Top 10 Running Back Studs - Best Fantasy Football RB Performances Including Christian McCaffrey, David Montgomery, Bijan Robinson and more

October 2, 2023

The top ranked running back fantasy football scorers - are these RB trade targets, risers and sleepers from Week 4 of 2023? Kyle reacts to the best fantasy RB performances and how to best assess your squads for the rest of the 2023 fantasy season.

We are now just about one month or a quarter of the way into the 2023 NFL season. NFL offenses have shown us their hand as to who they plan on giving the ball to each week. While the sample size is still too small to draw absolute conclusions for, we're at a point where you shouldn't be shy about selling-high or buying-low on certain players. WR Ja'Marr Chase's slow start on the Bengals this year for fantasy is making a lot of fantasy football managers re-think their belief in him as the 1.02 going ahead of Christian McCaffrey in a lot of drafts.

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor is eligible to return from injured reserve in Week 5 and Chargers RB Austin Ekeler should return in Week 6 once Los Angeles comes back from their bye. Speaking of which, four teams will head to a bye in Week 5: the Browns, Bucs, Chargers, and Seahawks. This will now make fantasy teams who are short at running back start to feel the pain of more complicated roster decisions. Might be see Jonathan Taylor traded this week?

Ready to dive in and see who were the top backs? Here are the Week 4 Top 10 RB MVPs, based on half-PPR fantasy scores (excluding Monday Night Football). For those of you who are in need of some real-time stats, bookmark our live fantasy scoreboard to your browser. You'll get live updates, top performances, and more – because who doesn't love some live fantasy action?

Top 10 Running Backs Of The Week

Here are the top 10 running back from Week 4 of the 2023 NFL season in half-PPR scoring:

1. Christian McCaffrey, Kansas City Chiefs

If this keeps up, it's time to start talking about CMC as the MVP of the 2023 fantasy season, but as the 2023 NFL MVP as well. Despite being 27 years old, McCaffrey has shown no signs of slowing down and is an absolute force in Kyle Shanahan's 49ers offense. CMC carried the rock 20 times for 106 yards and 3 TDs while hauling in 7 of his 8 targets for 71 yards and another TD. Seriously, there is nothing this guy can't do. Despite how good Vikings WR Justin Jefferson has been as well, it's not hard to make the case that CMC should have been the 1.01 in drafts. So far on the year, CMC has finished as the RB3, RB7, RB5, and RB1 in half-PPR formats. Just a monster.

All the offseason talk about how the 49ers planned on spelling McCaffrey with Elijah Mitchell and others simply hasn't happened. Even in a game where they won handily, 35-16, CMC played 47 of the 55 offensive snaps (85%). Some of the usage was funneled McCaffrey's way after WR Deebo Samuel was banged up and Mitchell was also inactive with a knee injury. There could be a situation where CMC slows down towards the end of the season, but right now he is an absolute force as San Francisco is 4-0 and heading into their matchup on Sunday Night Football next week against the Dallas Cowboys.

2. David Montgomery, Detroit Lions

Despite us in the fantasy community thumbing our noses up at head coaches Dan Campbell and Sean McVay continuing to feature inefficient running backs heavily in their offenses, both backs are beloved by their head coaches and sometimes that's all that matters. After being questionable ahead of TNF dealing with a thigh bruise, Monty saw a 71 percent snap share while getting 32 carries and rumbled for 121 yards and 3 TDs. He also saw 2 targets and finished with 2 receptions for 20 yards. Monty has been an absolute thorn into the side of Jahmyr Gibbs fantasy managers and while it does seem odd that the Lions aren't featuring the No. 12 overall pick in the draft enough, Detroit is 3-1 and in full command of the NFC North. As much as we might hate it for fantasy, winning comes first. Monty is a must-start in all formats going forward.

3. Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams

Another week, another awesome game from Kyren Williams. Despite all the talk of him being an undersized back (195 lbs.) and having a slow 40 yard dash time at the NFL Combine, none of that seems to matter. After RB Cam Akers was shipped to Minnesota, Williams has seized full command of the Rams backfield. Their offense is back and they now sit at 2-2 on the season. On Sunday, Williams saw 25 carries for 103 yards and 2 TDs while catching all 3 of his targets for 24 yards. The Rams won in dramatic fashion in overtime and now their offense gets WR Cooper Kupp coming back off of injured reserve. Can Williams sustain the heavy workload he is receiving? So far he's finished as an RB7 or better in half-PPR formats in 3 out of 4 weeks and continues to impress.

4. De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins

Miami's high-powered offense came to a screeching halt on Sunday as they were handily defeated by the Bills in Buffalo, 48-20. Their offense was due for an inevitable letdown after hanging a 70-burger on the Broncos defense the week before. What's encouraging for Achane is how he has started to seize control of the Dolphins backfield. Achane had just 8 carries but ran for 101 yards and 2 TDs. He also had 5 targets and finished with 3 receptions for 19 yards. While he may not get a full workload just yet, Achane has the ability to be ultra-efficient with his touches. Head Coach Mike McDaniel will get back to his savvy ways in terms of scheme, so don't expect their offense to be stifled like this normally. Achane should be viewed as a high-end RB2 with upside every week. You don't want him popping off on your bench.

