Welcome to the final week of the Running Back Roundup for the 2017 season. Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have, and it’s helped you navigate fantasy football’s trickiest position.
It’s championship week in most fantasy leagues, and most teams that are still alive are probably too good to be in the market for a desperation flex option. So we’ll keep this week’s Roundup focused on players that you could reasonably consider plugging into your starting lineup.
And as always, if you need input on roster moves or lineup decisions, hit me on on Twitter and I’ll do my best to help out.
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Arizona Cardinals
Adrian Peterson is done for the season, and the path is clear for Kerwynn Williams to serve as the primary ball carrier as long as he can overcome the quad injury he suffered in Week 15. The Cardinals are refusing to use Williams as a pass-catcher, which limits his upside. But a home matchup with the Giants is favorable enough to make Williams an RB3/flex consideration if healthy. The QB switch back to Drew Stanton shouldn’t really affect his value.
If Williams misses the game, bruising back Elijhaa Penny looks like the next man up, although there’s no guarantee he’d see the same workload that Williams was getting. Penny would also be an RB3/flex consideration, but a riskier one than Williams.
Baltimore Ravens
Well, that was disappointing. Alex Collins had been looking fantastic in the run game prior to Sunday, but he struggled mightily against the lowly Browns (1.6 YPC), and ultimately finished with one fewer carry (12) than Buck Allen (13). The good news for Collins owners is that he caught five balls for 33 yards to somewhat salvage his fantasy day, and if your team survived his poor performance he now gets a great opportunity to atone for it with a juicy home game against the Colts.
Collins’ workload is suddenly in a bit of doubt, but he’s been too good throughout the season to sit him for championship week unless you have another excellent RB2 option to replace him.
Carolina Panthers
I touched on this one a bit in my “10 Things We Learned” column. The Panthers finally decided to feature Christian McCaffrey in Week 15, which should give his owners some confidence heading into a beautiful home matchup with the Buccaneers. Conversely, it was a down game for Jonathan Stewart, but you can still expect Stewart to receive double-digit carries in Week 16 and have a decent chance to score.
Consider McCaffrey a solid RB2 with upside for Week 16. Stewart is an acceptable flex option, albeit one that championship-caliber teams shouldn’t have to rely on.
Dallas Cowboys
Ezekiel Elliott is back from his suspension this week, and there isn’t much more that needs to be said. Elliott is an obvious RB1 against a Seahawks defense that has been gashed by Leonard Fournette and Todd Gurley the last two weeks, and Alfred Morris and Rod Smith no longer need to be owned with one week left in the season.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos looked to be slowly handing the running back job to Devontae Booker at the season’s midpoint, but they have recommitted to C.J. Anderson in recent weeks, and on Sunday that finally paid dividends for Anderson’s fantasy owners. Anderson has now been given a whopping 52 carries over the last two games, and he has a favorable-enough matchup with Washington on deck. He’s a rock solid RB2 for championship week.
Green Bay Packers
Jamaal Williams remained the clear lead back in Week 15, but Aaron Jones was much more effective in limited opportunities. It’s hard to predict how Mike McCarthy will divvy up the carries in Week 16, but my guess would be that Jones continues to encroach on Williams’ workload, if not surpass him entirely.
The Packers also have an awful matchup with the Vikings’ suffocating run defense, and Aaron Rodgers is done for the year now that Green Bay is out of playoff contention. This backfield has given us a lot of good fantasy performances in 2017, but it is best avoided in championship week. Williams and Jones are both risky flex options.
Houston Texans
Lamar Miller had a game to forget against the Jaguars’ vastly-improved run defense, and Alfred Blue ended up playing mop-up duty in the blowout loss. The Texans probably already have their minds on 2018, but there’s still little reason to believe that Miller will be phased out down the stretch of this lost season. Perhaps if D’Onta Foreman were healthy it’d be different, but Bill O’Brien doesn’t need to get a longer look at Blue.
Miller gets a favorable home matchup in Week 16 against a Ryan Shazier-less Steelers defense that has given up five touchdowns to Ravens and Patriots running backs over the last two weeks. It’s no sure thing that Miller and the Texans can take advantage of the opportunity, but he will still have some low-end RB2 appeal for Week 16.
Jacksonville Jaguars
With Leonard Fournette out with a quad injury in Week 15, Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon both flopped, while Corey Grant and fullback Tommy Bohanon had nice fantasy days. Go figure. Fournette is 289535201280″>expected to be back in Week 16, so if you managed to survive his absence, he should be a low-end RB1 for a solid matchup with the 49ers. Just make sure to watch the Fournette injury reports closely this week because you just never really know with that guy.
If Fournette somehow ends up sitting again, it will be tough to trust anyone in this backfield with a fantasy title on the line.
Los Angeles Chargers
Melvin Gordon is still locked-and-loaded as an every-week RB1, but it’s worth noting that Austin Ekeler was lost for the season with a broken hand. Branden Oliver will step in for Ekeler as Gordon’s backup, but it’s not guaranteed that he’ll see the 5-10 weekly touches that Ekeler was getting. So Ekeler’s absence could provide a small boost to Gordon.
Miami Dolphins
Kenyan Drake has been providing steady RB1 production ever since Damien Williams went down with a shoulder injury. It’s unclear whether Williams will be able to return this week, but if he does it will add a bit of uncertainty to the situation. Drake should still be in the vast majority of fantasy lineups for his middle-of-the-road matchup with the Chiefs in Week 16, but I’d feel a lot more confident in him as an RB1 if Williams remains out.
New England Patriots
This is another situation I addressed in “10 Things We Learned.” With Rex Burkhead out with a sprained knee in Week 16, Dion Lewis could be set up for a massive week against the Bills’ terrible run defense. A key factor will be whether Bill Belichick decides to entrust Lewis or Mike Gillislee with carries at the goal line, but Lewis will be worth using as an upside RB1/2 regardless.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Doug Martin was inactive in Week 15, although coach Dirk Koetter says it was for violating unnamed team rules rather than for poor performance on the field. Regardless, Peyton Barber is clearly the Bucs back to own for Week 16. Still, it’s hard to trust Tampa Bay to remain committed enough to the run to give Barber more than 10-15 carries, and the matchup with Carolina is a tough one. He is more of an RB3/flex option than an RB2 for championship week.
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Andrew Seifter is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrew_seifter.
