We are officially at the halfway point of the NFL regular season, which means the fantasy football playoffs are rapidly approaching. With every week that goes by, each win and loss becomes more impactful, so it’s more important than ever to get your lineup right.

We’ve already ranked the quarterbacks for Week 10, and now it’s time to move to the other guys in the backfield: the running backs. Here are my top 20 fantasy running backs for this week.

Running Backs on bye 

• Chase Brown
• Javonte Williams
• Kareem Hunt
• Tony Pollard

Before we get started, here are a handful of RBs who just missed out on the top 20, but can still be viable fantasy options in Week 10.

• Jaylen Warren vs LAC
• Alvin Kamara vs CAR
• Woody Marks vs JAX
• Emari Demercado vs SEA
• Kenneth Walker vs ARI
• Raachad White vs NE

Fantasy projections based on full PPR scoring.

20. David Montgomery, Detroit Lions

Matchup: Washington Commanders

Once you get into the 15-20 range, it becomes really hard to rank these backs, but I decided to give David Montgomery the final spot on this list. He hasn’t been anywhere near as good as he’s been in years past, but I think the Detroit Lions will get up big early and run the football quite often in this game. I wouldn’t be surprised if he sees 12-15 carries and scores a touchdown.

Projection: 10.3 points

19. Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers

Matchup: Pittsburgh Steelers

Kimani Vidal has been very frustrating. Ever since he’s taken over as the lead back, he’s either scored under eight points or more than 19. I don’t love his matchup this week, but he’s still the RB1, which has to count for something. Plus, he’s gone 22 points, 7.5 points, 19.7 points and 3.0 points. Based on his trend, he should have 19+ this week, right?

Projection: 11.7 points

18. Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars

Matchup: Houston Texans

After his red-hot start to the season, Travis Etienne has cooled down quite a bit, but he’s still been a relatively efficient back. He’s coming off his first double-digit performance in three games, but he has a horrible matchup this week. I still think Jacksonville will try to get him involved on the ground and as a receiver, but his ceiling is limited because of his matchup.

Projection: 11.7 points

17. Breece Hall, New York Jets

Matchup: Cleveland Browns

It was super hard to put Breece Hall this low, but this game is going to be ugly, to the point where we might see a total of 25-30 points scored. I don’t see either offense having much success, and the Cleveland Browns have one of the best run defenses in football. It’s going to be tough sledding, but Hall should still see a heavy workload, which is why he makes the top-20.

Projection: 12.5 points

16. Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders

Matchup: Denver Broncos

Another really good running back that has a horrible matchup this week is Ashton Jeanty. He’s coming off a 19-point performance, but now has to face a Denver defense that gives up the fifth-fewest points to opposing running backs. I think the Las Vegas Raiders’ offense is improved with Brock Bowers back, which should help Jeanty, but I don’t see them scoring more than 14 against Denver this week.

Projection: 13.6 points

15. J.K. Dobbins, Denver Broncos

Matchup: Las Vegas Raiders

RJ Harvey has outscored J.K. Dobbins in each of the last two weeks, but he’s seen significantly less touches than Dobbins, who is still RB1 in Denver. He hasn’t been a great fantasy play in recent weeks, but I love his matchup against the Raiders. The Broncos should get up early and be able to just run the clock out in the second half. If Dobbins can get in the end zone, he should be a good play this week.

Projection: 13.6 points

14. Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

Matchup: Green Bay Packers

Saquon Barkley is coming off easily his best game of the season, but outside of last week, he’s been very disappointing this year. It’s really hard to put a running back of his caliber this low, but I need to see him be more consistent before I put him much higher on this list. Plus, Green Bay has a really solid run defense that allows the sixth-fewest points to opposing RBs, so that doesn’t help.

Projection: 14.1 points

13. Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns

Matchup: New York Jets

I think Quinshon Judkins is a great running back, but I just don’t trust the Browns’ offense to do much of anything. He’s going to get 18+ touches, but how many yards can he rack up behind a pretty poor offensive line? And will he even have a chance at a touchdown? If the Browns have any offensive success, it’ll come through him, which is why he’s at No. 12, but I do worry his floor this week is pretty low.

Projection: 14.3 points

12. Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings

Matchup: Baltimore Ravens

Assuming Aaron Jones is good to go next week, which seems likely despite his shoulder injury, he should be a top 15 back. He was running very well before he got hurt last week, and J.J. McCarthy targeted him a couple of times early. If he maintains the heavy workload he was on track to get, Jones should have a good week against a poor Baltimore run defense.

