Unfortunately, I cannot heal the wounded, nor can I enter Create-A-Player mode in Madden. What I can do and what I have chosen to do last week and this week is evaluate the running back landscape after about a month. Perhaps by briefly (and I do mean briefly) analyzing each team's situation, we can gain some sort of appreciation for what each team is offering. Last week, we analyzed the AFC. This week, we look at the 16 NFC teams.

Before doing that, however, I want to detail the running back rooms for each team and the roles I expect them to occupy for the foreseeable future.

Key:
Early - Early down work
3D - Third down
2M - Two-minute drill
LDD - Long down and distance
GL - Goal line/short yardage
* - My projection given a recent injury

Arizona Cardinals

With James Conner (foot) done for the season and Trey Benson (knee) on IR, one of the biggest questions entering last week was whether Emari Demercado or Michael Carter was the back to own in fantasy. The answer proved to be Carter by a landslide, as Carter finished Week 5 with a 39-19 edge in snaps and a 17-0 advantage in routes run. This would seem to be great news for Benson when he returns, as it further supports the argument that his Week 4 usage may have been more about his injury than a preset designation or desire from Arizona's coaching staff to use Demercado in the role Benson held when Conner was healthy.

Let's be honest about one thing, however. With upcoming games against the Colts and Packers, there may not be much upside to be had from this backfield. This development also sets up nicely for Benson, as the Cardinals' braintrust should not be overly tempted to use Carter and/or Demercado all that much once Benson returns if they struggle for the rest of the month.

Atlanta Falcons

Bijan Robinson is the man for every role and every situation in this offense. If you feel confident in your ability to predict when Atlanta will win and/or feel like it can pound its opponent into submission on the ground, then fire up Tyler Allgeier as a flex. With double-digit carries in three of four, you could do much worse than Allgeier in a pinch.

Carolina Panthers

Chuba Hubbard (calf) missed Week 5 and appears unlikely to suit up in Week 6. Rico Dowdle famously took advantage of his opportunity against the Dolphins, out-snapping Trevor Etienne 35-14 en route to a ridiculous 206-yard rushing day versus the Dolphins. Prior to that, Hubbard handled 53 carries and ran 95 routes compared to 28 and 43, respectively, for Dowdle. My impression all along has been that Dowdle was signed to be the one-year replacement for Jonathon Brooks with an eye on having him handle AT LEAST a third of the backfield work. Another big day from Dowdle in Week 6 could force HC Dave Canales to change the math a little bit, but I have my doubts that the Panthers will change their initial plan and move to more of a split committee based on the results of a couple of games.

Chicago Bears

It is not working with D'Andre Swift. There are multiple reasons why this is happening, but he is performing worse now than he was behind a dreadful offensive line and in a worse offensive environment last year. HC Ben Johnson will have to think long and hard about relegating Swift to passing-down work and seeing if rookie Kyle Monangai can do better on early downs during the team's bye week.

Dallas Cowboys

We have a bell-cow here. Dallas running backs have rushed 104 times and attracted 30 targets. Javonte Williams is responsible for 76 percent of the carries and 67 percent of the targets. Move along.

Detroit Lions

No backfield has attempted more runs than Detroit (136). While that means there is enough for both Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery to thrive, the Lions are clearly beginning to lean more heavily on Gibbs than they had in years past. Gibbs is handling 51 percent of the backfield's carries and responsible for 77 percent of its 30 targets.

Green Bay Packers

It is hard to find much fault with what Josh Jacobs is doing in fantasy, but his volume and four touchdowns are covering up what has been a horribly inefficient start for him. MarShawn Lloyd is due to come off IR at any point as he completes his recovery from a preseason hamstring injury. He has burst that Jacobs does not. What he has lacked this far in his NFL career is Jacobs' durability.

With that said, Lloyd might also be losing his chance to secure the No. 2 role with Emanuel Wilson running well. Wilson's season-high eight carries in Week 4 were probably more a product of Green attempting 35 runs and calling 79 plays in an overtime affair. Wilson is not overtaking Jacobs, but the Packers have to be asking the question as to why Jacobs has yet to average four yards per carry in any game while Wilson has done so in every game. Part of the reason: Jacobs' yards after contact per attempt is at 2.98 - a full half-yard behind last year's mark.

Los Angeles Rams

Much had been made about Blake Corum's increased usage through four weeks. It remains to be seen if that will continue after he was effectively benched in Week 5 following a botched toss play (the fumble was charged to Matthew Stafford because Corum never had control of the ball, although the coaching staff obviously had a different idea where the blame should be placed). Regardless, Williams has a firm grasp on this backfield, owning a 77 percent carry share and 75 percent target share. The great thing for Williams' managers is that he has at least 16 touches in every game and at least 19 in four of five. An even better development for the same managers is Williams' 14 total targets (11 catches) over the last two contests, including eight in Week 5.

Minnesota Vikings

It is difficult to draw many solid conclusions about Minnesota through five weeks. Aaron Jones (hamstring) was lost in Week 2, as was J.J. McCarthy. Jordan Addison just returned from suspension two weeks ago. The offensive line that was supposed to be a strength just had its first full game with stud LT Christian Darrisaw in Week 4. Only RG Will Fries has played every snap. The next closest is backup tackle Justin Skule, who replaced Darrisaw in Weeks 1 and 2 and RT Brian O'Neill (sprained MCL) for most of Week 4 and all of Week 5. C Ryan Kelly suffered at least the fifth documented concussion of his career in Week 4 and missed Week 5. The quarterback play has been uneven at best and the defense is far from the juggernaut it was at times in 2024.

The one thing that has played out so far and we can probably count on moving forward is Jordan Mason being the primary early-down back. He might not start each game once Aaron Jones returns, but he has led the team in carries by a fairly wide margin each week.

