Fantasy Football Week 10 Running Back Start/Sit: Chuba Hubbard, Rachaad White, Christian McCaffrey, Javonte Williams and More
These are the running backs that need to be in your lineup for Week 10 and the ones that you should leave on your bench.
Start
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
We haven't gotten any official word yet, but the expectations are that rookie Jonathon Brooks will be activated for Week 10. We expect that to cause some trepidation in a lot of Hubbard owners.
Heading into the season, Brooks was viewed as the top back in his class and a potential first-round pick if not for the ACL injury he's on the verge of returning from. Hubbard also doesn't get the respect that he probably deserves as a very good running back. If Brooks is active, there will be a ton of fantasy owners wondering if you can even start Hubbard now.
We are here to tell you to plug him in and don't think twice about it. Brooks is going to be eased into the league and they certainly aren't going to immediately give him a bunch of carries and risk his health. He's viewed as the long-term future of a team with very little to play for this season.
This is a good matchup against the New York Giants and we'd be surprised if Brooks was given more than five carries in his first NFL action. Not only that, Hubbard will most likely remain the lead back for quite a few weeks moving forward and potentially the remainder of 2024.
For now, Brooks is much more of a threat to Miles Sanders than Hubbard. Sanders can kiss his three carries goodbye and may end up being a healthy scratch.
Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
White had a tough game on Monday Night Football, but he was up against the Kansas City Chiefs, who have allowed the fewest fantasy points to running backs this season. That dropped White's ECR to 26 this week even with a much better matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.
Prior to last week's anomaly, what we've seen with the Bucs wideouts injured is that the passing attack runs through White and Cade Otton. There is no way I'm viewing him as anything less than a mid-range RB2 in PPR leagues and you shouldn't be scared off by last week. Get him in your lineups.
Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons use Allgeier a lot - more than most fantasy owners would prefer. He sees enough volume that he's an easy start in great matchups and the New Orleans Saints this week are just that.
While they are only allowing the 10th-most fantasy points to running backs this season, they have gotten progressively worse in that department and in general. The game script is going to be perfect for the Falcons' rushing attack because they are going to throttle the Saints in this game. Both backs will see double-digit opportunities in this game, with Bijan Robinson being a high-end RB1 and Allgeier a strong flex option.
Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals
Brown has a tough matchup against the Ravens this week and the team did just trade for Khalil Herbert, but he's a non-factor after joining the team on a Tuesday before a Thursday night game.
We expect Brown to get almost all the backfield work and be a big part of the passing attack with Tee Higgins and Erick All Jr. sidelined for this game. He saw 27 carries and five targets last week. The carries will likely come down a bit, but the passing work should increase.
Volume is king and we are projecting him to have about 18 carries and seven targets in this game. When you're getting opportunities like that, the matchup is an afterthought.
Sit
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
This is going to be an extremely unpopular take, but even if CMC plays this week, you may want to think twice about just throwing him in your lineup.
McCaffrey is an aging back coming off a serious soft tissue injury in his first action all season. The Niners desperately need him if they are going to make a playoff run and it's hard to imagine they give him his full allotment of touches right off the bat.
If you think it will still be enough to make him worth starting, then that's your call, however, don't be shocked if he is extremely limited in his first game back from an Achilles injury.
Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
The Chiefs have been absolutely stifling against fantasy running backs. As we mentioned earlier, they are the best in the league against them. Williams is already a sketchy start most weeks and disappoints more than he doesn't.
The coaching staff in Denver has also been adamant about rookie Audric Estime getting more work. Williams's ECR this week is 29, but we don't think he's a lock to finish as a top-40 RB in Arrowhead.
Raheem Mostert, Miami Dolphins
As someone who has covered the Dolphins and still follows them extremely closely, I have a bad feeling about Mostert this week and moving forward. He has lost critical fumbles in two of the last three games that potentially cost the Dolphins much-needed victories.
Rookie Jaylen Wright has also looked excellent in limited work. This could be the week that Mostert takes a step back and falls behind Wright on the depth chart. I'd go as far as to say that Wright could be an interesting DFS option in tourneys or a sneaky anytime TD prop bet.
