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Week 10 has officially arrived in the NFL and fantasy football, and if you managed to win your Week 9 matchup with a lot of top running backs on a bye, then congratulations. Now, we turn our attention to the Week 10 start 'em sit 'em running backs for fantasy football.
Who should start and who should sit?
Here's the fantasy football start 'em sit 'em running backs list for this week's action.
Week 10 Start ‘Em: Running Backs
D'Onta Foreman, Carolina Panthers
Foreman was a complete non-factor in Carolina's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, but anyone who watched the game knows that talent had nothing to do with it. The Panthers trailed 35-0 at halftime and had no incentive to run the ball, which led to Foreman having only seven carries for 23 yards. Things should look much different in a rematch with the Atlanta Falcons, especially considering he earned a top-five fantasy football finish by rushing for 118 yards and three touchdowns against them in Week 8. Obviously, expecting three touchdowns may be unrealistic, but Foreman should have a heavy workload since fellow running back Chuba Hubbard has been a limited participant in practice ahead of the Thursday night matchup.
Cordarrelle Patterson, Atlanta Falcons
Speaking of Falcons vs. Panthers, another running back who could be set for success is Patterson. He made his return to the field in Week 9, and Arthur Smith once again found a way to get the ball in his hands. Patterson had 13 carries for 44 yards and two touchdowns against the Los Angeles Chargers, thus giving him a lot of momentum heading into the tilt with Carolina. Yes, the same Carolina team that just gave up five touchdowns to Bengals running back Joe Mixon. Even with a potential split workload with Tyler Allgeier (or Caleb Huntley), there's reason to have confidence in Patterson in the third-best fantasy matchup for running backs (25.7 ppg allowed) in the league.
Jeff Wilson Jr., Miami Dolphins
Full disclosure: There is some risk involved with this particular start. That, of course, is because Wilson is technically the second running back on the depth chart behind Raheem Mostert. But head coach Mike McDaniel made it clear last week that Wilson is going to factor into the offense moving forward, with the former San Francisco 49ers running back earning 12 touches and converting that into 15 fantasy football points. Again, it's risky to bank on someone with that amount of touches, but there's reason to believe that number is only going to go up moving forward since he actually played more snaps than Mostert. There's higher value in playing Wilson in PPR leagues, but against a Cleveland Browns team that allows the fourth-most points to opposing running backs, his ceiling could be better than people think even in standard leagues.
Week 10 Sit ‘Em: Running Backs
Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers
There are a lot of potential reasons for Harris's fantasy football struggles this season, but the numbers are what they are at this point. He has only three top-20 fantasy finishes in eight games, including finishing RB30 or lower in four of the past five games. Then there's the statistic of Harris only having one game of over 65 yards rushing and just three total touchdowns. The Steelers will give him the volume due to having a rookie quarterback in Kenny Pickett, but it seems like the upside is limited for virtually everyone in this offense. Harris has a solid matchup in Week 10 against a New Orleans Saints team that allowed 188 yards on the ground to the Baltimore Ravens last week, but this offense has such a low fantasy ceiling that it's difficult to be excited about playing him.
D'Andre Swift, Detroit Lions
As long as Jamaal Williams is playing, it's hard to envision a scenario where Swift is ever a confident start. The Lions said they would ease Swift back into things in their Week 9 game against the Green Bay Packers, and that was the case as he had only five touches in a limited workload. Maybe he gets more involved in a matchup against the Chicago Bears (allowing the fifth-most points to fantasy RBs), or maybe he doesn't. The lack of confidence in that answer makes Swift a sit for now until he returns to being the primary back in Detroit.
Deon Jackson, Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are in the middle of a three-game losing streak that has included the firing of Frank Reich and a quarterback switch from Matt Ryan to Sam Ehlinger. Meanwhile, starting running back Jonathan Taylor didn't play last week due to injury, which led to Jackson being thrust into the main role. He struggled against a talented New England Patriots defense (11 carries for 23 yards) but gets a favorable matchup this week against the Las Vegas Raiders (allowing seventh-most points to opposing running backs). The reason he's in the sit category is less about talent and more about the situation. While the Raiders just gave up a big game to Travis Etienne, the Colts have no one on the current staff who has called plays, and who knows what Jackson's role will be even if Taylor sits again.
