Through the first quarter of the NFL, we have seen many ups and downs in the running back department. Of course, the American public doesn’t wish harm on any players as it’s unfortunate to see someone go down so early in the year, but in particular, for fantasy football owners, some injuries sting just a tad more.

Coming into the year, fantasy football owners could not help but expect injuries as the COVID-19 pandemic caused the preseason to get canceled.

Unfortunately, some big-time players suffered injuries early on in the year. Giants’ Saquon Barkley tore his ACL in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears. Panthers running back and perhaps the best fantasy player in 2019, Christian McCaffrey, suffered an injury that has kept him sidelined in recent weeks. Colts’ Marlon Mack, suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in their Week 1 defeat to the Jaguars. Jets’ Le’Veon Bell suffered an injury that placed him on the IR during their Week 1 game against Buffalo. The list goes on and on.

Another major aspect of fantasy football is rookies entering the league, second-year guys getting better, and of course, those who frustrated you in 2019, become one of the best in the league in 2020. A perfect example of this is Saints’ Alvin Kamara. Kamara had one of his worst seasons last year, only recording 167.52 fantasy points. So far on the year, Kamara has recorded 97.7 fantasy points. A large part of that is due to the injury of Michael Thomas, but regardless, Kamara has picked up his lack of production.

As we enter quarter number two of the NFL year, expect more breakout players to emerge, more injuries to occur and more players to frustrate you even further with their lack of production.

As we enter Week 5, here are 5 sleeper running back plays.