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2020 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running backs for Week 13

Tiered RB rankings for Week 13.

By NHB
Arizona Cardinals v New England Patriots Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

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”.

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