Our Week 15 fantasy RB rankings will be affected by injuries -- it's just a matter of which players actually wind up dropping out. Josh Jacobs and Derrick Henry both are every-week fantasy starters who are hurting a bit (Jacobs more than Henry). There's also a Le'Veon Bell illness ahead of a Thursday Night Football game to account for, along with new injuries to Derrius Guice, Rashaad Penny and Bo Scarbrough and existing injuries to James Conner, Damien Williams, and Jordan Howard. If you're still alive in the fantasy playoffs, there will be a lot of practice reports to pay attention to throughout the week.
Some of the situations seem straightforward. If Jacobs (shoulder) misses Week 15 like he did Week 14, DeAndre Washington becomes a solid fantasy play against the Jaguars. Henry (hamstring) looks less likely to miss time, although if he did, we'd expect Dion Lewis to be the main beneficiary. And if Bell continues to be sick, Bilal Powell would be coming off 21 touches and likely to repeat a similar workload as the Jets try to keep Lamar Jackson on the sideline Thursday.
WEEK 15 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
It's also pretty simple in Washington -- if Guice (knee) is done, Adrian Peterson should see a ton of work after getting 20 carries and a touchdown in Week 14. It could be the last hurrah for the future Hall of Famer, although facing the Eagles' stout run defense isn't exactly a dream matchup in Week 15.
Penny's knee injury mostly means Chris Carson owners need not worry about competition the rest of the way, making him a rock-solid RB1 going forward. Scarbrough's rib injury, if serious, would mean you can ignore the Detroit backfield the rest of the way unless Kerryon Johnson (knee) does indeed get activated from Injured Reserve for Week 16.
WEEK 15 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Beyond the injuries, beware of tough matchups for Devonta Freeman and Joe Mixon in Week 15, as they face off with the 49ers and Patriots, respectively. Conner is expected back from his shoulder injury, although a matchup with Buffalo isn't a great one. On the other side of the matchup coin, we'd like to recommend a Tampa Bay back against the brutal Detroit run defense and would suggest Ronald Jones if we had to, but there's not enough certainty in that backfield to do anything more than play Jones and Peyton Barber as FLEX backs.
WEEK 15 DFS LINEUPS:
FD Cash | FD GPP | DK Cash | DK GPP | Y! Cash | Y! GPP
Keep an eye on our Twitter account @SN_Fantasy this week as we provide injury updates as they become available to many of these important running backs.
Reminder: These rankings will be adjusted throughout week, so check back often for the latest updates and analysis!
MORE WEEK 15:
Waiver pickups | FAAB planner | Stock watch | Snap counts | Fantasy playoff tips
Week 15 Fantasy RB Rankings
MORE WEEK 15 DFS: Values | Stacks | Lineup Builder
These rankings are for standard, non-PPR leagues.
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Christian McCaffrey, CAR vs. SEA |
| 2 | Dalvin Cook, MIN @ LAC |
| 3 | Saquon Barkley, NYG vs. MIA |
| 4 | Derrick Henry, TEN vs. HOU. Henry didn't finish the Titans' Week 14 game due to an injury that he appeared to initially be playing through. It's an important one to watch, since he's an obvious starter but also because Dion Lewis would rocket up the rankings if Henry was out. |
| 5 | Leonard Fournette, JAX @ OAK |
| 6 | Nick Chubb, CLE @ ARZ |
| 7 | Ezekiel Elliott, DAL vs. LAR |
| 8 | Chris Carson, SEA @ CAR. With Rashaad Penny dealing with what Pete Carroll called an ACL sprain, it looks like it'll be all Carson in this backfield going forward, and the Panthers allow the most fantasy points to running backs, so lock and load Carson in your lineups. |
| 9 | Josh Jacobs, OAK vs. JAX. Jacobs could be removed from these rankings very soon depending on the results of an MRI of his reportedly fractured shoulder. DeAndre Washington moves into back-end RB2 territory the rest of the way if Jacobs is done, while Jalen Richard is in play for PPR owners. |
| 10 | Phillip Lindsay, DEN @ KC. The Chiefs allow the third-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, so while Lindsay hasn't totally seperated from Royce Freeman, you can feel great about him this week even in a timeshare. |
| 11 | Aaron Jones, GB vs. CHI |
| 12 | Todd Gurley, LAR @ DAL |
| 13 | Mark Ingram, BAL vs. NYJ |
| 14 | Le'Veon Bell, NYJ @ BAL. Bell was forced to miss Week 14 due to an illness, and the Jets turn around quickly and play on Thursday night. If Bell is out again, Bilal Powell could be looking at close to the 21 touches he received Sunday. |
| 15 | Melvin Gordon, LAC vs. MIN |
| 16 | David Montgomery, CHI @ GB |
