Fantasy News & Analysis

Committee Report: Relevant backup fantasy RBs heading into Week 15

Tampa, FL, USA;Detroit Lions running back Theo Riddick (25) runs past Tampa Bay Buccaneers middle linebacker Kwon Alexander (58) to score a touchdown during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Staying on top of fluid backfield situations from week to week for all 32 teams is quite the tedious task, even for fantasy diehards. To help with your fantasy preparations, my weekly RB Committee Report is intended to be your one-stop shop for tracking each and every fantasy backfield. Each week, we’ll go around the league to hone in on who’s trending up or down in terms of workload distribution and volume, as well as efficiency, in order to pinpoint which backs are making the most (and least) of their opportunities.

STOCK UP WK 14 RB SNAPS % / SEASON % STOCK DOWN WK 14 RB SNAPS % / SEASON %
Kenyan Drake 90.4 / 39.8 Alfred Morris 52.4 / 20.8
Jonathan Stewart 40.6 / 40.2 Samaje Perine 80.0 / 44.7
Giovani Bernard 85.2 / 41.6 Tevin Coleman 32.4 / 44.0
Kerwynn Williams 58.5 / 15.7 Mike Davis 48.4 / 46.0
Wayne Gallman 46.3 / 31.6 Ameer Abdullah 49.2 / 46.7

Arizona Cardinals

Fantasy Starter Backup to Know
Adrian Peterson Kerwynn Williams (PPR)

There’s been no indication that Adrian Peterson is nearing a return from his neck injury. Kerwynn Williams has churned out 170 yards on 36 carries (4.7 YPC) over the last two weeks, putting him firmly on the RB2 radar. Better yet, this week he gets a tasty matchup against Washington, far and away PFF’s worst-graded run defense.

Atlanta Falcons

Starter Backup to Own
Devonta Freeman Tevin Coleman

Devonta Freeman is back to his role as the Falcons’ lead back, rushing for 165 yards and a score on 36 carries in his two games since returning from a Week 10 concussion. He out-touched Tevin Coleman by a 24-9 margin against Atlanta, including both of the Falcons’ rushing opportunities inside the five and a long run of 19 yards. He sits 12th in elusive rating this season while Coleman is 32nd and has not played more than 44 percent of the snaps in any game this season when Freeman’s been healthy.

Baltimore Ravens

Starter Backup to Own
Alex Collins Danny Woodhead (PPR)

Against Pittsburgh in Week 14, Alex Collins forced eight missed tackles in the first half alone, and he finished the game with a ridiculous average of 5.3 yards after contact. Collins first flashed in this space as a player to monitor after Week 2, and by now it should be obvious to anyone who’s watched him that he is, indeed, the real deal. Javorius Allen has four touchdowns over the last five games, but to start him is to chase those TDs as he’s played less than 23 percent of the offensive snaps in each of the last four weeks. Danny Woodhead doesn’t have more than eight touches in a game this season.

Buffalo Bills

Starter Backup to Know
LeSean McCoy Travaris Cadet (PPR)

Travaris Cadet may have surpassed Mike Tolbert in the Bills’ weekly game plan, but LeSean McCoy continues to get all he can eat. He is fantasy’s RB6 in PPR over the last four games and trails only Leonard Fournette with 82 carries in that span.

Carolina Panthers

Starter Backup to Know
Christian McCaffrey Jonathan Stewart (12+)

Those of us who’ve waited all season for the Panthers to hand over the reins from veteran Jonathan Stewart to rookie Christian McCaffrey will have to wait until next year. While McCaffrey has played 245 more snaps and ranks 12th among RBs in PPR scoring this season, Stewart is coming off a monster 103-yard, three-touchdown effort against a tough Vikings’ front-seven. Both of the 30-year-old’s 100-yard games this season have come in the last four weeks, and he’s found the end zone five times in his last three games.

Chicago Bears

Starter Backup to Own
Jordan Howard Tarik Cohen (PPR)

Tarik Cohen’s 14 touches were his most since Week 6, but more importantly, Jordan Howard rebounded from two straight duds to rack up 147 yards and two scores on 23 carries. Those who stuck with the second-year back rather than push the panic button were rewarded handsomely.

