Injuries continue to allow new and old running backs to become fantasy relevant once more.
The latest comes in Arizona, where Chris Johnson is now on the injured reserve list after suffering a groin injury in Week 5. He was getting a little over six touches per game before his injury, which now allows a familiar name to jump back into fantasy relevance.
Andre Ellington is now the No. 2 back for the Cardinals behind David Johnson, who should continue to be the featured back, but Ellington now may have a bigger role in this offense.
It wasn’t that long ago that Ellington was averaging 60-plus catches in his first two seasons, but fell behind in the rotation since David broke out in 2015. It’s possible Chris’ injury allows Ellington to regain some of that fantasy magic.
Or, perhaps an unknown will emerge in the form of Kenneth Dixon in Baltimore. After the Ravens cut Justin Forsett on Tuesday, there is now a good chance Dixon is the featured back sooner rather than later.
Dixon is easily the most talented back on Baltimore’s roster, and he probably is already the starter if not for his preseason injury. Now that he is set to make his 2016 debut, buy low on him while you still can.
That's just a look at some pass-catching specialists to monitor as we prepare for Week 5. Here are our staff consensus PPR rankings:
Running backs (PPR), Week 5
(ZS: Zach Senvisky, JM: Jason Marcum, AP: Adam Patrick, SK: Scott Kaliska, JG: Jeff Goldberg, KB: Kyle Bennett)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | ZS | JM | AP | SK | JG | KB |
| 1 | David Johnson | ARI | @ SF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Le'Veon Bell | PIT | vs. NYJ | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | DeMarco Murray | TEN | @ MIA | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Melvin Gordon | SD | @ OAK | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | vs. ATL | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 6 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | vs. CIN | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | @ LA | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Todd Gurley | LA | vs. BUF | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 8 | Jordan Howard | CHI | @ IND | 10 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 10 | Lamar Miller | HOU | @ MIN | 11 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | @ DEN | 12 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 |
| 11 | Carlos Hyde | SF | vs. ARI | 13 | 10 | 18 | 11 | 14 | 12 |
| 13 | Frank Gore | IND | vs. CHI | 9 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 14 |
| 14 | LeGarrette Blount | NE | @ CLE | 15 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 11 | 11 |
| 15 | Eddie Lacy | GB | vs. NYG | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| 16 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | @ DAL | 17 | 12 | 23 | 21 | 17 | 17 |
| 17 | Theo Riddick | DET | vs. PHI | 23 | 24 | 16 | 13 | 16 | 16 |
| 17 | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | vs. HOU | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 |
| 19 | Matt Forte | NYJ | @ PIT | 19 | 18 | 32 | 12 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | Terrance West | BAL | vs. WAS | 22 | 19 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 21 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | vs. NE | 16 | 17 | 25 | 22 | 23 | 22 |
| 22 | Charles Sims | TB | @ CAR | 21 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 22 | 25 |
| 23 | Matt Jones | WAS | @ BAL | 18 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 |
| 24 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | @ DAL | 26 | 26 | 21 | 26 | 21 | 21 |
| 24 | Latavius Murray | OAK | vs. SD | 30 | 23 | 17 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| 26 | Duke Johnson | CLE | vs. NE | 28 | 27 | 29 | 23 | 25 | 24 |
| 27 | Ryan Mathews | PHI | @ DET | 24 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 26 |
| 28 | Fozzy Whittaker | CAR | vs. TB | 27 | 32 | 26 | 28 | 32 | 28 |
| 29 | Darren Sproles | PHI | @ DET | 35 | 29 | 30 | 25 | 26 | 30 |
| 30 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | @ DEN | 25 | 28 | 33 | 31 | 30 | 31 |
| 31 | James White | NE | @ CLE | 33 | 33 | 28 | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| 32 | Cameron Artis-Payne | CAR | vs. TB | 31 | 30 | 34 | 36 | 31 | 32 |
| 33 | DeAndre Washington | OAK | vs. SD | 42 | 36 | 36 | 35 | 35 | 34 |
| 34 | Bilal Powell | NYJ | @ PIT | 34 | 34 | -- | 34 | 34 | 33 |
| 35 | Chris Thompson | WAS | @ BAL | 46 | 42 | 35 | 33 | 33 | 36 |
| 36 | Orleans Darkwa | NYG | @ GB | 29 | 37 | 48 | 38 | 38 | 37 |
| 37 | Matt Asiata | MIN | vs. HOU | 32 | 39 | 37 | 37 | 41 | 42 |
| 38 | Wendell Smallwood | PHI | @ DET | 45 | 31 | 49 | 32 | 36 | 35 |
| 39 | Derrick Henry | TEN | @ MIA | 36 | 38 | 46 | 42 | 37 | 38 |
| 40 | Jay Ajayi | MIA | vs. TEN | 41 | 40 | 41 | 39 | 39 | 40 |
| 41 | Dwayne Washington | DET | vs. PHI | 39 | 44 | 31 | 46 | 43 | 39 |
| 41 | Rashad Jennings | NYG | @ GB | 48 | 35 | 40 | 43 | 40 | 41 |
| 43 | Kenneth Dixon | BAL | vs. WAS | 37 | 45 | 42 | 40 | 42 | 43 |
| 44 | DeAngelo Williams | PIT | vs. NYJ | 44 | 41 | 38 | 41 | 45 | 46 |
| 45 | Kenyan Drake | MIA | vs. TEN | 40 | 46 | 47 | 44 | 44 | 45 |
| 46 | James Starks | GB | vs. NYG | 49 | 43 | 43 | -- | 47 | 44 |
| 47 | Jalen Richard | OAK | vs. SD | 43 | -- | 39 | -- | -- | -- |
| 48 | Bobby Rainey | NYG | @ GB | 47 | -- | -- | 45 | 46 | 47 |
| 49 | Devontae Booker | DEN | vs. ATL | 50 | 48 | 44 | 49 | 48 | 48 |
| 50 | Alfred Morris | DAL | vs. CIN | 38 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Josh Ferguson | IND | vs. CHI | -- | -- | 45 | 50 | 49 | 49 |
| -- | Shaun Draughn | SF | vs. ARI | -- | -- | 50 | 48 | 50 | 50 |
| -- | Damien Williams | MIA | vs. TEN | -- | -- | -- | 47 | -- | -- |
| -- | Paul Perkins | NYG | @ GB | -- | 47 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Robert Turbin | IND | vs. CHI | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Zach Zenner | DET | vs. PHI | -- | 49 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Andre Ellington | ARI | @ SF | -- | 50 | -- | -- | -- | -- |