Fantasy RB ranking of week 15: compulsory departures, sleepers, potential busts in the running back

Rank Player 1 Derrick Henry, TEN vs. DET 2 Christian McCaffrey, CAR @ GB. Is this finally the week McCaffrey returns to action? Who knows, at this point. If he does, he will be able to face a defense against the Green Bay run which has given RBs the fourth most fantastic points this season, so we can trust him. 3 Aaron Jones, GB v CAR 4 Alvin Kamara, NO v KC 5 Jonathan Taylor, IND v HOU. Taylor just had the best game of his NFL career, finding the end zone twice and racking up 165 total yards. He’ll be looking to hold that up against a Texas defense that has given RB the most rushing yards this season (1790). 6 Austin Ekeler, LAC @ LV seven Dalvin Cook, MIN v CHI 8 David Montgomery, CHI @ MIN 9 Andre Swift, DET @ TEN ten Melvin Gordon, DEN vs. BUF 11 Josh Jacobs, LV v LAC 12 Ronald Jones II, TB @ ATL 13 Cam Akers, LAR vs. NYJ. Akers had a real breakout game against the Patriots in Week 14, as he ran 171 yards on 29 carries and added 23 more yards in the air. The Akers should do a lot of damage against the Jets. They’ve actually been solid against the run, but with Akers bursting and performing against a tougher Patriots defense, he should be able to find the end zone once or twice while Darrell Henderson (two touches against the Patriots) is just a speculative flex. to play. 14 James Robinson, JAX @ BAL 15 Raheem Mostert, SF @ DAL. Dallas has been terrible against the run this year and allowed 1,727 yards to the RB position, which is good for the second most in the NFL. This will give Mostert a huge advantage. He is separating from Jeff Wilson Jr. however, so the two are more likely to be co-RB2 in a big game. Mostert’s ceiling is even higher due to his breakaway speed so feel free to ride with him as he has proven to be healthy in recent weeks. 16 Chris Carson, SEA @ WAS 17 Nick Chubb, CLE @ NYG 18 Kenyan Drake, ARI v PHI 19 James Conner, PIT @ CIN 20 JK Dobbins, BAL vs. JAX 21 Wayne Gallman, NYG v CLE. Gallman’s six-game streak with fantastic double-digit points ended last week against the Cardinals as he couldn’t find the end zone and was only able to register 12 runs, although he had 57 rushing yards. . The Giants’ offense should be better against a weaker Browns defense, but Gallman will likely have to find the end zone to pay his RB2 value. 22 Nyheim Hines, IND v. HOU. Hines was passed by Taylor in touchdowns against the Raiders, but the strong receiver was still able to total 75 yards that day against poor run defense. Hines will benefit from another poor defense against the Texans, and he’s just posted 32 yards and one touchdown against them despite just nine touches in this game. 23 Jeff Wilson Jr., SF @ DAL. Now healthy, Wilson has averaged 11 touches in his last three games and has posted a total of 47.7 yards in those games. In a favorable game, he should have a chance to score, especially if the 49ers continue to use a 60-40 split between him and Mostert. 24 Damien Harris, NE @ MIA. In all but one of his games this season, Harris has had at least 11 touches, and with Rex Burkhead (knee) out for the season, more of the workload at RB falls on him and Sony Michel. The Dolphins were only average against the race, so Harris could have a good day against them. 25 Miles Sanders, PHI @ ARI. Sanders had his breakout game against the Saints last week (136 total yards, two touchdowns) and their previously ranked run defense. Go figure it out. Although Arizona have surrendered the 11th most total touchdowns overall to RBs this year (13), it’s hard to trust Sanders to be anything other than a high-end flex considering the number of injuries suffered. by the Eagles on the offensive line. 26 Ezekiel Elliott, DAL v SF. This ranking may come as a surprise to some, but the truth is that Zeke has put forward what is, easily, his worst season yet. He hasn’t scored on the ground since Week 5 and has averaged just 72.5 yards per game since that game, which marked the injury to Dak Prescott. At this point he can’t be counted on to score, and given he’s facing the 49ers, one of four teams to allow less than 1,000 rushing yards and less than 10 total TDs at the RB position. , it is simply a flexible game. this week. 27 David Johnson, HOU @ IND. Johnson (COVID) will need to be watched closely this week after missing the Texans’ loss to the Bears, but even if he returns he will only be a flexible game against an excellent Indy running defense that has limited him to 44 yards on weekdays. 13. 28 Clyde Edwards-Helaire, KC @ NO. Edwards-Helaire is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry in his last five games. He makes up for this lack of production a bit with his receiving ability, but against a Saints defense that gave RB the third few rushing yards of the season (952), trusting the rookie to produce is not maybe not the best bet. 29 JD McKissic, WAS v SEA. With Antonio Gibson (toe) against the 49ers, McKissic and Barber parted ways, but it was McKissic who was the more efficient back. He had 68 yards on 11 carries, but he only saw four targets. This was in part due to the fact that Alex Smith (leg) had left the game. If Smith can’t play, McKissic’s PPR value will take a bit of a hard time, but he’ll still be a flex to trust all formats. 