In an effort to track the SEC’s best running backs, we’ll release a running top 10 each Monday. The criteria will involve a mix of talent, recent past performance, 2015 production and outlook.

Due to a mix of injuries, split backfields and underwhelming performances, the top 10 list is surprisingly easy to compile at this point. Perhaps there’s an argument to be made for a player like Jaylen Walton of Ole Miss, but I don’t see it.

After Week 5, here are the SEC’s 10 best running backs.

10. Sony Michel, Georgia: Right now, he’s edging out Alabama’s Kenyan Drake for the title of best change-of-pace back in the SEC. He’s scored eight combined touchdowns this season and has allowed Georgia to rest Nick Chubb at intervals. The 5-foot-11, 212-pound Michel is slippery in the open field, though he didn’t get many opportunities against Alabama after UGA fell behind big early.

This Week: 9 carries, 53 yards
Season: 64 carries, 410 yards, 5 touchdowns; 9 receptions, 148 yards, 3 touchdowns

9. Stanley “Boom” Williams, Kentucky: He faced what seems to have been a one-game suspension Saturday, even though Mark Stoops didn’t call it that, instead classifying the absence of his top running back as a healthy scratch due to personal issues. Whatever the case, Williams is a viable option out of the backfield as a runner or receiver. He’s averaging 7.3 yards per carry this year, behind only Leonard Fournette and Chubb, but whether due to the lack of ability to do so or UK’s decision, he has yet to become a workhorse type back.

This Week: DNP
Season: 47 carries, 343 yards, 1 touchdown

8. Ralph Webb, Vanderbilt: The ultimate every-man, Webb averages just 4.1 yards per carry. The Commodores have struggled, to put it mildly, while trying to establish the run early in games. Webb isn’t Fournette or Chubb, but it’s not all his fault, either, and he’s better than his production would indicate. Still, he’s carrying a heavy load for the Vandy offense and also contributing as a receiver.

This Week: 25 carries, 155 yards, 1 touchdown
Season: 108 carries, 437 yards, 3 touchdowns; 17 receptions, 138 yards, 2 touchdowns

7. Tra Carson, Texas A&M: He hasn’t done anything spectacular, but the Aggies have improved to 188.0 rushing yards per game, nearly 40 more per contest than the team averaged in 2014. Carson is a reliable load-bearer and could be the first Texas A&M running back ever to finish in the SEC top 10 for rushing attempts. That’s enough to provide some much-needed balance to the offense. Some of the conference’s better running back talents — like Missouri’s Russell Hansbrough and South Carolina’s Brandon Wilds — have been limited due to injury, so Carson is pretty high on this list.

This Week: 26 carries, 110 yards, 1 touchdown
Season: 95 carries, 430 yards, 4 touchdowns; 11 receptions, 100 yards, 1 touchdown

6. Peyton Barber, Auburn: Tigers fans should shake Barber’s hand after his five-touchdown performance Saturday. Without it, there’s a chance that San Jose State could’ve beaten Auburn. The team’s last two starting running backs led the SEC in rushing, and Barber has next to no chance of accomplishing that feat. He probably isn’t as talented or athletic as Roc Thomas and even Jovon Robinson. But he’s steady and reliable, which is more than can be said about any other skill player on Auburn’s team right now.

This Week: 28 carries, 147 yards, 5 touchdowns
Season: 109 carries, 558 yards, 6 touchdowns

5. Jalen Hurd, Tennessee: A workhorse back, Hurd is one carry outside of the national top 10. At 4.7 yards per carry, he’s got a pretty good average as well, especially considering Tennessee’s lack of a downfield passing game. If the Vols could just open up the offense a little more and give him some room to run, he’d be in position to challenge the players in front of him on this list.

This Week: 19 carries, 90 yards; 3 receptions, 51 yards
Season: 105 carries, 492 yards, 7 touchdowns

4. Alex Collins, Arkansas: Put aside a poor showing against Toledo — which could be explained due to a bad game by the offensive line and Collins entering that weekend at less than 100 percent — he’s been a great alpha back, topping 125 yards in four of Arkansas’ five games. Against Tennessee, he topped the century mark in a post-September game for the first time in his collegiate career. He has to stay healthy and in shape through the end of the season, or else the Razorbacks are going to be worse off than they already are. But Collins remains in the running for an All-SEC slot.

This Week: 27 carries, 154 yards, 2 touchdowns
Season: 113 carries, 656 yards, 6 touchdowns

3. Derrick Henry, Alabama: The Tide grabbed an early lead in Athens, Ga., then allowed Henry to carry most of the load during a torrential downpour. We haven’t seen a lot of games like that one since Lane Kiffin became offensive coordinator, but Alabama ran 47 times and threw 16 passes. With the exception of a mediocre game against Louisiana-Monroe, Henry has been as steady as they come this season, scoring at least one touchdown each game. He could challenge for a higher spot on this list if Bama decides to lean on him like that every week.

This Week: 26 carries, 148 yards, 1 touchdown
Season: 93 carries, 570 yards, 9 touchdowns

2. Nick Chubb, Georgia: If it weren’t for his 83-yard touchdown run against Alabama in the second half, Chubb’s streak of 100-yard games would’ve ended. But that well-designed play — during which Chubb was not touched — counts. Chubb is one of the nation’s best talents, but Saturday showed just how important offensive line play can be, as Alabama dominated the Bulldogs up front for most of the game. Overall, Chubb is averaging a remarkable 8.2 yards per carry, even better than last season.

This Week: 20 carries, 146 yards, 1 touchdown
Season: 91 carries, 745 yards, 7 touchdowns

1. Leonard Fournette, LSU: Four games. Three 200-yard performances. Eleven touchdowns. Fournette leads the nation in rushing despite a cancellation against McNeese State, or else Fournette probably would already have surpassed 1,000 yards — on Oct. 3. He pressed last season, but now he’s playing with confidence, seeing the field and using his speed and agility, not just his power. It helps, I’m sure, to know that he’s going to get the ball 25 times a game. Right now he’s the No. 1 running back in the country, and the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy.

This Week: 26 carries, 233 yards, 3 touchdowns
Season: 99 carries, 864 yards, 11 touchdowns