Cincinnati Bengals

Starter Backup to Know
Joe Mixon Giovani Bernard (PPR)

Joe Mixon remained in the concussion protocol as of Wednesday. His absence has opened the door for Giovani Bernard, who has posted back-to-back solid outings with 226 total scrimmage yards and a 5.8 YPC average. The only thing missing are touchdowns. Even if Mixon sits out another game, Bernard doesn’t offer much upside against the Vikings, who are still the top fantasy run defense even after last week’s debacle against Jonathan Stewart and the Panthers.

Cleveland Browns

Starter Backup to Own
Isaiah Crowell Duke Johnson (PPR)

Isaiah Crowell played nine more snaps than Duke Johnson and came through with his first 100-yard rushing game of the season. Crowell forced three missed tackles and averaged 4.84 yards after contact enroute to 121 yards on 19 carries. However, things won’t get any easier this week against a Baltimore defense that is yielding only 57 rushing yards per game over its last six outings. As per usual, Duke Johnson was a non-factor on the ground although he did notch his third receiving score of the season. Johnson is 17th among running backs in PPR points per game this season, but the limited volume caps his ceiling and makes him a risky start.

Dallas Cowboys

Starter Backup to Know
Alfred Morris Rod Smith

As we enter the final week before Ezekiel Elliott returns, Rod Smith threw a wrench in the spokes of Alfred Morris owners this past week as he rumbled his way to 160 total yards and a pair of scores. While Smith also drew five targets, the caveat is that he was still out-touched 22-11 by Morris and played only 46 percent of the snaps. Ultimately, the biggest takeaway is the regression for Morris, who followed up his Week 13 outburst with only 62 yards on 19 carries, breaking just one tackle and averaging 1.32 yards after contact. For what it’s worth, Smith did log 12 more carries than Morris in Week 12.

Denver Broncos

Starter Backup to Know
C.J. Anderson Jamaal Charles

Devontae Booker had out-touched C.J. Anderson in two straight games, then played just 11 snaps in Week 13 and followed that up with 22 rushing yards against the Jets this past Sunday. Anderson continues to fade as he produced only 48 yards on 22 carries, breaking just one tackle. It doesn’t much matter who’s at the top, the Broncos’ backfield has been one to avoid in fantasy this season.

Detroit Lions

Starter Backup to Know
Ameer Abdullah Theo Riddick (PPR)

Ameer Abdullah has played his way out of the Lions’ backfield rotation after being a healthy scratch in Week 14. Theo Riddick had a season-high 10 carries and scored twice on the ground, including a nifty 18-yard TD scamper, and he also saw a season-high 10 targets. While the Week 13 results were encouraging, Riddick is a back who needs the ball in space, and he’s gotten only 0.50 yards before contact this season, second-worst out of 55 RBs. Tion Green had five carries and, well, let’s just say he’s a longshot to be the guy who becomes the Lions’ first 100-yard rusher since 2013.

Green Bay Packers

Starter Backup to Own
Jamaal Williams Aaron Jones

Jamaal Williams continues to dominate the opportunities in Green Bay’s backfield and is legitimately in the RB1 conversation. Last week I discussed Williams’ ratio of yards before and after contact compared to teammate Aaron Jones as a harbinger of good things to come, particularly with the impending return of Aaron Rodgers. Don’t put too much stock into the Panthers’ standing as a top-five fantasy run defense; two of their three opponents to hit the century mark this season have occurred in the last four weeks, and they’ve given up four rushing scores in that span (compared to three scores in the nine weeks prior).

Houston Texans

Starter Backup to Know
Lamar Miller Alfred Blue

Lamar Miller may be a top-15 fantasy back on the season, but he’s eighth in the league in carries with zero 100-yard rushing games. The only comfort to fantasy owners at this point is that he handled 19 of the Texans’ 23 backfield touches against San Francisco. One has to wonder what the distribution would look like with a healthy D’Onta Foreman and Alfred Blue.

