now part of a three-headed headache in Washington alongside Robinson and J.D. McKissic. While the Commanders will keep Gibson involved in their attack (he saw four targets out of the backfield), he only carried the ball three times to Robinson’s nine. Any sell-high window that existed for Gibson has officially closed, and he belongs on your fantasy bench wherever possible.
Cam Akers, Los Angeles Rams
I’ve had Akers here before, but I think he’s worth keeping here because I still see him ranked in the top-30 running backs every week. He’s currently RB53 on the year and he hasn’t scored more than 10 fantasy points in a game all season. Akers hasn’t done much all year and has fallen off a cliff with 21 carries for 46 yards total in his last two games. I get the draft capital. I get the upside he left in people’s minds from 2020. But it’s 2022, and it’s time to put Cam Akers on your bench.
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