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2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running backs for Week 13

A changing of the guard.

By NHB
NFL: Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Backs like Leonard Fournette, Derrick Henry, and Josh Jacobs are solidifying their place ahead of Saquon Barkley. Miles Sanders is set to demolish Miami with Jordan Howard likely missing another week of action. Bo Scarbrough is a legit RB2, as are both LeSean McCoy and Darrel Williams in their matchup against Oakland at home.

Week 13 Running Back Rankings

Rank Running Back Team Opponent High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s
Rank Running Back Team Opponent High Floor/High Ceiling RB1s
1 Christian McCaffrey CAR WAS Fantastic matchup for the best assett in fantasy.
2 Dalvin Cook MIN at SEA On paper, Seattle's run defense has improved. In reality however, it's been ages since they've faced a true 20+ touch rusher.
3 Ezekiel Elliott DAL BUF Buffalo's run-funnel defense should easily provide a Top 3 outing for Elliott.
4 Leonard Fournette JAX TB Tampa Bay's run defense is excellent. However, Fournette is a full-blown dual threat running back at this point. His 12 targets lead the team last week. He's matchup-proof.
5 Alvin Kamara NO at ATL It's been a supbar year for Kamara but Atlanta's defense still can't stop running backs. This should be more of a ceiling game for him.
6 Le'Veon Bell NYJ at CIN Smaaaaash spot for Bell on tap this week.
7 Josh Jacobs OAK at KC Kansas City is almost impossibly bad against the run.
8 Derrick Henry TEN at IND Indy's been strong again opposing run games but Henry's workloads keep him matchup-proof.
9 Nick Chubb CLE at PIT This is likely to be a bit contrarian but even with Kareem Hunt back in the fold the last time these teams met, Chubb still racked up 27 carries. We can expect the Browns to continue being an RB-centric offense.
10 Melvin Gordon III LAC at DEN He's an RB1, regardless of matchup at this point.
11 Saquon Barkley NYG GB Green Bay's run defense has been largely toothless this season. Barkley's still not looking 100% though so it's time we definitively downgraded him.
12 Aaron Jones GB at NYG Jones should be able to get back on track against the hapless Giants' defense.
High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s
13 Jonathan Williams IND TEN As we said last week, Williams is the man to own in the Indy backfield. This is a massive smash spot for him. The Titans' run defense is bad.
14 Mark Ingram II BAL SF It's a tough matchup but Baltimore's offense lives in their opponents' red zone. Ingram is consistently in scoring position, no matter what.
15 Miles Sanders PHI at MIA As we've discussed previously, nerve injuries like the one Jordan Howard suffered can last for weeks-to-months. Calling this early, he'll be Out again this week and Sanders will get fed 15-20 touches against the worst team in the NFL.
16 Phillip Lindsay DEN LAC Smash spot against LAC's hapless run defense.
17 Ronald Jones II TB at JAX Jacksonville's run defense is very bad.
18 Bo Scarbrough DET CHI Scarbrough has asserted himself as the team's lead back. Expect 18+ touches against Chicago's generally charitable defensive front.
19 Kenyan Drake ARI LAR Drake should retain lead back duties.
20 Devin Singletary BUF at DAL Buffalo's lead back has another shot at 20 touches this week.
21 LeSean McCoy KC OAK Both Shady and Darrel were great starts in Damien Williams' Weeks 3 and 4 absence.
22 Benny Snell Jr. PIT CLE Snell appears to have taken over 20-touch responsibilities in Pittsburgh.
23 Darrel Williams KC OAK As mentioned in the LeSean McCoy blurb, both were great in Damien's early-season abasence. Both were also great in their last game.
24 Chris Carson SEA MIN Carson's no longer the team's lead back. This is a split time share now.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3s
25 Rashaad Penny SEA MIN Penny's likely to get 50% of the backfield touches this week.
26 Todd Gurley II LAR at ARI This whole offense is flailing and Gurley's impossible to predict. It's a good matchup but he could absolutely burn you.
27 Tevin Coleman SF at BAL Tough matchup but the workload is there for flex purposes.
28 Kareem Hunt CLE at PIT Hunt's got a right to 10-15 touches per game. Many of them are high-value passing game looks.
29 Joe Mixon CIN NYJ Although he's likely to see 20 touches, this offense is brutal. He could hop into the RB2 range though.
30 Austin Ekeler LAC at DEN Ekeler's just too good to go away.
31 Jamaal Williams GB at NYG GB's 1B back should post safe flex numbers in a great matchup this week.
32 David Montgomery CHI at DET Matt Nagy's lost his mind.
33 Sony Michel NE at HOU Houston's weak front could bode well for Michel.
34 Tarik Cohen CHI at DET Cohen should retain .5PPR flex value in a good matchup.
35 James White NE at HOU A likely shootout should keep White relevant.
36 Nyheim Hines IND TEN Hines' Mack-less passing game role is concrete.
Low Floor/Low Ceiling RB4s
37 Carlos Hyde HOU NE Hyde should see 20 touches this week but he's merely a flex in such a tough matchup.
38 Devonta Freeman ATL NO The Falcons' backfield is a disaster.
39 Adrian Peterson WAS at CAR Peterson is a fine flex play.
40 Jay Ajayi PHI at MIA Even though he accomplished nothing with his touches last week, a date with Miami could pay dividends.
41 Matt Breida SF at BAL It's possible Breida returns this week as a low-end flex.
42 David Johnson ARI LAR Uncertainty surrounds him.
43 Chase Edmonds ARI LAR One of these two backs will contribute as a low-end flex.
44 Latavius Murray NO at ATL Against such a bad front, it's possible Murray finds the end zone.
45 Duke Johnson Jr. HOU NE A likely shootout should force Bill O'Brien to use his more talented back.
46 Alexander Mattison MIN at SEA Mattison could get loose this week as a change of pace back.
47 Jalen Richard OAK at KC Richard should definitely see some passing game usage this week.
48 Tony Pollard DAL BUF He's being used sparingly.
Source Links: Leonard Fournette’s Week 12 performance and Week 11’s PIT at CLE box score.

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