| 17 | Alvin Kamara, NO vs. IND. Kamara continues to disappoint on the ground but remains a player you can't take out of your lineup due to talent and passing-game involvement. |
| 18 | James Conner, PIT vs. BUF. Early reports suggest Conner will make it back from his shoulder injury to play in Week 15, and even though the Buffalo run defense is solid, you'd want to play Conner if he's healthy. Benny Snell Jr. would be more of a toss-up if Conner remained out. |
| 19 | Devin Singletary, BUF @ PIT |
| 20 | Marlon Mack, IND @ NO |
| 21 | Carlos Hyde, HOU @ TEN |
| 22 | Joe Mixon, CIN vs. NE. New England isn't inherently dominant against running backs in regards to yards per carry - the biggest issue with RBs against New England is that the Pats have allowed two total TDs to running backs all year. If you're playing Mixon, you've got to be aware his touchdown odds are pretty low. |
| 23 | Austin Ekeler, LAC vs. MIN |
| 24 | Raheem Mostert, SF vs. ATL. One week could be considered a fluke, but two weeks start a trend, and it looks like Mostert will be the leading back in a good rushing attack down the stretch, putting him in RB2 range. |
| 25 | Kareem Hunt, CLE @ ARZ. Each and every week, Hunt produces at least at a FLEX level despite being second fiddle to Nick Chubb, and against Arizona, that should remain the case. |
| 26 | James White, NE @ CIN. White has been too involved in the New England offense of late for us to be too concerned about potential game flow issues keeping him down in this favorable matchup. |
| 27 | Miles Sanders, PHI @ WAS. |
| 28 | Devonta Freeman, ATL @ SF. Freeman will get enough touches that he should probably still be in fantasy lineups against the 49ers, but there's definitely serious bust potential here. |
| 29 | Adrian Peterson, WAS vs. PHI. Derrius Guice will be out, so count on 15-plus touches for Peterson and cross your fingers that he can fall into the end zone. |
| 30 | Kenyan Drake, ARZ vs. CLE |
| 31 | Ronald Jones, TB @ DET. The Lions give up the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs, so if you feel confident enough that Ronald Jones (or Peyton Barber) will get the heaviest workload in this backfield, you can use him as a FLEX. |
| 32 | Peyton Barber, TB @ DET |
| 33 | Sony Michel, NE @ CIN |
| 34 | Patrick Laird, MIA @ NYG. Laird's 15 rushes and five targets Sunday suggest his offensive involvement will remain solid the rest of the way, and the Giants aren't an intimidating matchup. |
| 35 | Boston Scott, PHI @ WAS |
| 36 | Bo Scarbrough, DET vs. TB. Keep an eye on Scarbrough's rib injury, but you might want to steer clear here anyway from the Tampa Bay defense allowing the second-fewest fantasy points to running backs in 2019. |
| 37 | Latavius Murray, NO vs. IND |
| 38 | Royce Freeman, DEN @ KC |
| 39 | Jamaal Williams, GB vs. CHI |
| 40 | Matt Breida, SF vs. ATL. Breida was the second-most involved 49ers back behind Mostert in his return, so if you're holding a San Fran back that's not Mostert, apparently it should be Breida. |
| 41 | LeSean McCoy, KC vs. DEN |
| 42 | Tarik Cohen, CHI @ GB |
| 43 | David Johnson, ARZ vs. CLE. Johnson came out of nowhere to catch a touchdown pass down the sideline Sunday. He's still been one of fantasy's biggest busts. |
| 44 | Spencer Ware, KC vs. DEN |
| 45 | Duke Johnson Jr., HOU @ TEN |
| 46 | Nyheim Hines, IND @ NO |
| 47 | Ty Montgomery, NYJ @ BAL. Bilal Powell is out and Le'Veon Bell is healthy. Nothing to see here. |
| 48 | Dare Ogunbowale, TB @ DET |
| 49 | Jaylen Samuels, PIT vs. BUF |
| 50 | C.J. Prosise, SEA @ CAR. If Penny is out, Prosise takes over a change-of-pace role for Seattle, but probably not enough of one to make him worth considering in fantasy. |
| 51 | Rex Burkhead, NE @ CIN |
| 52 | Gus Edwards, BAL vs. NYJ |
| 53 | Frank Gore, BUF @ PIT |
| 54 | Tevin Coleman, SF vs. ATL. If you look at your team and don't see a reason to use Coleman the rest of the fantasy playoffs, you can drop him - his workload probably isn't coming back in the short term. |
| 55 | Brian Hill, ATL @ SF |
| 56 | Malcolm Brown, LAR @ DAL. Brown vultured a touchdown from Gurley on Sunday night, but he remains just a handcuff at this point. |
| 57 | Darwin Thompson, KC vs. DEN |
| 58 | J.D. McKissic, DET vs. TB. McKissic and Ty Johnson could split work if Scarbrough has to miss this one, but that's not appealing against a good Tampa run defense. |
| 59 | Dion Lewis, TEN vs. HOU. Keep an eye on Derrick Henry's injury status - Lewis could be in line for a big workload if Henry is out, as he's the only other RB on Tennessee's current roster (along with fullback Khari Blasingame). |
| 60 | Tony Pollard, DAL vs. LAR |
| 61 | Myles Gaskin, MIA @ NYG |
| 62 | Giovani Bernard, CIN vs. NE |
| 63 | Javorious Allen, NYG vs. MIA |