The running back by committee approach is taking the NFL by storm, where two or three runners are playing instead of one workhorse running back on many NFL teams. According to ESPN on Oct. 2, the St. Louis Rams said they will probably play all the running backs who are active in their week five game, making none of them worth starting in fantasy football.
Here are the fantasy football start em or sit em options for week five running backs.
Start ‘Em
Ray Rice – One of the biggest disappointments this season has been Ray Rice, a first round running back who has been playing like a backup. This week, John Harbaugh said that he will get Rice involved in every part of the offense this week, and that does not bode well for a Miami defense that struggles to stop the run.
Maurice Jones-Drew – Even worse than Rice is MJD. After calling himself a first round fantasy football running back before the season started, he has struggled along with his team. However, the St. Louis Rams have the worst rushing defense in the NFL and MJD might finally have a good game.
DeMarco Murray – A lot of people think that Tony Romo will do nothing but throw the ball against the Denver Broncos, but Dallas needs to run the ball to have a chance to beat Denver. It may come as a surprise, but DeMarco Murray is the third leading rusher in the NFL.
Sit ‘Em
Ryan Mathews – After Mathews looked good against the Cowboys last week, fantasy football owners might be fooled into giving him a chance. This week, he plays an Oakland Raiders team that is not very good. The problem is that Oakland has a nice rush defense and Mathews still isn’t very good.
Rashard Mendenhall – It will just be a matter of time before Mendenhall loses his starting job to one of the Cardinals’ young rookie running backs. He has only broke seven fantasy points once this season and won’t do much better against Carolina in a new committee backfield.
Chris Johnson – It is about time to stick a fork in Chris Johnson. He is nothing more now than an ordinary running back, and sometimes looks worse than that. The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the best teams in the NFL and they have the third best rush defense when it comes to fantasy football stats. He is borderline at best.
