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Fantasy Football Rankings: Running backs for Week 14

Ranking the best running backs by matchup and opportunity for Week 14 of the 2018 NFL Season. 

By NHB
NFL: Carolina Panthers at Pittsburgh Steelers Phillip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

A smattering of new names highlight our RB2 rankings this week.

RB Rankings for Week 14

Rank Running Back Team Opponent High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s
Rank Running Back Team Opponent High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s
1 Todd Gurley II LAR at CHI Matchups are irrelevant for Gurley as Coach Sean McVay continues to scheme defenses into 7-man fronts.
2 Christian McCaffrey CAR at CLE The all-purpose touchdown machine gets a stellar Week 14 matchup.
3 Alvin Kamara NO at TB Kamara can easily finish as the Top RB this week against the Bucs.
4 Ezekiel Elliott DAL PHI Dallas will feed its bellcow in this divisional showdown.
5 Saquon Barkley NYG at WAS High usage and a great matchup.
6 Aaron Jones GB ATL Philbin will feed his bellcow in a plus matchup. We can expect the interim HC to get the ball into his playmakers' hands -- he wants to keep this job.
7 Philip Lindsay DEN at SF A cake matchup for the lightning rod back.
8 Leonard Fournette JAX at TEN Expect 25 or more touches for the league's bellcow posterchild.
9 Nick Chubb CLE CAR Carolina's allowed a rushing touchdown in each of the last 4 weeks. Chubb's usage should be more stable this week than it was in Week 13.
10 Tarik Cohen CHI LAR Cohen could be this week's offensive focal point for the Bears. He'll be heavily featured in the passing game as Chicago tries to keep up with the Rams.
11 David Johnson ARI DET Chase Edmonds' vultured TDs were frustrating but DJ's usage was still in the 20+ range last week.
Shaky Floor/High-Ceiling RB1
12 Joe Mixon CIN at LAC Gio's starting to get work. Mixon will be needed if the Bengals hope to win though.
High-Floor/Shaky Ceiling RB2s
13 Justin Jackson LAC CIN Jackson asserted himself as the Chargers top No. 2 RB. A glorious matchup awaits him in Week 14 against the Bengals.
14 Gus Edwards BAL at KC Edwards has been an efficient yardage-producer in his time and Baltimore's starter. He gets a great matchup to try to hit his ceiling against the Chiefs in Week 14.
15 Sony Michel NE at MIA Michel's usage last week, although less than we'd hope, was promising. His second-half snap count was far ahead of White and Rex. Expect the Pats to salt the clock with him this week as they blowout the Miami Dolphins.
16 Jaylen Samuels PIT at OAK Expect the Steelers to feautre Samuels in the first half as they zoom out to a lead over the hapless Raiders. He TE designation in Yahoo! leagues makes him this week's most valuable waiver add.
17 Lamar Miller HOU IND Usage and matchup keep Miller as a solid RB2.
18 Dalvin Cook MIN at SEA Cook should have himself a solid day against a subpar Seahawks run D.
19 Adrian Peterson WAS NYG It's likely Peterson finds room to run against the Snacks-less Giants defense.
20 Jeff Wilson Jr. SF DEN Wilson Jr. finds himself in line for 20+ touches against a soft Denver run D.
21 Marlon Mack IND at HOU He's the featured back in an albeit tough matchup.
22 Chris Carson SEA MIN A steady workload keeps him as an RB2 in a tough matchup.
23 Kerryon Johnson DET at ARI If he can play, he's got a good chance to smash against a bad Arizona run defense.
24 Spencer Ware KC BAL It's a very tough matchup and there are questions as to his workload. Stay tuned, there's more to learn.
Low-Floor/High-Ceiling RB3s
25 Mark Ingram NO at TB Ingram could eat big time in the second-half.
26 James White NE at MIA His touches are decreasing but it's a stellar matchup.
High-Floor/Capped-Ceiling RB3s
27 Josh Adams PHI at DAL Goal-line work is there but he's a zero in the passing game -- both as a receiver and blocker. It's a tough matchup.
28 Stevan Ridley PIT at OAK Ridley should see solid second-half work this week against a very, very bad defense.
29 LeSean McCoy BUF NYJ A solid workload and a decent matchup.
30 Peyton Barber TB NO The matchup is poor but the usage is there for Barber to be a flex option.
31 Nyheim Hines IND at HOU This is a tough rushing matchup, Hines will likely snag flex-worthy work from Mack through passing game usage.
32 Doug Martin OAK PIT He's "matchup proof" flex play because Gruden will still try to establish the run even when his team is down multiple scores in the 3rd quarter.
33 Austin Ekeler LAC CIN He's playing second fiddle to Jackson's lead but it's a soft enough matchup that 10 or so touches should lead to decent points.
Low-Floor/Capped-Ceiling RB3s
34 Jordan Howard CHI LAR The Rams run defense is poor but CHI will be playing catchup. It's possible Howard rumbles for a 2-yard TD.
35 Isaiah Crowell NYJ at BUF Buffalo's run defense isn't dauting but he's banged up and on a bad team.
36 Kenyan Drake MIA NE Tannehill is utilizing him through the air. He's still the "No. 2 RB" though.
37 Rashaad Penny SEA MIN Penny's played well in his change-of-pace role.
RB4s
38 Derrick Henry TEN JAX He's seeing more work than Dion Lewis but he's facing the Jags.
39 Tevin Coleman ATL at GB Technically he's the lead back.
40 Frank Gore MIA NE He should see double-digit touches.
41 Ty Montgomery BAL at KC He'll see passing game work in the second half as Baltimore tries to catchup.
42 Chris Thompson WAS NYG The safety valve should be called upon now as he's returning to good health in a good matchup.
43 Damien Williams KC BAL Williams could be the darkhorse to takeover the lead role in KC's backfield.
44 Giovani Bernard CIN at LAC He's beginning to see more work now that Cincy's out of playoff contention.
45 Chase Edmonds ARI DET It's possible he sees more work for the playoff-less Cards.
46 T.J. Yeldon JAX at TEN Yeldon could see passing game work.
47 Corey Clement PHI at DAL He's still seeing meaningful time to compensate for Josh Adams' passing game deficiencies.
48 Latavius Murray MIN at SEA Murray could see goal-line work against Seattle's weak run defense.

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