Projection: 15 points

11. Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams

Matchup: San Francisco 49ers

Kyren Williams isn’t the most exciting running back in the league, but he’s very consistent. He’s RB12 this year and has scored about 15 points per game. This week, he has a pretty tough matchup against a division rival, but he’s clearly the RB1 in this offense, and he should see at least 2-3 targets. Pretty much a guaranteed 13+ points every week.

Projection: 15.3 points

10. Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers

Matchup: New Orleans Saints

Rico Dowdle stole the RB1 position when Chuba Hubbard was hurt, and he’s yet to give it back. He out-touched his counterpart, 27-5, last week, and should only continue to see the bulk of the work. Now he faces a New Orleans defense that’s giving up about 23 points per game to opposing RBs, so he should be a very good start this week.

Projection: 16 points

9. Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears

Matchup: New York Giants

We’ve been waiting for the Kyle Monangai breakout for weeks now, and with D’Andre Swift out, he finally got his chance. Monangai had a monster game, rushing for 176 yards on 26 carries while adding 22 receiving yards on three catches. I don’t know if Swift will play this week, but either way, I think Monangai will continue to see a lot of work. Plus, the New York Giants give up the second-most points to opposing running backs, so that always helps.

Projection: 16.5 points

8. Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens

Matchup: Minnesota Vikings

Now that Lamar Jackson is back, I think we’ll finally see Derrick Henry really get going. He’s been pretty good these last four weeks, but Jackson will force defenses to respect his ability to run, which opens up a lot of things in the option game. Minnesota has a pretty stout run defense, but Henry’s the workhorse in Baltimore, so he should still get a ton of work and probably score a touchdown.

Projection: 16.9 points

7. Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

Matchup: Philadelphia Eagles

Josh Jacobs has been a fantasy beast this season. He’s scored 20+ in three of his last five games and has scored double-digits in every single game. I don’t love his matchup against Philly this week, but they give him the rock in the red zone quite a bit, so I think he’s almost guaranteed at least one touchdown.

Projection: 17.7 points

6. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

Matchup: Indianapolis Colts

Despite the fact that the Atlanta Falcons’ offense has struggled recently, Bijan Robinson’s fantasy value hasn’t really fallen off. He had one bad game a couple of weeks ago, but has scored 16+ in every other week this season. He faces a pretty stout Indianapolis Colts run defense, but a lot of his fantasy production comes in the pass game, so he should still perform well. I just worry about the Falcons’ offense sucking it up.

Projection: 18 points

5. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

Matchup: Los Angeles Rams

Christian McCaffrey is always going to be a top-five running back in fantasy, no matter who he’s facing, but this week is tough. He faces an LA defense that gives up the fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs this year. Rushing yards will be at a premium, but he should still have a lot of success through the air, which keeps him in the top five.

Projection: 18.5 points

4. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

Matchup: Washington Commanders

Jahmyr Gibbs is coming off his worst performance of the year, but I think the Lions will make a concerted effort to get him more involved in the run and pass game this week. They saw how much their offense struggled last week when he wasn’t going, so he should see a healthy amount of touches this week. Plus, Washington’s defense doesn’t scare me.

Projection: 19 points

3. De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins

Matchup: Buffalo Bills

No matter how poorly the Miami Dolphins’ offense plays, De’Von Achane always performs. He’s scored 14+ points every single week this year, and this week he faces a Buffalo defense that gives up the seventh-most points to opposing running backs. He should have success as a rusher and receiver this week, which puts him in the top three.

Projection: 20.5 points

2. James Cook, Buffalo Bills

Matchup: Miami Dolphins

James Cook has been cooking recently. After a 40 bomb two weeks ago, Cook scored 14 points last week, and that was without getting into the end zone and against one of the toughest defenses in football. Now he gets to play a Miami defense that gives up the fifth-most points to opposing running backs. He’s easily a top three back this week.

Projection: 21.5 points

1. Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

Matchup: Atlanta Falcons

I know Jonathan Taylor just got completely shut down last week, but he’s still going to be RB1 pretty much every week. The Indianapolis Colts have a great offensive line that’s going to open up holes in the run game. There’s no reason this offense shouldn’t get back on track this week, so it’s hard to believe Taylor won’t have another 20+ point performance.

Projection: 23 points