10 RB sleepers to target for fantasy football Week 5
By Nick Villano
9. Damien Harris, New England Patriots
It’s hard to be terribly confident in Damien Harris after last week, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are dominant against the run this season. The Houston Texans are literally the opposite of the Bucs when it comes to run defense. They allowed two touchdowns on the ground per game, and they’ve been even worse as of late.
Harris isn’t matchup proof. He has shown that against two great run defenses in the Bucs and Saints. However, when he faces a good matchup, the Patriots will take advantage of it. They lost James White for the year, so most of the offense has to run through Harris. Mac Jones needs to do a little more in the passing game so defenders don’t cheap up, but for now, Harris has an amazing matchup.
8. Samaje Perine, Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals have been going all-in on the running game to start the season. It might not be obvious because of how well the Joe Burrow-Ja’Marr Chase connection has gone so far, but Joe Mixon is getting the brunt of the work. They have almost as many rushing touches (101) as they do passing completions (107). They also have four passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns. With Mixon likely out this week against the Packers, it’s time for fellow Oklahoma alum Samaje Perine to prove himself.
Perine is likely to be part of a committee, which is why he finds himself so low on the list. He’s still worth a pickup in your league, and if you’re in a bad way at running back he’s not the worst start in the world, but Chris Evans is expected to get some play, but Perine was pretty good in limited work last year. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry. The Bengals know what they have here, and they’ll give him a shot if Mixon can’t make the start.