There are three causes for the roller coaster ride of figuring who to start at running backs in fantasy football -- bye weeks, injuries and committees. Fortunately, we have no more bye weeks to worry about. Unfortunately, we have a boatload of injuries and committees that make their presence felt in our Week 12 RB rankings.
Devonta Freeman and Ty Montgomery have a chance to play this week, but for now, we've left them off the rankings. Of course, both players will have a big impact on Tevin Coleman and Jamaal Williams, respectively. We saw two major injuries in Week 11 with Chris Thompson and D'Onta Foreman suffering nasty season-ending ailments. Thompson's injury boosted Samaje Perine, adding in his solid matchup, into the top 20 for the first time this season, and Lamar Miller just falls outside the top 10, as he likely won't cede as many carries to Houston's backups. At the same time, Danny Woodhead's return from injury has drastically dropped Buck Allen's value but has had zero effect on Alex Collins.
With the bye weeks gone, those pesky start 'em, sit 'em decisions become less of a worry, but there are still committee problems to deal with. We have two committees -- Vikings and Saints -- where both guys deserve starting nods, but then we have other committees -- Patriots and Dolphins (who face each other) and Jets -- where it's still tough to figure out who will rise above the other. Hopefully, our Week 12 RB rankings will help your fantasy team rise to a win this week.
WEEK 12 RANKINGS
Quarterback | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Reminder: We'll update our rankings throughout the week and add player analysis, so please check back often. And here's how you could lose in fantasy in Week 12.
WEEK 12 DFS:
Yahoo GPP lineup | Y! cash | DK GPP | DK cash | FD GPP | FD cash | Values | Stacks | DFS lineup builder
Week 12 Fantasy Football Rankings: RBs
These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues
| 1 | Le'Veon Bell, Steelers vs. Packers |
| 2 | Kareem Hunt, Chiefs vs. Bills |
| 3 | Todd Gurley, Rams vs. Saints. Gurley only has one game with fewer than 11 standard league fantasy points. He gets it done one way or another against everyone, and the Saints, who allow 4.7 yards per carry and almost 50 receiving yards per game to RBs, will be no exception |
| 4 | LeSean McCoy, Bills @ Chiefs |
| 5 | Mark Ingram, Saints @ Rams. |
| 6 | Melvin Gordon, Chargers @ Cowboys Gordon never gets cheated on touches, posting at least 15 in all but one game this season. His rushing totals are up and down, but few players are as big of a threat for multiple TDs in a given game as Gordon is. Dallas's run defense nosedives without Sean Lee, so everything is in place here. |
| 7 | Leonard Fournette, Jaguars @ Cardinals |
| 8 | Jay Ajayi, Eagles vs. Bears |
| 9 | Jordan Howard, Bears @ Eagles |
| 10 | Alvin Kamara, Saints @ Rams. Kamara is just as likely to get multiple TDs every week as Ingram is. Similar to Ingram, Kamara has shined since the Adrian Peterson trade, scoring five touchdowns in six games and recording 100 total yards the past three. The Rams have given up the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs this season, including a 21-point performance by Latavius Murray last week. |
| 11 | Lamar Miller, Texans @ Ravens |
| 12 | DeMarco Murray, Titans @ Colts |
| 13 | Christian McCaffrey, Panthers @ Jets. McCaffrey has led the team in targets since the Kelvin Benjamin trade, and he's collected three touchdowns in the two games Benjamin has been gone. The Jets struggle mightily with receiving backs, allowing three TDs to them in the past five games, and that's McCaffrey's bread and butter. The Panthers' trend of targeting McCaffrey (at least six times each week since Week 4) will continue, and he'll take advantage of a weak Jets defense against pass-catching backs, plus add some rushing numbers. |
