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2020 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running backs for Week 14

Tiered RB rankings for Week 14.

By NHB
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

With NFL Week 14 upon us, here are my running back fantasy football rankings.

Christian McCaffrey is back on top.

Aaron Jones is primed for a monster day against Detroit’s abysmal run defense.

David Montgomery sneaks into the Top 12 against Houston.

Melvin Gordon should manhandle Carolina’s front-seven.

Miles Sanders is in free-fall.

Week 14’s Tiered Running Back Rankings - .5PPR

Rank High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s Team Opponent Breakdown
Rank High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s Team Opponent Breakdown
1 Christian McCaffrey CAR DEN Following the advice of The Fantasy Doctors' Dr. Jesse Morse*, the quad injury that CMC suffered last week is unlikely to hinder his ability to perform. The bigger issue is whether or not the coaching staff will deploy their high-priced player at the end of a lost season.
2 Derrick Henry TEN at JAX With Jacksonville on tap, it's unlikely that the Titans' get out-scored to the point that Henry's touches are reduced. The Jags' front-seven is among the league's worst.
3 Aaron Jones GB at DET Detroit's front-seven has been the best match-up for RBs in 2020.
4 Dalvin Cook MIN at TB Ignore the match-up. With Alexander Mattison recovering from an appendectomy, Cook's a lock for 25+ touches.
5 Nick Chubb CLE BAL Tough match-up but scheme and volume keep Chubb firmly locked into the position's upper echelon.
6 James Robinson JAX TEN Excellent match-up for the highly productive back.
7 Austin Ekeler LAC ATL At the risk of relying on a narrative, the Chargers have to be champing at the bit for a bounce-back game. Last week, the team fell apart after head coach Anthony Lynn told the team that the season was lost*. Atlanta's unimposing defense should aid their cause.
8 Chris Carson SEA NYJ Carson will have a field day against the Jets' appallingly bad defense.
9 Clyde Edwards-Helaire KC at MIA CEH should get back on track against a welcoming MIA run D.
10 Alvin Kamara NO at PHI The Saints ended their Latavius Murray-heavy ways last week, enhancing Kamara's prospects for Week 14. His receiving game role still leaves a lot to be desired though.
11 Ezekiel Elliott DAL at CIN We'll need to monitor the stats of Zeke's calf injury. Great match-up but the team could opt to rest Elliott early.
12 David Montgomery CHI HOU Outstanding match-up and zero backfield competition.
Rank High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s Team Opponent Breakdown
13 Jonathan Taylor IND at LV Outstanding match-up and Taylor looked great last week.
14 Melvin Gordon DEN at CAR Great opportunity for Gordon to find the endzone.
15 D'Andre Swift DET GB Great match-up but we have to watch his practice status this week.
16 Kenyan Drake ARI at NYG The G-Men have been stout against the rush but weak against pass catching RBs*. Drake dual threat workload has increased as of late but the usage isn't bulletproof. With Kyler Murray unwilling to run though, Drake has the red zone rushing work sewn up.
17 Wayne Gallman NYG ARI Blow-up spot on tap here with Arizona's injury-plagued front-seven acting like a set of saloon doors for opposing running backs.
18 Cam Akers LAR NE Akers seems to have taken over lead back duties but it's still a three-headed committee.
19 Myles Gaskin MIA KC Miami will be forced to throw to keep pace with KC's offense. Gaskin's pass catching ability will be heavily utilized in this one.
20 James Conner PIT at BUf Pittsburgh's mostly relied on their passing game in recent weeks and even though this will be a high-scoring game, Conner's odds at a touchdown aren't great. On the season, PIT has thrown 77 passes in the red zone as compared to 57 rushing attempts*. Still a lead back in a good offense is a lead back in a good offense.
21 David Johnson HOU at CHI Houston's lead bad has a tough match-up here but his usage should keep him RB2-viable.
22 J.K. Dobbins BAL at CLE Baltimore's backfield returned to a committee in Week 13 but Dobbins looked great. It's possible the spread out usage was due to the receiving corps' COVID-19 decimation though.
23 Nyheim Hines IND at LV Hines and Taylor are seemingly separating from Jordan Wilkins.
24 Damien Harris NE at LAR Tough match-up but Harris has largely been a consistent, high-floor producer.
Rank High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s Team Opponent Breakdown
25 Kareem Hunt CLE BAL Hunt should see ample passing game work against a Baltimore Ravens team that's capable of pushing the pace.
26 Raheem Mostert SF WAS Tough match-up and SF is still easing Mostert back into things.
27 J.D. McKissic WAS at SF With Antonio Gibson (turf toe) out for the foreseeable future, JDM is right back to his double-digit target totals.
28 Miles Sanders PHI NO Tough match-up and it's unclear what Jalen Hurts' installation will do for Sanders. Sanders is now losing snaps to both Boston Scott and Jordan Howard.
29 Devontae Booker LV IND Brutal match-up and Booker completely flopped as the team's lead back last week.
30 Jamaal Williams GB at DET Williams should get his in this delectible match-up.
31 Leonard Fournette TB MIN A likely shootout on tap.
32 Chase Edmonds ARI at NYG Edmonds has maintained his pass catching role, a plus against the Giants' front-seven.
33 Darrell Henderson LAR NE Henderson remains firmly involved, despite Akers' recent success.
34 Zack Moss BUF PIT Injuries at linebacker make PIT's front-seven somewhat more accessible to opposing RBs.
35 Gus Edwards BAL at CLE Edwards deserves high-floor flex consideration as a steady rusher in the Ravens' backfield.
36 Ty Johnson NYJ at SEA Tough match-up but a possible 20-touch workload.
Rank High-Floor/High-Ceiling RB1s Team Opponent Breakdown
37 Ronald Jones TB MIN There's a chance that Tampa Bay routes the Vikings but the both offenses have been humming, indicating a good chance at a pass-heavy game script -- a result that would favor backfield-mate Leonard Fournette.
38 Tony Pollard DAL at CIN With Zeke ailing, Pollard could see a huge increase in touches this week. Cincinnati can't hang with Dallas so garbage time could come early.
39 Phillip Lindsay DEN at CAR Great match-up but his knee injury seems to be a problem.
40 Ito Smith ATL at LAC Smith's the top dog in the Falcons' backfield now.
41 Boston Scott PHI NO Offers boom/bust potential as the change of pace/passing game back in Philly.
42 Duke Johnson Jr. HOU at CHI It took the loss of Will Fuller for Duke to see a real passing game role. Still has a stunted ceiling though.
43 Devin Singletary BUF PIT Zack Moss's early-game fumble led to a bigger-than-expected Week 13 workload for Singletary.
44 Carlos Hyde SEA NYJ Hyde should see a little relief duty once the game gets out of hand.
45 Giovani Bernard CIN DAL Good match-up but impossible to trust.
46 Latavius Murray NO at PHI Murray looks to have returned to the No. 2 RB role now.
47 Kalen Ballage LAC ATL This is mostly a one-man backfield at this point.
48 Adrian Peterson DET GB Peterson would elevate to RB2 status should Swift be unable to play.
Source links: The Fantasy Doctors’ Dr. Jesse Morse on Christian McCaffrey’s thigh injury, Anthony Lynn’s uninspiring speech via Warren Sharp, the New York Giants vs. opposing RBs as it pertains to Kenyan Drake, and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ red zone targets and carries.

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