The holiday season is upon us, and Week 12's schedule is as full as our bellies will be on Thanksgiving night. With no teams on bye, fantasy football owners who haven't been ravaged by injuries will have a buffet of options at the running back position. Sometimes that's a blessing and a curse, as it means more decisions to potentially get wrong at a crucial segment of the season. That's where our Week 12 fantasy RB rankings come in, guiding you to success like your helpful grandma who knows all the little secrets with stuffing, basting, and baking.
The stud auto-starts in our top 10 are so obvious they needn't be mentioned, just like turkey and ham on Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will, however, mention that Jeff Wilson Jr. (vs. Texans in Week 12) deserves to be right there with the elite names this week. JWJ looked awesome in his Dolphins debut after Miami reunited him with former Niners OC/RB guru Mike McDaniel. Now he gets a full bye week to practice for the worst rushing defense in football? Time to feast — and there should be plenty of usage leftovers for running mate Raheem Mostert.
James Conner (vs. Chargers) is also a deserved member of our top 15, as he finally looks healthy and gets a Bolts D that has allowed the third-most ground yards and sixth-most rushing TDs. With Eno Benjamin run out of town, Conner is even more appealing than Travis Etienne Jr. (vs. Ravens) and Alvin Kamara (@ 49ers). All three will have volume on their side, but we like Conner by a nose in standard leagues.
WEEK 12 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
Speaking of upside, Devin Singletary (@ Lions) has massive upside in Buffalo's second game in Detroit in a week. Josh Allen's midseason slump has indirectly benefited Singletary, as he's seeing volume and red-zone opportunities he usually doesn't sniff when Allen's cooking. The same can be said for Rachaad White (vs. Browns), who has benefited from the struggles of Leonard Fournette in Tampa. Both should eat against a Cleveland D that allowed two RBs (Singletary and rookie James Cook) to record exactly 86 rushing yards. Fournette is still a solid RB2/flex, and Cook even has some flex upside this week thanks to the highly favorable matchup.
WEEK 12 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
We no longer need to worry about the Cowboys' portion control of Tony Pollard (vs. Giants) — the fourth-year back has been the most explosive RB in football for weeks now and even dominated with teammate Ezekiel Elliott back from injury against Minnesota. He's a high-floor, high-ceiling option the rest of the way, which is more than we can say about Miles Sanders (vs. Packers), Dameon Pierce (@ Dolphins), Michael Carter (vs. Bears), and Brian Robinson Jr. (vs. Falcons). You're probably starting these guys if they're on your roster, but it will be tough to feel confident in any of them after their Week 11 performances. Carter and Robinson have great matchups, though, so we still see them as safe flexes, while Sanders and Pierce should get enough volume to pay off as RB2/flexes.
If the football injury gods allow us to see Gus Edwards (@ Jaguars), we should all be thankful. He looked awesome the last time we saw him starting and playing full-time, and he was clearly missed in Baltimore's underwhelming Week 11 win over Carolina. We also look forward to seeing more Antonio Gibson (vs. Falcons), who at this point is clearly the better option over running mate Robinson — just like ham is better than turkey. Gibby tallied 100 scrimmage yards against Houston, while B-Rob finished with 57 yards on 15 carries. Bleh.
Rhamondre Stevenson (@ Vikings) gets docked a bit for his Week 11 performance, but we think it had more to do with New York scheming a great game plan than it did with Stevenson stinking. He's still very involved in the Patriots' offense, and we expect him to be a viable RB2 while teammate Damien Harris will be a decent flex option in standard formats. Pollard and Elliott combined for 236 total yards and four TDs against Minnesota last week, so we think Stevenson and Harris can do damage, too. 122 and two TDs on the ground, 114 and two TDs through the air.
Tread lightly with D'Onta Foreman (vs. Broncos), Isiah Pacheco (vs. Rams), Cam Akers (@ Chiefs), and James Robinson (vs. Bears). Foreman put up 24 yards on 11 carries against Baltimore in Week 11, and the Broncos' defense has held five teams to 88 or fewer rushing yards this season. Pacheco draws a Rams squad that held Alvin Kamara to 42 rushing yards in Week 11, and we never know what to expect from Eric Bieniemy's ground game. Speaking of not knowing what to expect, which Akers do we get from one week to the next? And is James Robinson even good anymore? He and Michael Carter were ceding carries to Ty Montgomery in Week 11 against the Patriots, as neither lead back was able to hit 20 rushing yards. The sparsely used D'Andre Swift (vs. Bills) is also a major risk in all formats, especially in standard leagues.
