Fantasy Football Week 6 Running Back Start/Sit: Hassan Haskins, Derrick Henry and More

Welcome to Week 6's fantasy football start/sit breakdown for the running back position! As always, I'd like to start with a quick look back at last week's results.

On the start side, I made the right call backing some backups: both Rachaad White and Michael Carter finished as top-12 options. Unfortunately, Woody Marks was a miss, as it was Nick Chubb who took advantage of the hapless Baltimore defense.

However, my real success came with my three sit picks. None of Emari Demercado, TreVeyon Henderson, or Isiah Pacheco finished inside even the top 30 half-PPR running backs on a week with plenty of byes. 

Overall, that's an absolutely excellent week, with five no-doubt hits out of six. The only criticism I can really give myself is that I may have played it a bit safe with my sit picks. Spoiler alert, but that's not going to be an issue this week. Let's get right into it! 

For more help with your toughest Week 6 start/sit decisions, check out FantasySP's NFL Start/Sit tool!

Running Backs to Start Week 6

Hassan Haskins, Los Angeles Chargers

I had excellent success picking the right backups from murky situations last week, so let's try to keep it rolling this week. With Omarion Hampton on IR, the Chargers' backfield is completely up for grabs heading into an absolutely juicy matchup with a Dolphins defense that just gave up over 200 yards rushing to Rico Dowdle. In my view, the first man up to take advantage of that matchup is Haskins.

I'm not going to argue that Haskins is a special talent. But running back fantasy production is all about usage, and he should get first crack at usage in LA's backfield. It is true that he and sophomore Kimani Vidal finished last week's game with nearly identical workloads, but not all carries are created equal.

Haskins' five carries included two while Hampton was still healthy, and the first three after the rookie went down. Vidal saw just one look while Hampton was healthy, and got the second crack in the first drive after he exited. Vidal was also the only back on the field for the Trey Lance drive after the Chargers waved the white flag.

To be clear, this isn't an anti-Vidal take. He will also be involved, and he was a very intriguing prospect last season. Against this dreadful Miami defense, there's a real chance that both of these backs have solid days. But if you have to pick one to put in your lineup, Haskins is the answer. He is likely to get the majority of the work, and that's far more than half the battle. 

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders

The Commanders' backfield officially belongs to Croskey-Merritt. He saw 14 attempts to just five for Chris Rodriguez Jr. on Sunday, and all five of Rodriguez's attempts came on the team's final, garbage-time-adjacent drive. Croskey-Merritt also led the backfield in route participation (31%) and tied Jeremy McNichols for the lead with two targets.

At this point, JCM is essentially in the Brian Robinson role for the Commanders … if not better, because McNichols is not going to command all the touches that Austin Ekeler did last season. And where Robinson was a replacement-level plodder, the seventh-round rookie has legit juice.

He ranks first in the entire league by a wide margin with a 90.1 PFF Rushing Grade and 6.6 yards per carry. According to NextGenStats, he's also first in rush yards over expected per attempt and “Efficiency” (whatever that means). In a matchup with a beatable Chicago defense, he is a legit must-start. 

TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots

I have been a Henderson doubter to start the 2025 season — he has appeared in the sit section multiple times. But the Antonio Gibson injury changes things in the Patriots' offense.

With Gibson exiting early, Henderson and Stevenson were in a near-perfect 50/50 timeshare last week. Stevenson played one more snap and saw one more carry, while Henderson led in routes and targets.

Of course, 50/50 splits aren't always ideal for fantasy. Neither of these backs has been particularly efficient this season. Stevenson saved his day with two TDs, but this duo still combined for just 17.4 half-PPR points last week against the Bills. 

The reason both Henderson and Stevenson are startable is that they don't play the Bills again this week. Instead, they are headed to New Orleans to face the Saints. This is a dome game, where the Patriots are favorites against a defensively challenged Saints team playing with arguably the fastest pace in the league. There should be points to go around in this backfield, so both members of this committee are solid flex or RB3 options. 

Running Backs to Sit Week 6

Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens

I hope this counts as bold. Perhaps I'm letting last week's success go to my head, but I'm ready to come at King Henry this week … hopefully I don't miss. Of course, Henry is not a must-bench. He's still one of the few backs in the league capable of breaking off a huge TD at any time. But if he doesn't do that, I expect this week's results to be mediocre. 

Of course, this take isn't as bold as it seems at first glance, because Henry's results already have been mediocre. He's averaging just 7.2 half-PPR points over the last four weeks. That's fewer than Kenneth Gainwell, Kareem Hunt, Chubb, and even his own teammate Justice Hill.

The issue is that Henry, with his non-involvement in the passing game, is far more game-script dependent than your typical stud fantasy RB. He also relies heavily on building up a head of steam, which means he needs open running lanes. With the Ravens dealing with multiple key injuries on the defensive side of the ball and an even key-er injury to Lamar Jackson, none of those requirements are being met.  

The Ravens are 7.5-point underdogs at home against the Rams this week. LA's defense has given up the second-fewest half-PPR points per game to opposing backs. Cooper Rush will be under center for the Ravens, and he showed absolutely nothing last week that will cause the Rams to focus on anyone other than King Henry. If you've got other legitimate options, it's time to think about benching Henry. 

David Montgomery, Detroit Lions

Montgomery has been one of the most frequent names in the sit section of these articles. I successfully faded him on my most recent attempt in Week 4, but the veteran back has still made me look stupid more often than not. I'm hoping to tilt things back in my favor with another hit this week.

The reason that I keep fading Montgomery is that he simply doesn't have the consistent usage we look for in fantasy running backs. For the season, he is averaging just a 41% snap share in Detroit's offense. His RB rush share is just 45%, and he has seen only eight targets for a 5.5% target share. The only positive is excellent touchdown equity, but he doesn't even handle all of Detroit's goal-line (73%). 

On any other offense, this usage would make Montgomery an obvious bench. On the Lions, that TD equity and elite efficiency (over five yards per carry) is enough that he is still in the RB2 conversation every week. 

However, this is one week where I don't think things will work out for Montgomery. Although they haven't been anywhere near as dominant as last season, the Chiefs' defense still ranks as a below-average matchup for opposing backs. The Lions are also underdogs, which could mean fewer goal-line carries and more snaps while trailing (68% of which have gone to Jahmyr Gibbs this season). Put it all together, and I'd rather not have Montgomery in my lineups this week.  

Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

Let me start by saying that I don't think Joe Flacco is going to save the Bengals' season. Even if he does, he probably won't save Brown's fantasy value. Brown is averaging just 8.1 points per game this season, and that's including games with Joe Burrow.

To take matters from bad to worse, Brown's usage is trending in the wrong direction. Click that link for a full breakdown, but the short version is that his workload has gone from truly elite to just standard starting RB levels. And standard starting RB usage is not good enough to provide consistent fantasy value on one of the league's worst offenses (just ask Tony Pollard).

However, that usage is enough for Brown to still be at least a viable flex option most weeks. Unfortunately, this isn't most weeks, as the Bengals are heading to Green Bay to face an elite Packers defense. The Packers have allowed the fourth-fewest points per game to opposing backs. Oh yeah, and the Bengals are underdogs by 14 (!!) points this week. Brown is only playable if you have truly no other options.