Indianapolis Colts

Starter Backup to Know
Frank Gore Marlon Mack

It would be mostly a DFS dart throw and not something you’d want to pin your season-long playoff hopes on, but Marlon Mack is a good candidate to see an uptick in usage this week with 34-year-old Frank Gore on a short week and coming off 37 touches. Don’t dismiss Mack’s 3.9 YPC this season, as 3.1 yards of that average has come after contact. He ranks 13th out of 51 RBs in elusive rating.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Starter Backup to Know
Leonard Fournette T.J. Yeldon (12+)

Add a quad injury to the list of ailments for Leonard Fournette, who was held out of Wednesday’s practice. Still, since Week 11 no running back has carried the ball more than Fournette since Week 11, who is closing in on 1,000 rushing yards in his rookie season. Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon combined for eight touches to Fournette’s 28 in Week 14.

Kansas City Chiefs

Starter Backup to Know
Kareem Hunt Charcandrick West (12+)

Last week, I highlighted how Kareem Hunt had seen 1.5 fewer yards before contact over his last six games compared to his first six. Can you guess what happened against Oakland? That’s right, Hunt was given a cushy 2.24 yards before contact and turned in his best outing in months. Here’s hoping you stuck with him and reaped the benefits.

Los Angeles Chargers

Starter Backup to Own
Melvin Gordon Austin Ekeler (12+)

Austin Ekeler continues to produce when called upon. But the bottom line is there’s just no fantasy appeal for a player averaging less than seven touches over his last four games.

Los Angeles Rams

Starter Backup to Know
Todd Gurley Malcolm Brown (12+)

Replacement-level backups

Miami Dolphins

Starter Backup to Know
Kenyan Drake Damien Williams (PPR)

Kenyan Drake has solidified himself as an upside RB2 for the stretch run after yet another strong outing, as he churned out 193 yards on 30 touches in Monday night’s stunning win over New England. Credit the Dolphins organization for their decision to move on from Jay Ajayi, as our data show that Drake is able to create on his own like few other backs. His average of 0.10 yards before contact behind Miami’s league-worst PFF run grade ranks dead-last out of 55 qualified RBs. However, Drake ranks second only to Alvin Kamara with a 100.5 elusive rating, having averaged 4.73 yards after contact while forcing a missed tackle once every 4.7 touches. His snap share has increased in each of the past four weeks, up to a season-high 90.4 percent against New England. All of which is to say, Damien Williams is not on the fantasy radar.

Minnesota Vikings

Starter Backup to Own
Latavius Murray Jerick McKinnon

An interesting note here: both Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon are seeing only 1.2 yards before contact this season, which ranks outside the top-35 RBs. Against Carolina, the Vikings threw it 78 percent of the time, the O-line generated 1.57 yards before contact, and Murray had 11 touches to McKinnon’s nine. Neither back got a carry inside the five. In other words, the two combining for 11.5 fantasy points in Week 14 is the ugly floor we’ve all been careful to avoid.

New England Patriots

Starter Backup to Own
Dion Lewis Rex Burkhead (PPR)

Rex Burkhead notched his fifth touchdown in his last three games despite getting only eight yards on five carries, although he did haul in 5-of-5 targets for 45 yards. Dion Lewis produced a similar line with five carries for 17 yards and five catches for 50. Both backs remain in the RB2 mix at Pittsburgh this week, with a slight edge to Burkhead for his receiving and goal-line work. Lewis ranks third in elusive rating on the season.

New Orleans Saints

Co-Starter Co-Starter
Mark Ingram Alvin Kamara (PPR)

Alvin Kamara’s concussion was the most impactful injury development in Week 14, although he said he’s good to go for this week’s tilt against the Jets. Assuming that’s the case, both he and Mark Ingram remain top-five RB options in all formats for Week 15.

New York Giants

Starter Backup to Know
Orleans Darkwa Wayne Gallman

One week after getting only four touches, rookie Wayne Gallman was back atop the Giants’ totem pole in their first game of the post-Ben McAdoo era. He turned 19 touches into 99 yards, while Orleans Darkwa and Shane Vereen combined for 21 touches in a game that saw the Giants trail throughout. Gallman and Darkwa both had one carry inside the five.

New York Jets

Starter Backup to Own
Matt Forte Bilal Powell

Josh McCown’s season-ending injury is bad news for this backfield, which was already one best avoided for fantasy purposes. The Jets were shut out at Denver, rendering both Matt Forte (5.4 fantasy points on eight touches) and Bilal Powell (3.5 points on 13 touches) useless for fantasy. As has been the case all year, both backs continue to sabotage each other’s value with the workload split.

