Week 7 Running Back Start/Sit: Jonathan Taylor, Zach Evans, Elijah Mitchell, Jerome Ford and More

In this start/sit article, we will focus on running backs in ambiguous backfields. There have been a lot of injuries and players coming back from injuries over the past few weeks. These are the ones you should start and the ones you should sit. 

Start

Zach Evans, Los Angeles Rams

The Rams lost both Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers last week. This left Zach Evans as the last man standing. However, they have since promoted Royce Freeman from their practice squad, signed Myles Gaskin to their active roster, and signed Darrell Henderson to their practice squad. There are a lot of questions surrounding who will be the player to start for the Rams. We are going with the upside of the talented rookie who was once a top-tier prospect. This is also an excellent matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers who are allowing the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing running backs and rank 29th in the NFL against the run. Evans is the back to roster and should be started this week. 

 

Roschon Johnson, Chicago Bears

Last week we told you to pick up Johnson over D'Onta Foreman and unfortunately, Johnson ended up missing the game with a concussion. This week we are doubling down on that decision and were only made more confident by what we saw in Week 6. Foreman didn't look particularly good in either the rushing or passing game and we expect Johnson to be the top guy this week against the Las Vegas Raiders who aren't particularly good at anything. They are allowing the 11th-most fantasy points to running backs this season, and the Bears will likely lean heavily on that rushing game with Justin Fields expected to be sidelined. Look for Johnson to have a nice day both on the ground and through the air.    

 

Elijah Mitchell, San Francisco 49ers

This is a tough one and we are going on the assumption that Christian McCaffrey sits out this week. If CMC were to play, you probably wouldn't want to start another 49ers' running back despite how much value this backfield holds. The matchup is decent against the Vikings whose rush defense ranks 18th in the league. The question comes down to whether or not you want to start Mitchell who had been the RB2 in San Fran all season before injury or Jordan Mason who served as the lead back last week once CMC went down despite Mitchell being active. We would go with Mitchell over Mason and we would start him. He's proven to be the better player and we expect that to win out this week. This is the Monday Night Football game, so we would strongly advise picking up Mitchell as a pivot option if possible if you own CMC just in case he ends up being a game-time decision.  

 

Keaontay Ingram, Arizona Cardinals

Ingram returned last week and crushed any hopes we had for Emari Demercado becoming a waiver wire gem. After missing multiple weeks with a neck injury, he returned and served as the clear RB1 in James Conner's absence after being the RB2 prior to getting injured. He led the team in both rushing attempts and targets and his role could expand further this week another week removed from injury. Damien Williams continues to lurk behind him, but we doubt he will jump him on the depth chart. The Cards play the Seattle Seahawks in a very average matchup this week as they rank 15th in the NFL when it comes to slowing down fantasy running backs. 

Sit

Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

At best we expect this to be another 50/50 split between JT and Zack Moss, and that's just not enough volume against the Cleveland Browns. This is a brutal matchup against an outstanding Browns' defense that is allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs and the fourth-fewest rushing yards in the league. The only team that has allowed fewer TDs to running backs is the New Orleans Saints. Taylor and Moss both saw the exact same amount of touches and opportunities last week and since Taylor has returned from the IR, Moss has clearly looked like the better back. We wouldn't start either guy this week, but we definitely aren't starting JT. 

 

Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns

This is another backfield that scares us and we aren't sure that Ford is the back that you want to own anymore. Kareem Hunt looked good last week coming off the bye. Not only did he look better than anticipated, but he also saw the valuable touches in the passing game and the red zone. We expect Hunt to further the gap in those two areas moving forward because it's where he excels. For now, we would sit both these backs if possible and see how this backfield shakes out. Last week, touches ended up 19-15 in favor of Ford, which is much closer than we were hoping.  

 

Gus Edwards, Baltimore Ravens

Edwards is playing the majority of the snaps and leading the team in carries, nevertheless, he's still not the most valuable fantasy back. Justice Hill has looked better and is getting more work in the passing attack and scoring more TDs. Last week, Edwards averaged a measly 2.6 yards per carry to Hill's 4.4, and Hill out-targeted him three-to-one. This week the matchup is a nightmare and this backfield should be completely avoided. The Ravens take on the Lions who boast the league's best run defense allowing just 64.7 yards per game on the ground. They are also allowing the fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs allowing just two TDs all season, 47.17 rushing yards, and 20.83 receiving yards per game to running backs this year. This is an easy bench option this week.