| 14 | Jerick McKinnon, Vikings @ Lions. The Lions are coming off a game where the Bears' rushing attack could do no wrong. Jordan Howard ran for 125 yards and a score, and Tarik Cohen added a score on nine carries for 44 yards. Latavius Murray and McKinnon are in a similar committee as the Bears, and if Howard and Cohen can have big games at the same time, McKinnon and Murray can as well, especially since they've done it before. |
| 15 | Alex Collins, Ravens vs. Texans |
| 16 | Carlos Hyde, 49ers vs. Seahawks |
| 17 | Orleans Darkwa, Giants @ Redskins New York has shown a willingness to feed Darkwa in both close and lopsided games, giving him 56 touches over the past three contests. Washington just got roasted by the Saints backs and had trouble with Latavius Murray the week before that. In Week 8, Zeke Elliott abused them for 150 yards and two scores. Darkwa is closer to Murray in talent, so a repeat of Murray's Week 10 performance (68 yards, TD) would be just fine. |
| 18 | Tevin Coleman, Falcons vs. Bucs. Bobby Wagner and company stifled Coleman for only a couple yards per carry, but Tampa Bay poses nowhere near the opposition that Seattle's still-firing run defense did on Monday night. It helps that Freeman is likely out with a concussion. |
| 19 | Samaje Perine, Redskins vs. Giants |
| 20 | Dion Lewis, Patriots vs. Dolphins. Lewis was the leader in the Patriots backfield again last week, rushing 10 times for 60 yards and a score. Perhaps more important, he was actually active in the receiving game, catching a season-high four passes for 28 yards. The Dolphins defense has been bad on every level lately, giving up multiple RB touchdowns in two of the past three weeks. |
| 21 | Latavius Murray, Vikings @ Lions |
| 22 | Ameer Abdullah, Lions vs. Vikings |
| 23 | Isaiah Crowell, Browns @ Bengals. Crowell has seen an uptick in recent weeks with speed bumps including the brick wall that is Jacksonville in Week 11 and the bye in Week 9. Isolating Weeks 8 and 10 puts Crowell at seventh in rushing and 12th in RB receiving yards. |
| 24 | Joe Mixon, Bengals vs. Browns |
| 25 | C.J. Anderson, Broncos @ Raiders |
| 26 | Adrian Peterson, Cardinals vs. Jaguars |
| 27 | Marshawn Lynch, Raiders vs. Broncos |
| 28 | Doug Martin, Bucs @ Falcons |
| 29 | Jamaal Williams, Packers @ Steelers |
| 30 | Frank Gore, Colts vs. Titans |
| 31 | Alfred Morris, Cowboys vs. Chargers |
| 32 | Danny Woodhead, Ravens vs. Texans |
| 33 | Derrick Henry, Titans @ Colts |
| 34 | Rex Burkhead, Patriots vs. Dolphins |
| 35 | Duke Johnson Jr., Browns @ Bengals |
| 36 | James White, Patriots vs. Dolphins |
| 37 | Kenyan Drake, Dolphins @ Patriots |
| 38 | LeGarrette Blount, Eagles vs. Bears |
| 39 | Devontae Booker, Broncos @ Raiders |
| 40 | Damien Williams, Dolphins @ Patriots |
| 41 | Bilal Powell, Jets vs. Panthers |
| 42 | Tarik Cohen, Bears @ Eagles |
| 43 | Theo Riddick, Lions vs. Vikings |
| 44 | Eddie Lacy, Seahawks @ 49ers |
| 45 | Austin Ekeler, Chargers @ Cowboys |
| 46 | J.D. McKissic, Seahawks @ 49ers. There's no guarantee McKissic will be the "lead back," even with Mike Davis out, but he handled the bulk of the carries over Eddie Lacy on Monday, and Thomas Rawls seems to be firmly planted in the doghouse. Against the 49ers, who allow the most fantasy points per game (FPPG) to RBs, he's not the worst option. |
| 47 | Matt Forte, Jets vs. Panthers |
| 48 | Jonathan Stewart, Panthers @ Jets |
| 49 | Marlon Mack, Colts vs. Titans |
| 50 | Wayne Gallman, Giants @ Redskins |
| 51 | Shane Vereen, Giants @ Redskins |
| 52 | Buck Allen, Ravens vs. Texans |
| 53 | Charcandrick West, Chiefs vs. Bills |
| 54 | Matt Breida, 49ers vs. Seahawks |
| 55 | Giovani Bernard, Bengals vs. Browns |
| 56 | Benny Cunningham, Bears @ Eagles |
| 57 | DeAndre Washington, Raiders vs. Broncos |
| 58 | T.J. Yeldon, Jaguars @ Cardinals |
| 59 | Rod Smith, Cowboys vs. Chargers |
| 60 | Jamaal Charles, Broncos @ Raiders |
| 61 | Jalen Richard, Raiders vs. Broncos |
| 62 | Jacquizz Rodgers, Bucs @ Falcons |
| 63 | Darren McFadden, Cowboys vs. Chargers |
| 64 | Terron Ward, Falcons vs. Bucs |