New Orleans Saints

Kendre Miller told NewOrleans.Football after the team's Week 4 loss to the Bills that the Saints switched up their run scheme, which focused on more zone runs than usual. The biggest change might have been how involved he was. Prior to Week 4, Alvin Kamara handled 50 of the backfield's 69 rush attempts (72 percent) and earned 10 of its 13 targets (77 percent).

While I am not skeptical of Miller's talent, I am skeptical of the likelihood of New Orleans running the ball 34 times again anytime soon, including 26 from the running backs. The Saints averaged 26.3 rush attempts as a team in their first three games. Week 4 felt very much like an opponent-specific plan, especially since running backs averaged nearly six yards per carry against Buffalo in the Bills' first three games. In Week 5 versus the Giants, the duo combined for only 18 carries. What did not change was the split backfield approach. Miller saw 10 carries to Kamara's eight, while Kamara earned six targets compared to Miller's one. Kamara ran a season-low 19 routes, while Miller ran a season-high nine.

Kamara has not been an efficient back for several years, but the one thing he did have working in his favor was volume - both as a rusher and a receiver. That appears to be gone as well. Perhaps a Week 7 game against the Bears presents a sell-high window for fantasy managers, but it appears for now as if Kamara is either being preserved so he can be traded at the deadline or the coaching staff believes Miller offers more as a runner.

New York Giants *

This backfield was one that was a bit messy to begin the season, although it does not appear that way now. In the Giants' first full game without Tyrone Tracy in Week 4, New York still ran 42 times. Of that total, 32 were handled by running backs. Of that 32, 25 went to Cam Skattebo (78 percent). The only two targets to running backs were Skattebo's as well.

Unsurprisingly, New York was unable to play the ball-control game two weeks in a row en route to a Week 5 loss against the Saints. The Giants ran 29 times, but only 15 (52 percent) of them were handled by Skattebo. The rookie maintained his target dominance, however, earning seven of the nine by the backfield.

ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan opined on Thursday (Oct. 9) that Skattebo is the team's "future and present at running back." How long he can run with the physicality that he does is another story, but it appears HC Brian Daboll and his staff believe they have found a back they are willing to feature.

Philadelphia Eagles *

While Saquon Barkley's numbers have disappointed so far, his workload has not. He has handled 85 percent of the backfield's 98 carries and 86 percent of its 22 targets.

San Francisco 49ers

Everything you need to know about McCaffrey's usage can mostly be summed up with one number: 442. That is CMC's current 17-game touch pace. This obviously will not continue, but it is wonderful to see that one of the great all-purpose backs in recent memory is getting at least one more chance to prove he has been more unlucky than brittle in recent years. The efficiency (and the rushing touchdowns, most likely) will improve as the 49ers' supporting cast (specifically TE George Kittle) starts coming back.

Seattle Seahawks

For better or worse, Seattle has seemingly settled on Zach Charbonnet handling about 10 touches per week as a way to keep Kenneth Walker healthy. Initially, the good news for Walker enthusiasts was that his touches increased each week (13, 14, 17, 20). Unfortunately, he settled for a season-low 11 in the team's Week 5 loss to the Bucs.

If there is good news moving forward, it might be that HC Mike Macdonald and OC Klint Kubiak want to run the ball as much as possible. During Seattle's recent three-game winning streak, the Seahawks' backfield for 28, 31 and 31 carries, respectively. The only problem is that the Seahawks have yet to give their running backs more than three targets in a game collectively.

We will probably need another game or two to make any definitive conclusions about the two backs' roles. Charbonnet appears to have the money roles (third-down back and goal-line specialist), but there has been just enough chaos and not enough of a sample size to know for sure. What we do know for now is that Kubiak has little intention to use his running backs very often in the passing game. With Seattle's defense being as good as it is, Walker and Charbonnet probably will not get many opportunities to pick up easy fantasy points in negative game script.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Through four weeks, Bucky Irving had reached workhorse status, handling 75 percent of the backfield's 95 carries and 68 percent of its 28 targets. Unfortunately, Irving is battling a foot sprain and shoulder subluxation that kept him out in Week 5 against the Seahawks and will likely sideline him for Week 6. In his absence in Week 5, Rachaad White enjoyed a 14-3 edge in rush attempts and a 49-13 advantage in snaps over Sean Tucker. White handled anything close to the goal line as well. Despite the coaching staff's repeated declarations that Tucker is more than capable of being the starting NFL running back, the Bucs continue to treat him like a true backup.

Washington Commanders

For the first time all season, a Washington running back exceeded 11 carries in a game in Week 5 - a figure that is stunning when you consider Jacory Croskey-Merritt is averaging a 2023 De'Von Achane-like 6.6 yards per carry. There has been some recent speculation that JCM was not handling the kind of workload he did in Week 5 (14 of the backfield's 20 carries and two of its three targets) because Jayden Daniels was sidelined the previous two weeks. With Daniels back, the Commanders were apparently compelled to drop the guise of a committee.

Before fantasy managers go overboard and declare Croskey-Merritt the next big thing, they should remember OC Kliff Kingsbury was supposedly committed to Brian Robinson Jr. last year and still struggled to get him to 15 carries regularly. Croskey-Merritt and Robinson are admittedly much different runners, but we should also remember that Kingsbury has a history of not relying too heavily on one runner when he easily could have done so (James Conner). Fortunately, JCM has already shown he can get a lot done on limited work, so fantasy managers should be thrilled if he is entrusted with the same kind of workload moving forward that he received in Week 5. The fact of the matter is Chris Rodriguez and Jeremy McNichols have no business taking much work from him.

* - Does not include Thursday Night Football Week 6 (Eagles @ Giants)