Week 5 RB Rankings: Omarion Hampton and Woody Marks Lead Freedman's Favorites
Matthew Freedman reveals his favorite running back plays for fantasy football in Week 5, including Omarion Hampton, Woody Marks, Kendre Miller and more.
It's Week 5.
That means we're almost a quarter of the way through the NFL regular season.
Time flies. Time lies. Time dies.
In the immortal words of Scott Stapp: "No time for mourning, ain't got no time."
Let's get into the Week 5 RB edition of Freedman's Favorites, where I highlight guys I'm upgrading because of:
- Favorable betting factors and situational spots
- Advantageous defensive matchups (perhaps aided by injury)
- Increased usage expectations (again, maybe aided by injury)
For process notes regarding this series, my weekly rankings and my weekly projections, see the end of this piece. Also, check out the rest of my favorite Week 5 fantasy football plays.
To see our full rankings and projections, use the promo code FREEDMAN for 20% off the FantasyLife+ package.
Week 5 Running Back Rankings
Omarion Hampton Charges Up the Week 5 RB Ranks
For the second week in a row, I'm highlighting at the top of this piece Omarion Hampton (Matthew Berry's "Ride or Die")—and for good reason!
After a slow first two games (86 yards, no TDs), he has gone off for 294 yards and two TDs on 31 carries and 12 targets over the past two weeks, with 20+ fantasy points in each game (per our Fantasy Life Scoring Matrix).
Since Week 3, when No. 2 RB Najee Harris (Achilles, IR) was lost for the season, Hampton is the No. 4 RB in Utilization Score (94, per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report).
And last week, in his first full game without Harris, Hampton was the No. 2 RB in snap rate (88%), and he was literally the only Chargers RB to get an opportunity (outside of FB Scott Matlock, who had one target).
For the Commanders, QB Jayden Daniels (knee) is once again uncertain, and if he's out then they might struggle on offense, which could result in extra clock-killing drives for the Chargers, who are 2.5-point home favorites.
Just four games into his NFL career, Hampton is comfortably a fantasy RB1.
I think he offers value in the awards market to win Offensive Rookie of the Year (+500).
Woody Marks to Dominate Texans Backfield in Week 5
It's easy to be skeptical of Woody Marks.
First of all, he's a Day 3 rookie who turns 25 years old in December. Second, he's on the Texans, who have one of the league's worst OLs. Third, the Texans are consensus 3.5-point road underdogs.
And fourth, he chooses to go by "Woody" instead of his legal name, Jo'Quavious.
How can I trust a guy to hit the right hole and set up his blocks as a runner and pick up blitzers as a pass protector when he doesn't have the good judgment to know that Jo'Quavious > Woody?
Even so, I like him this week.
In his first three games, he did little (90 yards, no TDs), but in Week 4 he exploded for 119 yards and two TDs on 17 carries and five targets as he forced a backfield split with veteran starter Nick Chubb.
Given the success he had, I expect Marks to have an even bigger role in the Texans backfield this week, and he has a friendly matchup against the Ravens, who are No. 1 in most fantasy points allowed to RBs (30.8).
Additionally, the Ravens are significantly hampered in their front seven: DTs Nnamdi Madubuike (neck, IR) and Broderick Washington (ankle, IR) are out, EDGE Kyle Van Noy (hamstring) and DT Travis Jones (knee) both missed Week 4, and LB Roquan Smith (hamstring) is questionable after exiting last week early.
Under the assumption that Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (hamstring) is expected to be out 2-3 weeks, we have the Texans as a five-star bet in our Fantasy Life Game Model.
Marks needs to be rostered and probably started in every league.
Kendre Miller Is a Bye-Week Flex Flier in Week 5
Kendre Miller entered the league in 2023 as a hyped 21-year-old Day 2 rookie fresh off a 1,500-yard campaign for No. 2 TCU, but injuries (hamstring, ankle, concussion) and a feud with former HC Dennis Allen kept him on the sideline for much of his first two seasons.
This year, though, he has been the clear No. 2 RB for the Saints behind starter Alvin Kamara, and his usage has steadily increased each game.
