David Montgomery is returning in Week 10 and we're ranking both him and Jahmyr Gibbs as starters against the Chargers. That's not because we're targeting the Chargers' run defense it's actually much improved, it's because of how heavily the Lions have leaned on their running backs. 

Detroit is averaging 30.5 rush attempts per game which ranks fourth in the NFL behind only the Ravens, Eagles, and Browns. Of course, Jared Goff doesn't run near as often as Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, or Deshaun Watson. The Lions are also one of only nine teams that has more rushing touchdowns than games played and their 17% running target share ranks right around league average. 

It's not hard to see why the Lions project so well for running back usage. What is more difficult is projecting the share for Montgomery and Gibbs. Week 2 is the only week this season that they both played more than 40% of the snaps. In that game Montgomery saw 17 touches and totaled 74 yards and 14.4 PPR Fantasy points while Gibbs saw 14 touches for 56 yards and 12.6 PPR Fantasy points. Of course, that was befoe Gibbs exploded in Week 8 without Montgomery.

My early Week 10 projection has Montgomery at RB13 with 18 carries and one catch while Gibbs sits at RB15 with 10 carries and four grabs. I'm comfortably starting both and eagerly anticipating more information about how Dan Campbell will deploy this duo in the second half of the season. 

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You can find more in my weekly projections over at SportsLine. Now let's get to the rest of the Week 10 RB Preview:

Week 10 RB Preview

Who's Out
Numbers to Know
Matchups That Matter
Waiver Wire Targets
DFS Plays
Projections
RB Preview
Who's Out

The following players are not being projected to play Week 10 at this time. Here's what it means:

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Cam Akers RB
MIN Minnesota • #31
Age: 24 • Experience: 3 yrs.
Alexander is still the lead back, but Ty Chandler should get involved again.
RB Preview
Numbers to know
  • 74% -- Jonathan Taylor played a season-high 74% of the snaps in Week 9. He's a top-five running back rest of season.
  • 3.51 -- James Conner ranks top five in both yards befor contact per rush (1.84) and yards after contact per rush (3.51). If he's back in Week 10 he's a top-12 running back as long as he's healthy.
  • 77.8% -- Nearly 80% of Keaton Mitchell's rushes have gone for five yards or more.
  • 12.5% -- 12.5% of Jaylen Warren's rushes have gone for at least 12 yards. That leads all running backs with at least 40 rushes.
  • 30 -- Javonte Williams had 30 touches in the Broncos' last game before the bye. We should expect him to be fully unleashed in the second half of the season as a top-20 running back with top 12 upside.
RB Preview
Matchups that matter
Matchups that Matter
Projections powered by Sportsline
Khalil Herbert RB
CHI Chicago • #24
Age: 26 • Experience: 4 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs CAR CHI -3.5 O/U 39

OPP VS RB

6th

PROJ PTS

7.9

RB RNK

24th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

272

REC

10

REYDS

83

TD

1

FPTS/G

10.3
Gus Edwards RB
LAC L.A. Chargers • #35
Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs CLE BAL -6 O/U 37.5

OPP VS RB

30th

PROJ PTS

9.5

RB RNK

27th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

478

REC

6

REYDS

107

TD

7

FPTS/G

12.1
Jerome Ford RB
CLE Cleveland • #34
Age: 24 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ BAL BAL -6 O/U 37.5

OPP VS RB

14th

PROJ PTS

10.6

RB RNK

22nd

YTD Stats

RUYDS

425

REC

20

REYDS

139

TD

4

FPTS/G

12.6
Bijan Robinson RB
ATL Atlanta • #7
Age: 22 • Experience: 2 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ ARI ATL -1 O/U 42.5

OPP VS RB

32nd

PROJ PTS

15.5

RB RNK

16th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

517

REC

28

REYDS

197

TD

3

FPTS/G

12.6
Tony Pollard RB
TEN Tennessee • #20
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs NYG DAL -16 O/U 38.5

OPP VS RB

25th

PROJ PTS

13.8

RB RNK

9th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

474

REC

29

REYDS

190

TD

2

FPTS/G

13.4
RB Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 10 Adds (RB Preview)
Zach Charbonnet RB
SEA Seattle • #26
Age: 23 • Experience: 2 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs WAS SEA -6.5 O/U 44.5

OPP VS RB

3rd

RB RNK

34th

ROSTERED

65%

YTD Stats

RUYDS

170

REC

9

REYDS

52

TD

0

FPTS/G

4.5
Two weeks in a row Charbonnet has played more snaps than Ken Walker. We don't think this trend will continue, and Charbonnet isn't seeing enough touches to be a starter, but he should certainly be rostered in more than 65% of leagues. If he takes over this backfield he will be a top-15 running back on a weekly basis.
Antonio Gibson RB
NE New England • #24
Age: 25 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ SEA SEA -6.5 O/U 44.5

OPP VS RB

8th

RB RNK

32nd

ROSTERED

45%

YTD Stats

RUYDS

124

REC

25

REYDS

227

TD

1

FPTS/G

6.9
Gibson is the best band aid available on the waiver wire. He has five targets in back-to-back games and just saw a season-high 11 touches. Seattle is giving up four and a half catches per game to running backs. Gibson should have a decent PPR floor in Week 10.
Stashes (RB Preview)
Ty Chandler RB
MIN Minnesota • #32
Age: 26 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs NO NO -3 O/U 41

OPP VS RB

7th

RB RNK

NR

ROSTERED

11%

YTD Stats

RUYDS

42

REC

5

REYDS

43

TD

0

FPTS/G

1.5
With the injury to Cam Akers, Chandler should get another crack at the RB2 role in Minnesota. Alexander Mattison has struggled with both inefficiency and fumbles, which makes him one of the more likely backs to get benched for something other than an injury. Chandler would likely be the beneficiary if that happens.
RB Preview
DFS Plays
Top DFS Play
Projections powered by Sportsline
Christian McCaffrey RB
SF San Francisco • #23
Age: 27 • Experience: 8 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ JAC SF -3 O/U 45.5

OPP VS RB

7th

PROJ PTS

0

RB RNK

1st

YTD Stats

RUYDS

652

REC

32

REYDS

292

TD

13

FPTS/G

25.1
Welcome Christian McCaffrey back this week by anchoring your cash game lineup with him. The superstar back has topped 20 Fantasy points in all but two games this season. There is no safer player in Fantasy on a week-to-week basis.
Contrarian DFS Play
Projections powered by Sportsline
Kenneth Walker III RB
SEA Seattle • #9
Age: 23 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs WAS SEA -6 O/U 45.5

OPP VS RB

16th

PROJ PTS

13.9

RB RNK

13th

YTD Stats

RUYDS

532

REC

15

REYDS

111

TD

6

FPTS/G

14.4
I mostly believe that Ken Walker losing snaps the past two weeks is a product of game script, not his play. The script should be far more favorable in Week 10 against the Commanders. Walker's Seahawks are six-point favorites at home which is generally a smash spot for RB1s. But I expect his roster rate to be held down by the last two games. Take advantage of that in tournaments.
RB Preview
Heath's Projections

My full set of Week 10 Fantasy Football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 10. Projected stats for all starting quarterbacks are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.