2024 Week 14 Fantasy Football Rankings: RB

Bucky Irving adjusts to life in the RB1 spotlight, Isaac Guerendo searches for plug-and-play RB1 viability, and Rico Dowdle tries to shove his way into the top 12.

Other positions: Quarterback | Receiver | Tight End/Kickers/Defense

Week 14 Running Backs

RB Notes: Alvin Kamara is the last Saint standing. It’s good timing, as New Orleans has one of the only opponents “its own size” in the Giants. The Saints are healthy road favorites against a “defense” allowing the most yards per carry. … Pushing touchdown home favoritism against a Jets team simply running out the clock on the Aaron Rodgers era, De’Von Achane projects for some of his best game script of the entire season. In addition to his endless pass catching, he should finally get back into the 15-20 carry range as the Dolphins control the proceedings vs. their collapsed foe. … I don’t love keeping Bijan Robinson in the top 6-7 as a sizeable road underdog against a defense permitting the fewest rushing yards. His workload dominance has become too complete to ignore, however, while it’s not like the Falcons are going to rely on Kirk Cousins’ arm against an elite pass D after he just had the worst start of his career. … Chase Brown has handled over 80 percent of the snaps in every game since Zack Moss got injured. It’s a beautiful place to be with a game total pushing 50 against a bottom-three Cowboys run D.

Fantasy managers were worried about potential team punishment for Jahmyr Gibbs after he not-so-wisely posted a team whiteboard revealing the Lions’ protection code words, but coaches Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson literally laughed the matter off. Just ridiculously efficient and explosive this season, Gibbs is a spiked week waiting to happen in the slate’s highest-totaled game. … Josh Jacobs is battling calf soreness, but apparently successfully. He’s played though the issue for several games running. He’s received fewer than 18 carries once in the past five weeks. … Bucky Irving’s Week 13 explosion is the attention-grabber, but he’s gone for at least 73 yards rushing with a minimum 5.6 YPC each of the past three weeks. He, in a word, is cooking. There is every reason to expect the hot streak to continue with the Bucs pushing touchdown home faves in a well-totaled contest. … Maybe you aren’t dying to treat Isaac Guerendo as an RB1, but you’re in the same position as the 49ers: You have no choice. There are six teams on bye, the Niners lack a viable backup, and they’re home favorites against a bad run defense. This is what peak plug-and-play RB1 performance looks like.

Behind Guerendo, we aren’t getting cute with Patrick Taylor Jr. or Israel Abanikanda as second FLEX dart throws. It’s quite possible Deebo Samuel ends up as the de facto RB2. … Intent on mixing in Blake Corum for breather series, the Rams have strictly limited Kyren Williams to 15-16 carries in four straight contests while barely involving him as a pass catcher. It’s hard to see Williams breaking through that totes ceiling as a home ‘dog vs. Buffalo, but perhaps this is the week we finally get more receptions. … Don’t look now, but James Cook is tied for 12th in red zone carries. He falls a little further behind the pack in inside the five handles, but Cook is finally pairing his explosive-play ability with more frequent high-value touches. That’s a great spot to be against a bottom-five Rams run defense. … The Cowboys finally committed to Rico Dowdle as their lead back and now he’s fourth in carries (41) over the past two weeks. The Bengals are an everything-funnel defense for a game that seems likely to shoot out even with Cooper Rush at quarterback for Big D.

Is Kenneth Walker good? At least in fantasy, the answer is mostly yes. He’s the RB11 by average fantasy points, though that’s a more concerning RB27 over the past five weeks. Walker is in the negative on rush yards over expected, and that shows up in the more traditional measures, namely failing to better 3.9 yards per carry in any of his past five appearances. But as workload remains king, Walker’s keeps him on the RB1/2 borderline. … I don’t write about James Conner much. That’s because I don’t know what to say. He has a decent floor, except for when it falls out. He’s had a limited 2024 ceiling. The Seahawks bottled him up two weeks ago, though they’re middle of the pack in terms of stopping the run. … It was a rough Week 13 for Aaron Jones. He at least had the decency to save it with a late receiving touchdown. Speaking of touchdowns, the great Mike Clay points out why Jones is probably due for some scoring regression on the ground. … Overall workload has been tough for Tyrone Tracy to come by in a struggling offense. His spiked week potential keeps him in the top 20, but don’t kid yourself about the downside.

Breece Hall (knee) is beginning to look more doubtful than questionable. Whereas before that would have sounded like plug-and-play top-18 status for Braelon Allen, Hall’s injury comes just the Jets have decided to get a longer look at fifth-round rookie Isaiah Davis. Allen will crack the top 24 when players like Rachaad White and Travis Eitnne are the competition, but the floor could be lower than expected. Davis is merely a desperation second FLEX. … Isiah Pacheco wasn’t ready for prime time in his Week 13 return, but Kareem Hunt was again running on fumes. Hunt can’t afford a split backfield, while Pacheco will undoubtedly gain workload momentum as the Chiefs begin prepping for the postseason. … Gus Edwards’ snap share crept upward in J.K. Dobbins’ absence, but the Chargers predictably decided he wasn’t really calling out for more work. He’s a mediocre FLEX. Kimani Vidal is a boom/bust option with six teams on bye. … Jonathon Brooks isn’t in the current FLEX mix, but he’s already undermining Chuba Hubbard’s RB2 floor. … With negative game script likely for the Browns, Nick Chubb’s entire FLEX case rests on touchdowns. Even if Jerome Ford or Jameis Winston gets the Browns down to the two or three, it will be Chubb punching it in.