- Week 1: 13% snap rate | five carries
- Week 2: 16% snap rate | five carries, one target
- Week 3: 27% snap rate | seven carries, two targets
- Week 4: 32% snap rate | 11 carries
The result: Even though the Saints last week were competitive with the Bills into the middle of the fourth quarter of their 31-19 loss, Miller still shared the backfield with Kamara and had 65 yards and a TD.
How much more work could he get in a win?
While it might seem unbelievable that the 0-4 Saints could get a victory this week, they're currently 1.5-point home favorites.
How?
They're facing the Giants, who are No. 32 in defensive rush EPA (0.167, per RBs Don't Matter) and defensive rush DVOA (28.1%, per FTN).
With the possibility that Kamara could be traded in the coming weeks, Miller is an upside speculative waiver add—he's certainly worth a look in Guillotine Leagues™️—and he might offer flex functionality this week as a bye fill-in.
The Checkdown
James Cook (Bills) vs. Patriots: This is the third straight home game for the Bills and their fourth in five weeks. They're 7.5-point favorites. And Cook is the only player in the league with 100 yards and a TD in every game. He's -205 to score a TD this week … and I don't think those odds are short enough (DraftKings, per our Fantasy Life Prop Bet Finder).
Ashton Jeanty (Raiders) at Colts: Last week, Zamir White was a gameday inactive and Dylan Laube played zero offensive snaps—and Jeanty finally broke out with 155 yards and three TDs on 21 carries and two targets. The backfield is now fully his, and the Colts are No. 31 in defensive rush SR (49.4%).
Trey Benson (Cardinals) vs. Titans: The Cardinals have three extra days coming off Thursday Night Football, and this is their second straight home game. Benson hasn't done much as the No. 1 RB over the past two games (105 yards, no TDs), but he's had decent usage (18 carries, nine targets). The Titans are missing NT T'Vondre Sweat (ankle, IR), and they're No. 1 in largest fantasy boost allowed to RBs (+7.9).
Quinshon Judkins (Browns) vs. Vikings (in London): Judkins flashed in his Week 2 tuneup (71 yards on 10 carries, three targets, 20 snaps), and then in Weeks 3-4 he put up 210 yards and two TDs on 39 carries and six targets—despite playing in an offense that scored just 23 points combined. This is a #RevengeGame for HC Kevin Stefanski against his former team (2006-19), and the Vikings are No. 28 in defensive rush DVOA (0.3%).
Travis Etienne (Jaguars) vs. Chiefs: With 426 yards and three TDs on 65 carries and 10 targets in four games, Etienne is thriving in HC Liam Coen's offense. The Jags are 3.5-point dogs, but they're at home, and the Chiefs are No. 31 in defensive rush EPA (0.131).
Notes
Byes: This week, the Falcons, Bears, Packers and Steelers are on bye.
Injuries: Since I write Freedman's Favorites on Tuesday, I have incomplete injury information. After I submit this article, any updated thoughts I have regarding injuries will manifest in my rankings and projections. For our quick fantasy thoughts every day, subscribe to the Fantasy Life newsletter.
Schedule: This season, I have the following rankings and projections schedule.
- Tue AM: Publish rankings and projections
- Thu AM: Refresh rankings and projections
- Thu PM: Make necessary TNF rankings changes
- Sat PM: Update rankings and projections
- Sun AM: Revise rankings
- Sun PM: Finalize rankings based on news prior to 1 p.m. ET kickoff
Accuracy: I'm a six-time top-20 ranker in accuracy and a long-time profitable player prop better.
Scoring: All fantasy points are half-PPR scoring unless otherwise stated.
Cohesion: My positional breakdowns are published separately, but I think of them as comprising one whole, so check out the rest of my favorite Week 5 fantasy football plays (via my Fantasy Life author page).
Abbreviations: Here are some abbreviations I might have used in the piece.
- Fantasy Points per Game (FPPG)
- Against the Spread (ATS)
- Over/Under (O/U)
- Team Total (TT)
- Moneyline (ML)
- Return on Investment (ROI)
- Adjusted Yards per Attempt (AY/A)
- Expected Points Added (EPA)
- Success Rate (SR)
- Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE)
- Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA)
- AirYAC (Air Yards + Yards After Catch)
- Weighted Opportunity Rating (WOPR)
- Average Depth of Target (aDOT)
- Short Down and Distance (SDD)
- Long Down and Distance (LDD)
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