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Fantasy Football Rankings: Running backs for Week 12

Ranking the best running backs by matchup and opportunity for Week 12 of the 2018 NFL Season. 

By NHB
Pittsburgh Steelers v Jacksonville Jaguars Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

The Top 20 features tons of good options for Week 12 of the 2018 NFL season.

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Rank Running Back Team Opponent High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s
Rank Running Back Team Opponent High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s
1 Alvin Kamara NO ATL Todd Gurley's bye coupled with the perfect pass-catching-back matchup puts Kamara in the top spot this week.
2 Melvin Gordon III LAC ARI A delicious matchup for an All-Pro back.
3 Saquon Barkley NYG at PHI Philly's D specializes in failing against the pass but Barkley's overall usage and Philly's recent inability to stop the run keep Barkley in the Top 3.
4 Christian McCaffrey CAR SEA Seattle has been pulverized by dual-threat backs in recent weeks.
5 Leonard Fournette JAX at BUF It's been The Fournette Show since he returned from injury and Buffalo featues a run-funnel defense.
6 James Conner PIT at DEN He's slowed in recent weeks but this is a very favorable matchup.
7 David Johnson ARI at LAC DJ's on fire and gets a solid matchup for Thanksgiving Week.
8 Nick Chubb CLE at CIN Cincy's defense is non-existant and Chubb's playing lights-out with monster workloads.
9 Marlon Mack IND MIA A golden matchup for Indy's bellcow.
10 Ezekiel Elliot DAL WAS Dallas will play to their repuation as a featured Thanksgiving day game -- they're gonna pound the rock.
11 Sony Michel NE at NYJ NE will look to dominate the division rival and Michel stands to benefit the most as they run out the clock in the second half.
12 Aaron Jones GB at MIN This will be the playmaker's toughest test to date as Green Bay's featured runner. He's been on a warpath though, so keep him in your lineup as an RB1.
High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB2s
13 Joe Mixon CIN CLE Given the matchup, Mixon might belong in the RB1 grouping but Cincy's offense has sputtered in recent weeks. A date with Cleveland's overworked defense should be just what the doctor ordered.
14 Matt Breida SF at TB Breida's health is the best it's been in a while -- he's still hurt, but that's okay because it's Tampa Bay.
15 Mark Ingram NO ATL This is the perfect matchup for both Saints' backs to feast.
16 James White NE at NYJ Similar to Sony's projected usage, New England is fresh off the bye and will look to get back to their bread and butter.
17 Gus Edwards BAL OAK Baltimore's new starting back is going to eviscerate this Raiders "defense".
18 Philip Lindsay DEN PIT The jitterbug lead back will be needed in the passing game as Denver struggles to keep up with Pittsburgh.
19 Josh Adams PHI NYG The coaching staff promised to get him more involved and last week they did just that. Adams has earned lead back duties in this offense and he's got a great matchup against a bad NYG run defense on tap.
20 Duke Johnson Jr. CLE CIN Duke's usage has been pristine during the last two games. He stays in the mix as an RB2 with a good matchup.
Lower-Floor/High-Ceiling RB2s
21 Dalvin Cook MIN GB It's been ugly but the talent is there.
22 Adrian Peterson WAS at DAL The loss of Alex Smith means AD's workload just shot up. It's a tough matchup but he could see 25+ touches as both teams play "3 yards and a pile of dust".
23 Tarik Cohen CHI at DET We've seen the floors of both CHI backs as of late. He's in a good spot to put up points though.
24 Tevin Coleman ATL at NO 12-15 touches should be enough to warrant continued RB2/flex treatment.
RB3s
25 Chris Carson SEA at CAR It's a tough matchup but he might need to be higher on this list due to usage.
26 Jordan Howard CHI at DET It's the matchup, not the usage that let's us consider using him.
27 Dion Lewis TEN at HOU It's a tough matchup but he's still got lead back duties.
28 Lamar Miller HOU TEN It's a tough matchup but he's still got lead back duties. (HA)
29 LeSean McCoy BUF JAX Usage and Week 10's explosion get him this high. It's a bad matchup though.
30 Theo Riddick DET CHI Detroit's going to have to throw to keep up with Chicago. Kerryon Johnson being OUT should boost Riddick's touches.
31 Austin Ekeler LAC ARI The plus matchup makes Ekeler an RB3. He's fallen off a bit as of late though.
32 Isaiah Crowell NYJ NE His ceiling is as high as ever but McGuire's a serious threat to his workload.
33 Peyton Barber TB SF Barber saw more success in the box score with Winston under center and Fitzpatrick should be riding the pine from here on out.
34 Royce Freeman DEN PIT One of the better goal-line backs in the league -- he's got a good shot to find paydirt but probably won't put up much yardage.
35 Ito Smith ATL at NO It'll be all hands on deck and the Falcons try to keep up with the Saints.
36 LeGarrette Blount DET CHI Blount has a good chance to finish with 6.1 fantasy points -- a 1-yard touchdown -- now that Kerryon Johnson is OUT.

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