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Week 12 Running Back Rankings - Standard Leagues

The bible for Week 12 running back plays.

By Matias Wodner
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Death, taxes, and the running back position in fantasy football being a week to week crapshoot of a proposition. Those are the only three things certain in life. What will Week 12 have in store to make us weep?

Rank Player Team Opponent Analysis
1 Adrian Peterson Minnesota Vikings @ATL Other than maybe Gurley, he's been the most consistent RB over the past 5 weeks.
2 Doug Martin Tampa Bay Buccaneers @IND Coming off a 235 rushing yard performance and gets a Colts run defense that was about to get gashed (3 carries for 43 yards) by Devonta before he went down last week.
3 DeMarco Murray Philadelphia Eagles @DET In a must-win game, Chip Kelly would be smart to give their most consistent player over the past month the ball, especially with Mark Sanchez behind center.
4 Devonta Freeman Atlanta Falcons MIN On track to suit up this week after leaving early with a concussion against the Colts.
5 Todd Gurley St. Louis Rams @CIN Defenses will keep stacking the box against him, but he is their only offense. They need to feed him in order to stay in games.
6 LeSean McCoy Buffalo Bills KC He's gone over 10 points in each of his last 5 games played. He's playing like the old Shady again.
7 Mark Ingram New Orleans Saints @HOU Has at least 80 total yards in four straight games and should be refreshed after the bye week.
8 Jonathan Stewart Carolina Panthers @DAL Has gotten at least 20 carries for 6 straight weeks and has gone over 12 fantasy points in 5 of 6 of those.
9 Thomas Rawls Seattle Seahawks PIT Pittsburgh allows the fewest fantasy points to RBs, but Rawls has dominated when given full workloads.
10 Latavius Murray Oakland Raiders @TEN The Titans have an underrated run defense (fantasy wise at least), but Latavius is really good.
11 Chris Ivory New York Jets MIA His production has been hit or miss lately. Should be able to get back on track as he torched the Dolphins for 166 yards and a TD earlier this year, and the Jets won't be behind for much of this game.
12 T.J. Yeldon Jacksonville Jaguars SD This week's edition of "Who Will Gash the Chargers Run Defense?" features T.J. Yeldon.
13 Javorius Allen Baltimore Ravens @CLE This week's edition of "Who Will Gash the Browns Run Defense?" feature Javorius Allen.
14 Darren McFadden Dallas Cowboys CAR His usage keeps him this high, but this is a brutal matchup.
15 Matt Forte Chicago Bears @GB Slated to come back for TNF, but how much will he play?
16 Chris Johnson Arizona Cardinals @SF His efficiency has dropped off since the bye week. Great matchup keeps him high, though, as the 49ers just got destroyed on the ground in Seattle
17 Lamar Miller Miami Dolphins @NYJ Should get a lot more touches than last week, even in a tough matchup.
18 Frank Gore Indianapolis Colts TB Split work nearly 50-50 with Bradshaw last week, but that was mostly due to him being banged up. He should be good to go this week.
19 DeAngelo Williams Pittsburgh Steelers @SEA Will be the every-down back in one of the worst matchups possible.
20 Eddie Lacy Green Bay Packers CHI HE HAS RISEN! Even though he looked all the way back, this is still probably a 1-2 punch kind of backfield for now.
21 Alfred Blue Houston Texans NO New Orleans' defense is atrocious and Blue is the starting RB.
22 Giovani Bernard Cincinnati Bengals STL This game sets up better for Gio as the Rams are a stout run defense.
23 LeGarrette Blount New England Patriots DEN This game sets up better for a pass catching back, but Denver has given up rushing touchdowns each of the last 4 weeks.
24 Ronnie Hillman Denver Broncos @NE Hillman should get plenty of work, no matter whether the Broncos are down or close.
25 Jeremy Langford Chicago Bears @GB How much work will he get with Forte back?
26 Antonio Andrews Tennessee Titans OAK The Titans should be able to attack the Raiders on the ground.
27 Danny Woodhead San Diego Chargers @JAX His week-to-week usage is extremely volatile.
28 Jeremy Hill Cincinnati Bengals STL Got back on the board last week, but faces another tough test.
29 James Starks Green Bay Packers CHI If Lacy builds on last week, Starks might see his usage gradually decrease.
30 Matt Jones Washington Redskins NYG His fumbling issues are a big problem, but Jay Gruden doesn't seem to care all that much. It's not like he has a 3-time 1000 yard rusher on his bench.
31 Ameer Abdullah Detroit Lions PHI Finally got some carries. Let's hope it continues this week.
32 Charles Sims Tampa Bay Buccaneers @IND Even though it's been the Doug Martin show, Sims has been getting a nice amount of usage and done relative damage with it.
33 Melvin Gordon San Diego Chargers @JAX Still getting 10+ carries. Still doing nothing with them.
34 C.J. Anderson Denver Broncos NE Broncos should rely on their running game in this one, but Hillman looks to be the main guy for the most part.
35 Ahmad Bradshaw Indianapolis Colts TB

Coming off a 2 TD (receiving) performance, is he channeling his early 2014 form?
36 Duke Johnson Cleveland Browns BAL Should get his fair share of passing work with Josh McCown back at center.
37 Jonathan Grimes Houston Texans NO He's better than Alfred Blue, but isn't getting nearly the same amount of work.
38 Theo Riddick Detroit Lions PHI The passing down back in an inept offense. Still getting a good amount of touches.
39 Rashad Jennings New York Giants @WAS Seems to be the most consistent option in their backfield, which really isn't saying a whole lot.
40 Darren Sproles Philadelphia Eagles @DET Will keep  getting increased work with Ryan Mathews out again, but this game should be much closer than last week, which means more Murray.
41 Bishop Sankey Tennessee Titans OAK Should get a substantial increase in opportunities with Dexter McCluster injured.
42 Shane Vereen New York Giants @WAS I feel like Tom Coughlin probably hates fantasy football.
43 Alfred Morris Washington Redskins NYG I feel like Jay Gruden definitely hates fantasy football.
44 Bilal Powell New York Jets MIA The passing down back for the Jets, I don't think he'll get nearly as many touches as he did last week due to game flow.
45 C.J. Spiller New Orleans Saints @HOU Remember when he was going to be the next Sproles in New Orleans? Yeah, wow, that did NOT happen.
46 Chris Thompson Washington Redskins NYG This backfield is depressing on so many levels.
47 David Cobb Tennessee Titans OAK Coach Mike Mularkey said he will see more touches with McCluster injured, but I'll believe it when I see it.
48 Joique Bell Detroit Lions PHI He's really bad and there's no point for them to keep playing him with their season in the tank.
49 Spencer Ware Kansas City Chiefs BUF Will start if Charcandrick West is out, but I don't know how it will play out yet so early in the week.
50 Shaun Draughn San Francisco 49ers ARI This team is terrible.