Want some sleepers with better upside than those volatile backs? Latavius Murray (@ Panthers) looks like the strongest bet in Denver's backfield, especially after Melvin Gordon III lost another goal-line fumble. It's a favorable matchup so both could be flexes, but we think Murray will once again lead the team in carries. (Update: Gordon was waived on Monday, paving the way for Murray to get 15-plus carries.) Elijah Mitchell (vs. Saints) might be the best 1B of any NFL backfield, so he has some upside. Ditto for Tyler Allgeier (@ Commanders).
Note: We'll be updating these RB rankings throughout the week, so check back for analysis and the latest player movement.
Week 12 fantasy RB rankings for standard leagues
Rankings based on standard, non-PPR scoring leagues
Rank Player
1 Saquon Barkley, Giants @ Cowboys
2 Austin Ekeler, Chargers @ Cardinals
3 Josh Jacobs, Raiders @ Seahawks
4 Kenneth Walker III, Seahawks vs. Raiders
5 Derrick Henry, Titans vs. Bengals
6 Jeff Wilson Jr., Dolphins vs. Texans
7 Christian McCaffrey, 49ers vs. Saints
8 Jonathan Taylor, Colts vs. Steelers
9 Nick Chubb, Browns vs. Buccaneers
10 Rachaad White, Buccaneers vs. Browns
11 Dalvin Cook, Vikings vs. Patriots
12 James Conner, Cardinals vs. Chargers
13 Travis Etienne Jr., Jaguars vs. Ravens
14 Alvin Kamara, Saints @ 49ers
15 Devin Singletary, Bills @ Lions
16 Miles Sanders, Eagles vs. Packers
17 Dameon Pierce, Texans @ Dolphins
18 Tony Pollard, Cowboys vs. Giants
19 Gus Edwards, Ravens @ Jaguars
20 Aaron Jones, Packers @ Eagles
21 Antonio Gibson, Commanders vs. Falcons
22 Jamaal Williams, Lions vs. Bills
23 David Montgomery, Bears @ Jets
24 Samaje Perine, Bengals @ Titans
25 Michael Carter, Jets vs. Bears
26 Brian Robinson Jr., Commanders vs. Falcons
27 Rhamondre Stevenson, Patriots @ Vikings
28 Cordarrelle Patterson, Falcons @ Commanders
29 Najee Harris, Steelers @ Colts
30 Latavius Murray, Broncos @ Panthers
31 Damien Harris, Patriots @ Vikings
32 D'Onta Foreman, Panthers vs. Broncos
33 Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys vs. Giants
34 Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs vs. Rams
35 Cam Akers, Rams @ Chiefs
36 James Cook, Bills @ Lions
37 James Robinson, Jets vs. Bears
38 Tyler Allgeier, Falcons @ Commanders
39 Elijah Mitchell, 49ers vs. Saints
40 AJ Dillon, Packers @ Eagles
41 D'Andre Swift, Lions vs. Bills
42 Jerick McKinnon, Chiefs vs. Rams
43 Kyren Williams, Rams @ Chiefs
44 Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Buccaneers @ Browns
45 Trestan Ebner, Bears @ Jets
46 Kenyan Drake, Ravens @ Jaguars
47 Kareem Hunt, Browns vs. Buccaneers
48 Travis Homer, Seahawks vs. Raiders
49 Deon Jackson, Colts vs. Steelers
50 Benny Snell Jr., Steelers @ Colts
51 Dontrell Hilliard, Titans vs. Bengals
52 Caleb Huntley, Falcons @ Commanders
53 Chuba Hubbard, Panthers vs. Broncos
54 Chris Evans, Bengals @ Titans
55 Marlon Mack, Broncos @ Panthers
56 Kenneth Gainwell, Eagles vs. Packers
57 Alexander Mattison, Vikings vs. Patriots
58 Matt Breida, Giants @ Cowboys
59 Keaontay Ingram, Cardinals vs. Chargers
60 Eno Benjamin, Texans @ Dolphins
61 Raheem Blackshear, Panthers vs. Broncos
62 Nyheim Hines, Bills @ Lions
63 Isaiah Spiller, Chargers @ Cardinals
64 Justice Hill, Ravens @ Jaguars
65 Rex Burkhead, Texans @ Dolphins
Week 12 RB fantasy projections, rankings from Draft Sharks
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