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Time to look at my running back fantasy football rankings for NFL Week 13.
Derrick “King” Henry takes the top spot this week after a studly Week 12 performance and another great match-up on tap in Week 13.
Kenyan Drake is back in the RB1 discussion.
Until we get Alvin Kamara’s foot injury figured out, Latavius Murray is the safest, and highest-ranked, piece of the New Orleans backfield.
Benny Snell Jr. and J.K. Dobbins are high-end RB2s.
Boston Scott’s usage and Jordan Howard’s presence drops Miles Sanders into the flex world.
Week 13 RB rankings (.5PPR)
Rank | High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s | Team | Opponent | Breakdown |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s | Team | Opponent | Breakdown |
1 | Derrick Henry | TEN | CLE | Winter is coming, so it's time for Henry to shine. Cleveland just got demoslished on by James Robinson. |
2 | Dalvin Cook | MIN | JAX | Assuming his tweaked ankle isn't a big deal, this is a get-right spot for Cook. |
3 | Austin Ekeler | LAC | NE | Per Adam Levitan*, Ekeler's return to action resulted in a career high, 25 touches last week. |
4 | Nick Chubb | CLE | at TEN | Battle of the Backs on tap. |
5 | James Robinson | JAX | at MIN | Blow-up spot for the elite fantasy back. |
6 | Raheem Mostert | SF | BUF | Buffalo's front-seven has been a welcoming presence for opposing backfields this year. |
7 | Antonio Gibson | WAS | at PIT | Gibson's usage is continuing to surge upward. |
8 | Chris Carson | SEA | NYG | A running back in a high-powered offense can succeed even in tough match-ups. |
9 | Aaron Jones | GB | PHI | Great match-up. |
10 | Kenyan Drake | ARI | LAR | Drake is suddenly seeing bellcow usage. |
11 | Josh Jacobs | LV | at NYJ | Outstandning match-up. Monitor the status of his injured ankle. |
12 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC | DEN | CEH should trample Denver's lacking defense. |
Rank | High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB2s | Team | Opponent | Breakdown |
13 | David Montgomery | CHI | DET | Bellcow usage against Detroit, the league's most running back-friendly front-seven, brings surefire Top 15 results. |
14 | Latavius Murray | NO | at ATL | It's unclear as to whether or not Sean Payton just wants a bruising presence with Taysom Hill at quarterback or if Alvin Kamara's foot injury is a moderate mid-foot sprain. |
15 | Benny Snell Jr. | PIT | WAS | New lead back for Pittsburgh. |
16 | J.K. Dobbins | BAL | DAL | Cake match-up but it's tough to know what the state of the roster will be. |
17 | Alvin Kamara | NO | at ATL | Need to figure out if Kamara has suffered a mid-foot sprain or not. |
18 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | at BAL | Baltimore's whole team has been weakend by COVID-19. |
19 | Nyheim Hines | IND | at HOU | Great dual threat usage while Jonathan Taylor is out. |
20 | Kareem Hunt | CLE | at TEN | Chubb has separated from Hunt, quite a bit. Hunt is still likely to be the second-most involved player on the team though. |
21 | Miles Sanders | PHI | at GB | Green Bay's appalling run defense should allow Sanders to have a decent day. The targets being tossed Boston Scott's way are a huge problem though -- as is Carson Wentz's overall ability to play quarterback. |
22 | David Johnson | HOU | IND | Tough match-up but the volume locks him into the RB2 ranks. |
23 | Wayne Gallman | NYG | at SEA | Seattle's front-seven has tightened the screws on opposing backfields. The volume will be there though. |
24 | James White | NE | LAC | White has returned to being the team's do-it-all back. |
Rank | High-Floor/Capped-Ceiling RB3s | Team | Opponent | Breakdown |
25 | Melvin Gordon | DEN | at KC | A lead back without much passing upside and a talented backup. |
26 | Ito Smith | ATL | NO | Brian Hill got the snaps but Smith was much more involved... and productive. |
27 | Miles Sanders | PHI | at GB | The presence of Boston Scott and Jordan Howard drastically drop Sanders' outlook. |
28 | J.D. McKissic | WAS | at PIT | Washington's likely to be forced into a pass-happy game script, which plays to JDM's strengths. |
29 | Boston Scott | PHI | at GB | His passing game role is secure and his return game usage is might helpful. |
30 | Zack Moss | BUF | at SF | So-so match-up but Allen's rushing caps Moss's ceiling. |
31 | Jamaal Williams | GB | PHI | Philly's front-seven is very inviting to opposing RBs. |
32 | Frank Gore | NYJ | LV | Another match-up where Gore can just barely eclipse the double-digit mark. |
33 | Carlos Hyde | SEA | NYG | Tough match-up but 10-touch backs in good offenses are worth a flex start. |
34 | Le'Veon Bell | KC | DEN | Entirely unimposing match-up but not quite seeing enough work to be trusted as a sturdy flex. |
35 | Cam Akers | LAR | at ARI | Akers may be separating from the bunch. |
36 | Jerick McKinnon | SF | BUF | Back to the pass catching back role. |
Rank | RB4s | Team | Opponent | Breakdown |
37 | Brian Hill | ATL | NO | Hill did have the most snaps of all ATL RBs last week and over time, that's typically what matters most. Ito Smith may have won the lead back job, while Gurley is out, though. |
38 | Adrian Peterson | DET | at CHI | Per Kyle Meinke, "Adrian Peterson says D'Andre Swift hasn't been himself since suffering a brain injury".* |
39 | Phillip Lindsay | DEN | at KC | 10 or so carries doesn't count for much. |
40 | Anthony McFarland Jr. | PIT | WAS | New No. 2 back in Pittsburgh. |
41 | Joshua Kelley | LAC | NE | Ranking will drop if Kalen Ballage is healthy. |
42 | Chase Edmonds | ARI | LAR | So-so match-up but this is Kenyan Drake's backfield now. |
43 | Devin Singletary | BUF | at SF | Just a capped-ceiling change of pace back now. |
44 | Gus Edwards | BAL | DAL | Has been, perhaps, the team's best pure rusher. |
45 | Tony Pollard | DAL | at BAL | Could face a depleted Ravens' defense, on albeit minimal touches. |
46 | Non-Cam Akers LAR RBs | LAR | at ARI | Toss-up. |
47 | Mark Ingram | BAL | DAL | Potentially washed and shouldn't see much work, regardless. |
48 | Jordan Howard | PHI | at GB | Howard's a candidate for single-digit yardage + one or more touchdowns. |
Source links: Adam Levitan on Austin Ekeler’s career-high Week 12 usage, the running back snap share of the Atlanta Falcons in Week 12, the Atlanta Falcons’ running back production in Week 12, Adrian Peterson on D’Andre Swift’s “brain injury”.