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2019 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running backs for Week 14

Expect Dallas to feature Ezekiel Elliott as they work to retain 1st-place in the NFC East.

By NHB
NFL: Buffalo Bills at Dallas Cowboys Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Week 14 features a bevy of start-able asset’s down through the RB3 rankings. Ezekiel Elliott at Chicago and Derrick Henry at Oakland are serious eruption spots. Both Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny (at LAR) are RB2 viable. Carson’s fumbling problems have lead to more work for Penny and less work for... Russell Wilson. Miles Sanders (NYG) and Mark Ingram II (at BUF) are both high-end RB2s in their excellent matchups. James White is the premier RB3 against the Chiefs. The KC backfield is muddled but LeSean McCoy is the best bet for 15 touches. Alexander Mattison has standalone flex value with Dalvin Cook ailing.

Week 14 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 at ATL A divisional win would be big for the barely-in-it Panthers. Expeect CMC to get all he can handle.
2 Ezekiel Elliott DAL at CHI Chicago's front-seven can't make up its mind about whether it will or won't stop the run. Dallas barely holds 1st in the NFC East. Elliott should be the preferred offensive engine this week when considering the Bears' stout secondary.
3 Derrick Henry TEN at OAK The Titans are a game out of 1st in the AFC South. Henry's gonna get fed in this outstanding matchup.
4 Leonard Fournette JAX LAC Fournette lead the team in targets again last week. He's matchup-proof.
5 Nick Chubb CLE CIN The hope is that Chubb gashes the Bengals throughout the 1st half before they put him on ice. Cincy offers little to stop him so his prospects are strong.
6 Melvin Gordon III LAC at JAX The Jags' awful run defense stands no chance.
7 Saquon Barkley NYG at PHI He looked a little better last week but this is a very tough matchup.
8 Alvin Kamara NO SF The 49ers have been generous to running backs through the air, as of late.
9 Dalvin Cook MIN DET Cook's re-aggravation of his SC joint sprain is not good. He will not require surgery at the moment and will be able to play. There is a chance that it impacts his play/in-game availability though. He's a very shaky start.
10 Aaron Jones GB WAS Excellent matchup for him to bounce back in.
11 Josh Jacobs OAK TEN Excellent matchup on tap here.
12 Chris Carson SEA at LAR No matter how often he fumbles, you can bill him to 20+ touches.
High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s
13 Miles Sanders PHI NYG Glorious matchup on tap here and Jordan Howard's return from a shoulder stinger is still up in the air.
14 Mark Ingram II BAL at BUF Run-funnel on tap here.
15 Todd Gurley II LAR SEA The Rams are desperately trying to stay in playoff contention and they're giving Gurley all he can handle in the process.
16 Phillip Lindsay DEN at HOU Denver's workhorse should pummel the Texans' woeful D-Line.
17 Benny Snell Jr. PIT at ARI With Conner out, Snell should see 20 or more touches in an excellent matchup.
18 Marlon Mack IND at TB It's been a toss-up between Jordan Wilkins and Jonathan Williams over the last two games. Mack should return to 20-touch form this week.
19 Kenyan Drake ARI PIT Tough matchup but Drake's the lead dog now.
20 Rashaad Penny SEA at LAR Seattle has become a two-back committee -- at the expense of Russell Wilson -- and both are viable.
21 Devin Singletary BUF BAL Tough matchup but his workload should be safe.
22 Austin Ekeler LAC at JAX Ekeler just keeps getting it done and this is an excellent matchup.
23 Joe Mixon CIN at CLE Mixon should see 15+ touches in a good matchup.
24 Kareem Hunt CLE CIN Outstanding matchup and his role is secure.
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3s
25 James White NE KC This game could clear 50 points.
26 Bo Scarbrough DET at MIN Scarbrough is a lock for 18+ touches.
27 Raheem Mostert SF at NO Mostert severely outplayed Tevin Coleman early on and HC Kyle Shanahan quickly gave Mostert the keys to the backfield. It's risky but Mostert is the best bet to lead the backfield in touches this week.
28 LeSean McCoy KC at NE KC's backfield is in disarray but he's the most proven vet available.
29 David Montgomery CHI DAL It's a tough matchup but he should have a secure, moderate workload.
30 Devonta Freeman ATL CAR It's a great matchup for the bad player.
31 Derrius Guice WAS at GB Guice is clearly the best back in this backfield.
32 Duke Johnson Jr. HOU DEN Duke's meager workload's have slowly increased, as Carlos Hyde's has gone down.
33 Jamaal Williams GB WAS Great matchup for a flex start here.
34 Patrick Laird MIA at NYJ Laird's the lead back now. Tough matchup though.
35 Alexander Mattison MIN DET Although low on this list, Mattison's floor is rock-solid. He will get work this week.
36 Bilal Powell NYJ MIA Powell is a usable fantasy asset this week as the likely leader of the Jets' backfield.
Low Floor/Capped Ceiling RB4s
37 Nyheim Hines IND at TB Hines has been a flex-able asset in Mack's absence. With Mack's presumed return, Hines' role has been thrown into quesiton.
38 Matt Breida SF at NO Assuming he's back this week, his role should remain secure.
39 Sony Michel NE KC This is an amazing matchup but he's been so unreliable.
40 Adrian Peterson WAS at GB Peterson should retain 12-15 carries.
41 Darwin Thompson KC at NE Thompson should get 40% of the Chiefs' backfield touches this week. He's mostly an unknown though.
42 Carlos Hyde HOU DEN Hyde's atrocious play has finally begun to catchup to him. His workload has been dropping.
43 Ronald Jones II TB IND Jones is back in Bruce Arians' dog house. If he falters in-game, he hits the bench. Not a bankable start.
44 Gus Edwards BAL at BUF Edwards should see 8+ touches in a good matchup.
45 Tevin Coleman SF at NO Coleman appears to have lost his starting job.
46 Royce Freeman DEN at HOU High-end handcuff with a small shot at a touchdown.
47 Tarik Cohen CHI DAL Chicago will have to involve Cohen to some degree in an attempt to keep pace with Dallas.
48 Frank Gore BUF BAL Gore should retain his regular 10+ touches in a decent matchup.
Source Links: Dalvin Cook’s injury and San Francisco’s pass-catching running back defense.

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