30 DeAndre Washington, MIA v NE. Myles Gaskin (COVID) is expected to miss this week’s contest, and Salvon Ahmed (shoulder) hasn’t been able to train in recent weeks, so this could be Washington’s show again. Washington has averaged 15 touches and 56 yards in its last two games and is expected to continue to fall against the Patriots. New England were just nicked by Cam Akers and gave the RBs the seventh most rushing yards this season (1,343), so Washington has an advantage. 31 Jamaal Williams, GB v CAR. Against the Lions, Aaron Jones and Williams split the workload at RB around 60-40, which was a bit of a surprise given the success Jones had against the Lions the last time they played. Maybe the Packers are just trying to keep Jones cool for the playoffs by turning Williams. Either way, Williams is getting another good game against a Panthers defense that has given RBs the eighth most fantastic points this year, so if he does get some bulk he’ll be a flexible option. 32 Kareem Hunt, CLE @ NYG 33 Phillip Lindsay, DEN v BUF. Lindsay has rushed for 26 yards or less in her last three outings and is also facing the lingering effects of a knee injury. He might be able to enjoy a defense against the Bills that has been top-down against the run, but relying on him in this game isn’t too appealing. 34 Gus Edwards, BAL vs. JAX 35 Todd Gurley, ATL v TB. While Gurley still has the TD advantage, his bulk is no longer there. He has posted single-digit touches in his last three outings and set new season low totals in shots played in three straight weeks. The Falcons can handle Gurley’s knee injury with the playoffs now out of the question, so any Gurley can be seen as a TD dependent flex who will share the races with Ito Smith. Plus, this match is brutal so Gurley is more of a sit than a start at this point. 36 Zack Moss, BUF @ DEN. Moss and Devin Singletary are in a frustrating divide at the moment. Moss beat Singletary against the Steelers, but it was Singletary who outperformed Moss the week before. Both are low-end flex games with minimal TD due to Josh Allen’s presence, so trust them at your own risk, even against a Denver defense that allowed up the 11th most points. fantastic at RBs this season. 37 Lynn Bowden, MIA v NE. Bowden, listed as both RB and WR in the Fantasy, has seen a surge in production over the past two weeks and against the Chiefs he has set new career highs with nine targets, seven catches and 82 yards in the air . Bowden is a great option as a PPR receiver, and if DeVante Parker (leg) and Jakeem Grant (hamstrings) came out this week, Bowden can be a solid flexible game. He’s probably more worth considering at WR as he doesn’t get consistent litters, but his advantage is high. 38 Adrian Peterson, DET @ TEN. At this point, Peterson’s value comes entirely from TDs. With D’Andre Swift back in action and Kerryon Johnson having a chance to beat in a goal line, it doesn’t look like Peterson is producing much. That said, his match is good, so you could do worse than the veteran if you desperately need RB’s help. 39 Devin Singletary, BUF @ DEN. See Zack Moss. 40 Latavius ​​Murray, NO v KC 41 This Smith, ATL vs. TB. The judge has averaged 12.3 touches and 51.4 yards per game in his last three outings and looks to become the second aspect of a one-two punch with Todd Gurley. Smith’s advantage isn’t too high, as Gurley will likely get the goal line, but he at least has some potential. Sadly, a game with Tampa Bay’s top five defensemen won’t help him work in flexible territory. 42 Darrell Henderson, LAR v NYJ. See Cam Akers. 43 Peyton Barber, WAS v SEA. Barber gets bulk, but he doesn’t do much in terms of footage. He’s only averaging 2.7 yards per carry, so he’ll only be considered a TD dependent flex. He’s unlikely to score against the Seahawks, especially if Dwayne Haskins faces quarterback Washington. 44 Frank Gore, NYJ @ LAR 45 Ty Johnson, NYJ @ LAR 46 Young Bernard, CIN vs. PIT. Bernard has done next to nothing on the pitch this season and was beaten by Trayveon Williams and Samaje Perine last week. It could represent a guard change to RB with Joe Mixon looking unlikely to return, but we recommend staying clear of all RB Bengals against the Steelers and their excellent run defense. 47 Mark Ingram, BAL vs. JAX 48 Duke Johnson, HOU @ IND 49 Tony Pollard, DAL vs. SF 50 Kalen Ballage, LAC @ LV 51 Chase Edmonds, ARI v PHI 52 Carlos Hyde, SEA @ WAS 53 Trayveon Wiliams, CIN v PIT. See young Bernard. 54 Samaje Perine, CIN versus. PIT. See Young Bernard 55 LeSean McCoy, TB @ ATL. McCoy supplanted Leonard Fournette as the Buccaneers’ first receiver after their bye. However, the Falcons have tightened things up considerably against the RBs, and McCoy isn’t getting many hits, so he’s just a handcuff to watch out for. 56 James White, NE @ MIA 57 Justin Jackson, LAC @ LV 58 Mike Davis, CAR @ GB 59 Le’Veon Bell, KC @ NO 60 Benny Snell, PIT @ CIN 61 Devontae Booker, LV v LAC 62 Malcolm Brown, LAR vs. NYJ 63 Boston Scott, PHI @ ARI 64 Jalen Richard, LV v LAC 65 Jordan Wilkins, IND v HOU 66 Sony Michel, NE @ MIA 67 Jeremy McNichols, TEN vs. DET 68 Dion Lewis, NYG vs. CLE 69 Brian Hill, ATL vs. TB 70 Kerryon Johnson, DET @ TEN 71 Darrel Williams, KC @ NO 72 Royce Freeman, DEN vs. BUF 73 Ameer Abdullah, MIN vs. CHI 74 Josh Adams, NYJ @ LAR