Fantasy football, Week 5: Best players available at running back in waivers, free agency

This is a pivotal week for fantasy owners as the first quarter of the NFL ends and bye weeks begin. Injuries slashed starting running backs around the league Sunday and left many owners scrambling to replace some of the best fantasy rushers this season. There is no need to panic though. Looking at the waiver wires, there is a lot of talent waiting to be picked up out there that can pick up the slack and get you through the bye week stretch. So without further ado, here are the top running backs to get off waivers now before they are gone.

Jones stepped up big after Ty Montgomery and Jamaal Williams went down with injuries. In his first game action of the regular season, the Packers fifth-round pick carried the ball 13 times for 49 yards and a touchdown behind a depleted Green Bay offensive line. Jones value will be contingent on Montgomery and Williams availability Sunday. He is looking at a favorable matchup against the Dallas Cowboys either way. Whether Jones starts or not, he should see significant action. Owners should jump on Jones while he is ascending in Green Bay.

When the Vikings rookie rusher Dalvin Cook went down with a torn ACL Sunday, many owners were left scrambling to find his replacement. Look no further than former Oakland Raider Latavius Murray. Murray is going to share the workload with Jerick McKinnon if McKinnon, who tweaked his ankle in the same game is healthy. Expect Murray to be the feature back handling most of the carries and McKinnon will work into the offense as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. Murray pales to compare to Cook, however, he could be a good streaming option some weeks and is a no-brainer for deep leagues. Murray is getting scooped up fast this week so owners better move for him quickly.

The situation in Seattle’s backfield is a mess now that Chris Carson is out for the year with a broken leg, but that is a good thing for Thomas Rawls. Rawls dealt with an ankle injury early in the season and has been limited on the field for Seattle. Week 4 he was a healthy scratch. Despite, all of his problems, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has implied that Rawls will once again take over as the starting running back in Seattle. He will share the load with Eddie Lacy, J.D. McKissic, and C.J. Prosise this week, but if Rawls gets hot he will take a lot of snaps and get a ton of touches. He is worth the add for deep league owners for sure.

Collins is working his way up the depth chart in Baltimore. Averaging just over eight yards per carry the sophomore rusher leads the team in rushing yards with 206 on just 25 carries. Collins has 47 yards more than starter Buck Allen on 20 fewer carries. The Ravens are not sold on Collins because he coughs up the ball. He has already lost two fumbles this season. If Collins can get more consistent with his ball handling, he could land the starter role before this season is over. He is a smart add in all leagues and even worth a start against Oakland Sunday, but owners looking to stock up for later should definitely grab and stash Collins.