T-5. Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders

After getting off to a slow start in the first 3 games, Jacobs carried the ball 17 times for 58 yards and a TD, but saw an impressive 10 targets and finished with 8 receptions for 81 yards. The Raiders were without starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo and backup Aidan O'Connell played under center. The Raiders competed in the game but fell to 1-3. Their offense has been better than advertised and might end up being better for fantasy this year than expected. All of the work has been hyper-consolidated between Jacobs and WRs Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers and their defense hasn't been able to stop anybody. It may not always be pretty, but Jacobs has no competition for touches in this backfield and should be viewed as a middling RB1 every week.

T-5. Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans

And just like that, the King has returned. After three slower than normal starts like Jacobs above, Henry got back to his hard hitting ways on Sunday. He rushed 22 times for 122 yards and a TD while finishing with 1 reception for 11 yards. The Titans handily beat the Bengals, 27-3 in a surprise win. Tennessee had been badly beaten by the Browns the week before by the same score. There is some concern for Henry as he is now getting older running behind a worse offensive line in an offense that hasn't been great, but he was able to get loose on Sunday. Tyjae Spears has been a problem seeing close to an equal snap share with Henry and appears to have taken much of the RB receiving work. There isn't much you can do with Henry right now besides enjoy the ride until the wheels fall off.

7. Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs

Maybe the angriest runner in the NFL, Pacheco appears to be the RB to roster on the Chiefs for fantasy. After finishing as the RB11 in Week 3, Pacheco was the RB7 on the week with 20 carries for 115 yards and a TD. He also had 3 targets and finished with 3 receptions for 43 yards. There is always the threat of Pacheco losing all receiving work to Jerick McKinnon, but having the lead back in an Andy Reid offense is usually good for fantasy. None of the pass catchers in their offense have stepped up yet and Pacheco is best viewed as a middling RB2 with upside for the time being. Expect this offense to get better as the season goes on. As encouraging as Pacheco's current usage is, he is not safely entrenched by any means.

8. Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears

There were plenty of reports on Sunday morning that rookie RB Roschon Johnson would see a heavier workload than Herbert, but that didn't happen. The Bears were involved in a shootout with the Broncos that they lost by a score of 31-28. Herbert dominated with a 75 percent snapshare and saw all the work on third-downs as well. He ran the ball 18 times for 103 yards and caught 4 of his 5 targets for 19 yards and a TD. The Bears offense looked better, but they aren't out of the woods yet. Denver's defense had just given up 70 points the week before and this team has it's work cutout for it the rest of the way. The Bears play the Commanders, Vikings, and Raiders over the next 3 weeks. You can be encouraged by Herbert's usage, but tread carefully.

9. Jaleel McLaughlin, Denver Broncos

In a bit of a surprise move, the undrafted rookie RB from Youngstown State took over for Javonte Williams on Sunday and filled in nicely. McLaughlin ran the ball 7 times for 72 yards and caught all 3 of his targets for 32 yards and a TD. We don't know what to expect from Denver's offense yet, but McLaughlin would be a Week 5 waiver target if Williams were to miss any time. There is still the threat of Samaje Perine seeing plenty of touches in the Broncos backfield, but so far QB Russell Wilson has looked better and with how bad their defense is, Denver is going to have to keep scoring, which is obviously great for fantasy purposes.

10. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

This one is just so frustrating for fantasy managers. It's easy to see that from a pure-talent standpoint, Bijan is up there with CMC and Austin Ekeler. However, he is being held back by poor QB play and the Falcons have sputtered to a 2-2 record after starting 2-0. Bijan has finished as an RB10 or better in 3 out of 4 weeks and on Sunday he carried the rock 14 times for 105 yards while catching all 5 of his targets for 32 yards. He did not find the end zone, but every time Robinson touches the ball he just leaves you in pure awe. Not only is he such a fluid runner, but he's an even better receiver as well. The good news is that Bijan has started to completely take over the backfield from fellow RB Tyler Allgeier and finished with an 83 percent snapshare yesterday. He is a middling RB1 with upside the rest of the way.

Looking Forward to the Rest of 2023

How did your teams fare in Week 4? While we want to take into account important factors that affect running backs like team usage and snap shares, it is vital that we don't completely overreact and abandon our process. If you have any potential trade questions, as well questions involving waivers or start/sit, be sure to follow us here at RotoBaller with up-to-date fantasy news and team reports.

Are there any running backs not on this list who you expect to bounce back in Week Five? If you have any FAAB or waiver questions as well, feel free to get at me on Twitter.

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