Oakland Raiders

Starter Backup to Own
Marshawn Lynch Jalen Richard (12+)

Negative game script saw Marshawn Lynch out-touch DeAndre Washington by only an 8-5 margin, although Lynch rewarded fantasy owners with 61 yards and a touchdown on the ground. While Lynch has picked things up of late in terms of both usage and production, the X-factor in this week’s tilt against Dallas is the return of linebacker Sean Lee, who makes the Cowboys night-and-day harder to run against than when he’s sidelined.

Philadelphia Eagles

Starter Backup to Own
LeGarrette Blount Jay Ajayi

There wasn’t much to write home about with the Eagles’ running game in Week 14’s shootout win over the Rams, although Jay Ajayi turned 15 carries into 78 yards despite the Eagles throwing the ball 67 percent of the time and the O-line generating only 0.53 yards before contact. While Ajayi did lead the backfield with 16 touches (LeGarrette Blount was next in line with nine), he did not get either of the Eagles’ two rushes inside the 5. Ultimately, the takeaway is that Ajayi’s snap share (47.3 percent) and touches both increased for the third straight week.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Starter Backup to Own
Le’Veon Bell James Conner

Le’Veon Bell has played 154 more snaps than the next-closest RB in the league. For those with a roster spot to spare – not just Bell owners – Bell has played just one 16-game season in his four-year career and continues to handle almost all of the backfield work. Rookie James Conner (4.5 YPC) would be a plug-and-play RB2 if Bell were to miss time.

San Francisco 49ers

Starter Backup to Own
Carlos Hyde Matt Breida

As we’ve seen previously, Matt Breida’s occasional spike in usage is not something worth chasing in redraft leagues, especially this time of year. It’s true that Carlos Hyde owns PFF’s worst overall grade among RBs this season and is unsigned beyond these next three weeks, both of which are factors that could certainly contribute to Breida being more involved. While a justifiable GPP option in daily formats, there just isn’t enough evidence to suggest that Breida is anything special at this level, particularly against the Titans and Jaguars. He didn’t force any missed tackles on his 12 rushes, averaging just 1.58 yards after contact, and ranks dead-last out of 51 RBs in elusive rating on the season despite getting more yards before contact (2.0) than every qualified back besides Alvin Kamara.

Seattle Seahawks

Starter Backup to Know
Mike Davis J.D. McKissic (PPR)

A rib injury knocked Mike Davis from the Seahawks’ Week 14 tilt, but he appears on track to suit up this week in an inviting matchup against the Rams, who have been the second-most generous fantasy defense to opposing RBs. However, even if active, it’ll be tough to trust Davis, whose 66-yard rushing effort represents the best of his career.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Starter Backup to Own
Doug Martin Peyton Barber

Doug Martin was finally, mercifully, benched against Detroit, and Peyton Barber capitalized with 58 yards on 12 carries. Barber would appear slated for a featured role considering he ran for 100 yards the previous week (something Martin had not done in his last 22 games).

Tennessee Titans

Starter Backup to Own
DeMarco Murray Derrick Henry

The Titans had a 64-36 pass-run split at Arizona and never got down near the goal line in a game that saw the O-line generate only 0.38 yards before contact. DeMarco Murray held a 13-8 edge over Derrick Henry in touches, but as has been the case for virtually all season, Henry made the bigger impact with 20 yards and a score. Henry’s 4.9 YPC average is all the more impressive when you consider that he’s getting 3.6 yards after contact. Mike Mularkey has effectively wasted a prime year for Henry.

Washington Redskins

Starter Backup to Know
Samaje Perine Kapri Bibbs

After two straight 100-yard rushing games, Samaje Perine has totaled only 83 yards on the ground over his last two outings, averaging 2.9 YPC in that span. While Perine may be the only show in town in the Redskins backfield, at the end of the day he ranks 45th with just 1.0 yards before contact this season.

Subscriptions

Unlock the 2023 Fantasy Draft Kit, with League Sync, Live Draft Assistant, PFF Grades & Data Platform that powers all 32 Pro Teams

$31 Draft Kit Fee + $8.99/mo
OR
$89.88/yr + FREE Draft Kit