The winds of change could be coming to the Cincinnati Bengals’ backfield. Giovani Bernard was surprisingly named the starter in Week 5 over the incumbent Jeremy Hill, who has a chest injury that helped limit him to four carries for 12 yards on Sunday.
Even before the injury, Hill was relatively ineffective as the starting running back. Meanwhile, Bernard has quietly caught the second-most passes (25) of any running back this season, trailing only Theo Riddick (26).
So even before Bernard was starting, he was just another example of how backs can come off the bench to make a huge impact in PPR leagues. If Bernard becomes the feature back in Cincinnati’s offense, he could be in for as big a jump in fantasy production as any back going forward.
Here are our staff consensus PPR rankings heading into Week 6.
Running backs (PPR), Week 6
(ZS: Zach Senvisky, JM: Jason Marcum, SK: Scott Kaliska, JG: Jeff Goldberg, KB: Kyle Bennett, DG: Derek Gordon)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | ZS | JM | SK | JG | KB | DG |
| 1 | Le'Veon Bell | PIT | @ MIA | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | DeMarco Murray | TEN | vs. CLE | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | David Johnson | ARI | vs. NYJ | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | vs. SF | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | @ GB | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Lamar Miller | HOU | vs. IND | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| 7 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | @ SD | 12 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | Todd Gurley | LA | @ DET | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| 8 | Melvin Gordon | SD | vs. DEN | 15 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| 10 | Mark Ingram | NO | vs. CAR | 11 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 14 |
| 11 | Christine Michael | SEA | vs. ATL | 9 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| 11 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | @ SEA | 13 | 16 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 13 |
| 13 | Matt Forte | NYJ | @ ARI | 18 | 10 | 21 | 10 | 14 | 10 |
| 14 | Carlos Hyde | SF | @ BUF | 10 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 18 |
| 15 | Eddie Lacy | GB | vs. DAL | 23 | 13 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 11 |
| 16 | Jordan Howard | CHI | vs. JAC | 8 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 19 |
| 17 | Frank Gore | IND | @ HOU | 21 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
| 17 | Ryan Mathews | PHI | @ WAS | 17 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 |
| 19 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | @ SEA | 24 | 18 | 26 | 18 | 18 | 16 |
| 20 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | @ NE | 19 | 26 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 |
| 21 | Theo Riddick | DET | vs. LA | 14 | 29 | 15 | 23 | 23 | 22 |
| 22 | Terrance West | BAL | @ NYG | 25 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 20 |
| 23 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | @ NE | 20 | 21 | 33 | 21 | 21 | 23 |
| 24 | LeGarrette Blount | NE | vs. CIN | 22 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| 24 | Spencer Ware | KC | @ OAK | 32 | 24 | 32 | 24 | 24 | 26 |
| 26 | Matt Jones | WAS | vs. PHI | 28 | 25 | 29 | 27 | 26 | 27 |
| 27 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | @ TEN | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 |
| 28 | Jamaal Charles | KC | @ OAK | 16 | 37 | 16 | 34 | 32 | 37 |
| 29 | T.J. Yeldon | JAC | @ CHI | 29 | 32 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 31 |
| 30 | James White | NE | vs. CIN | 26 | 34 | 24 | 31 | 33 | 32 |
| 31 | Cameron Artis-Payne | CAR | @ NO | 34 | 28 | 37 | 28 | 29 | 29 |
| 32 | Latavius Murray | OAK | vs. KC | 50 | 22 | 40 | 26 | 27 | 24 |
| 33 | Darren Sproles | PHI | @ WAS | 39 | 30 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 30 |
| 34 | Duke Johnson | CLE | @ TEN | 49 | 35 | 25 | 33 | 30 | 33 |
| 35 | Jay Ajayi | MIA | vs. PIT | 36 | 38 | 34 | 36 | 36 | 39 |
| 36 | Bilal Powell | NYJ | @ ARI | 31 | 44 | 31 | 39 | 38 | 40 |
| 37 | DeAndre Washington | OAK | vs. KC | 30 | 43 | 36 | 38 | 39 | 43 |
| 38 | Orleans Darkwa | NYG | vs. BAL | 41 | 31 | 50 | 37 | 37 | 34 |
| 39 | Devontae Booker | DEN | @ SD | 46 | 33 | 48 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| 40 | Chris Thompson | WAS | vs. PHI | 37 | 41 | 38 | 41 | 42 | 41 |
| 41 | Derrick Henry | TEN | vs. CLE | 38 | 40 | 42 | 42 | 41 | 38 |
| 41 | DeAngelo Williams | PIT | @ MIA | 47 | 36 | 45 | 40 | 40 | 36 |
| 43 | Fozzy Whittaker | CAR | @ NO | 33 | 42 | 35 | 45 | 44 | -- |
| 44 | Chris Ivory | JAC | @ CHI | 44 | 39 | 39 | 43 | 45 | 42 |
| 45 | Alfred Morris | DAL | @ GB | -- | 47 | -- | 44 | 43 | 44 |
| 46 | Kenyan Drake | MIA | vs. PIT | 43 | 46 | -- | 48 | 47 | 46 |
| 47 | Arian Foster | MIA | vs. PIT | 42 | 49 | 43 | 49 | 48 | -- |
| 48 | Kenneth Dixon | BAL | @ NYG | 48 | 45 | 49 | 46 | 46 | -- |
| 49 | Jalen Richard | OAK | vs. KC | 40 | -- | 44 | -- | -- | -- |
| 50 | Bobby Rainey | NYG | vs. BAL | 50 | -- | 41 | 50 | 50 | 47 |
| -- | James Starks | GB | vs. DAL | 45 | -- | 47 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Dwayne Washington | DET | vs. LA | -- | 48 | -- | 47 | 49 | -- |
| -- | Shaun Draughn | SF | @ BUF | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 45 |
| -- | C.J. Spiller | SEA | vs. ATL | -- | -- | 46 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Alfred Blue | HOU | vs. IND | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 48 |
| -- | Paul Perkins | NYG | vs. BAL | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 49 |
| -- | Wendell Smallwood | PHI | @ WAS | -- | 50 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Robert Kelley | WAS | vs. PHI | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 50 |