Fred Zinkie Yahoo Fantasy Contributor Tue, October 27, 2026 at 2:49 PM UTC · 8 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Let's take a look at the backup RBs, who are listed in the order that they should be rostered, taking into account both their immediate fantasy football value as a flex option and their long-term potential to take on a larger role.
Although Breece Hall missed a fourth straight game, the fact that his availability came down to game day suggests that he will return this week. Allen had another outstanding effort in Hall's absence, gaining 104 yards on 17 carries and 30 yards on six catches.
At this point, there is no doubt that Allen will have a role when Hall returns. After all, Allen has averaged 5.0 yards per carry and 89 rushing yards per game over the four contests Hall has missed. There is even a chance that although Hall will return to his starting role, Allen will be the one to receive more carries. He's a solid RB2 or flex option for a favorable home game against the Raiders, while we seek some certainty on the Jets' backfield split.
Well, that didn't take long. In his first game off the IR, Coleman led the Broncos backfield in snap share, and his 30 snaps were as many as Harvey (16) and starter J.K. Dobbins (14) combined. Coleman not only played more than the veterans — he also played better. The rookie averaged 6.0 yards on his nine carries, in comparison to 3.8 yards per carry for Dobbins and 2.0 yards per carry for Harvey.
Coleman also factored into the passing game by gaining 15 yards on two catches. It was Harvey who made the big play in this area, with a 52-yard receiving touchdown. He had one other catch, while Dobbins was not targeted at all.
There is no doubt that Coleman is the Denver RB that fantasy managers want to have on their roster, as he's the only member of the trio who could soon receive 15 touches per game. In PPR leagues, Harvey would be the second choice thanks to his consistent involvement in the passing game.
Monangai has missed three straight games with thumb and toe injuries. The Bears have not put him in injured reserve, which suggests that they expect him to miss fewer than four games by returning this week. D'Andre Swift has assumed a workhorse role in Monangai's absence, and while he has scored four times in his past three games, Swift has averaged 3.2 yards per carry over the past two contests.
With Caleb Williams at the helm, the Bears offense is among the best in the NFL. The return on Monangai will give the running game more power and explosiveness than Swift can provide, and there are plenty of analysts who see Monangai as the team's best ball-carrier.
The public complaints from Kyren Williams after Week 6 had no impact on the Rams' backfield split, as the veteran logged a 53% snap share in Week 7 in comparison to a 47% share for Corum. The even split seemed to work, as Williams averaged 6.2 yards on 16 carries and Corum averaged 5.5 yards on his 17 rushes. Both players scored a touchdown on the ground and neither had much impact on the passing game.
While Williams remains the starter and preferred fantasy option, Corum is also having an excellent season by averaging 4.9 yards per carry and tallying three scores in seven games. The Rams should score plenty of points in the coming weeks, as their next three opponents are the Chargers, Commanders and Cardinals. Corum is easily a flex option for those contests.
David Montgomery missed a second straight game, and in his absence, Marks was once again underwhelming but somewhat effective. The second-year pro gained 66 yards on 19 carries and caught one pass for 15 yards in an overtime loss to the Giants.
We have a good read on Marks at this point. He can grind out yards on the ground but isn't especially effective and is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry this season. And although he is known to have some skills as a receiver, C.J. Stroud rarely opts to throw to his running backs. Marks is an uninspiring RB2 or flex option who can keep managers from taking a zero but is unlikely to score more than 10 points.
The return of Jordan Mason caused the Vikings to list their top-two running backs as co-starters on their official depth chart. For the purposes of this article, Jones will be treated as the backup after Mason received seven more carries in Week 7. Admittedly, Jones missed most of the fourth quarter after suffering a knee injury on a 17-yard run. But Mason was already leading the team in carries when Jones left the game.
The Vikings were clear last week that Mason was going to receive a heavy workload. Given that he is five years younger than Jones and has 75 fewer carries this season, it would make sense for Mason to be leaned on in the coming weeks in an effort to keep both players healthy. Jones is now a weak flex option whose case for lineup inclusion would be better if Kyler Murray threw more passes to his running backs.
Although the Cardinals fell behind early and trailed throughout a 30-16 loss to the Broncos, Knight was a bright spot for a second straight week. The 25-year-old averaged 6.9 yards on seven carries after averaging 5.3 yards on 15 carries in the Cardinals' Week 6 win over the Rams. He also caught three passes after tallying two receptions the previous game.
The coaching staff will likely highlight Jeremiyah Love when he returns from an ankle injury, which could happen as soon as this week. But it's worth wondering if Knight is their best rushing option, given that Love is averaging 3.7 yards per carry in comparison to 6.4 for Knight. Given that Love is a skilled receiver who hasn't done much in the passing game as a rookie, it may make sense to divide the carries evenly and give Love more work on third down.
While the QB situation is the hop topic in Las Vegas, the RB workload likely deserves more scrutiny. Washington outperformed Ashton Jeanty yet again in Week 7, with the rookie averaging 4.5 yards on six carries in comparison to 1.9 yards on eight carries for Jeanty.
Jeanty continues to make a massive impact in the passing game, which included a beautiful TD catch in Week 7. But the supposed superstar has averaged less than 4.0 yards per carry in each of his past six games and has a season average of 3.1. Meanwhile, Washington is averaging 4.9 yards per carry, and looks faster and more explosive than Jeanty. Washington doesn't yet have the workload to be a flex option, but he's getting closer after tallying 15 carries and two catches over the past two games.
Although Spears missed Week 7 with a knee injury, there were some developments that worked in his long-term favor. First, Tony Pollard was awesome (25-129-3), which increases his appeal to contending teams. Second, the Titans lost a close game to the Browns, which dropped them to 1-6 and increased the odds that they will opt to deal the 29-year-old Pollard by the Nov. 10 deadline.
To be clear, Spears has no fantasy value in his current role. But for the cost of stashing him for a couple weeks, fantasy managers could have a starting running back for the second half of the season.
The combination of multiple WR injuries and a Christian McCaffrey hamstring ailment in Week 7 gave Black a bigger role in the offense. The rookie responded well to the added workload, averaging 5.3 yards and scoring a touchdown on his 12 carries. Black's success was reminiscent of his Week 1 effort, when he tallied 65 yards on 14 carries in a win over the Rams. In between those two games, his role had been reduced.
The Niners head into their bye week with the hope of having McCaffrey and Mike Evans at full strength in Week 9. In the event that those players are out for an extended period of time, Black would be a viable flex option after the bye. At the very least, he's an interesting player to stash for those who have bench space given McCaffrey's history.
The best of the rest, factoring in current Flex value and long-term potential.
Source: Sports
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