Week 14 Fantasy RB Rankings: Analysis on Every Player for Your Playoff Run

Week 14 RB Player Rankings

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Rankings for QBs, WRs, and TEs

1. Peyton Hillis (@ Buf)

The rarity this year for The Big Twinkie is when he doesn’t score, so don’t expect what happened last week to happen again, especially not against the worst rush D in the league.  I’d be shocked if the Browns took a chance on getting more turnovers than points out of Jake Delhomme again, so expect Hillis to be leaned on quite a bit in this game.

2. Maurice Jones-Drew (vs Oak)

MJD has strung together five straight 100-yard games now and is just 214 yards short of the career high he set last year (1,391 yards).  That said, he’s also well behind his normal TD output with just six TDs this year, after putting up 16, 14, 9 and 15 the last four years.  Not that any of this should matter against a below average Oakland rush D this week.

3. Chris Johnson (vs Ind)

CJ2K has been complaining about the amount of carries he’s been getting in Titans games lately (just 7 and 13 the past two weeks, his two lowest totals of the year), and when Johnson complains, the Tennessee Brass listens.  Expect a whole slew of totes and yards from the speed demon this week against a Colts D that just let a third-string running back (Tashard Choice) rush for 100 yards against them last weekend.  He’s been tough to count on this year, but let CJ2K carry you through your playoffs.  You won’t be sorry.

4. Michael Turner (@ Car)

“The Centaur” has either 100-plus yards or a touchdown in five of the last six games, so have no fear rolling with him into your playoffs against a Carolina defense that seems to be getting worse by the minute.  By the way, they gave up three TDs to Marshawn Lynch last week, if that says anything to you…

5. Rashard Mendenhall (vs Cin)

Mendenhall went for 99 yards (130 total) and a touchdown against the Bengals earlier in the season and has scored in eight of 12 games so far this year.  With Cincinnati basically throwing in the towel and Pittsburgh needing to win to stay atop the division, you can expect yet another nice game out of Mendy this weekend.

6. Knowshon Moreno (@ Ari)

Moreno set a career high in yards last week against a pretty good Chiefs rush D (23 carries, 161 yards) and has seven TDs in just nine games played so far this season.  Arizona’s rush D is one of the worst three in the league, and maybe even the worst, so if you’re looking for a guy to either ride in the playoffs this week or someone just to get you in, then Knowshon could be your guy.

7. Arian Foster (vs Bal)

Foster has been an absolute beast this year and it really hasn’t mattered whom he’s been playing against.  Baltimore figures to be a tough challenge, but in the last five weeks, he’s faced similarly tough Ds in Philly, the Jets, and the Chargers and scored two touchdowns in each of those games.  Arian will be just fine this week.

8. Adrian Peterson (vs NYG)

Purple Jesus was healthy enough to play last week, and he didn’t disappoint, going up over 100 yards on the day and running in three TDs for his faithful fantasy owners.  The Giants obviously have a much better rush D than the Bills, but the Vikings seem committed to getting AP the ball right now, so some damage is sure to be done.

9. Darren McFadden (@ Jax)

I can’t quite figure McFadden out, as he rushed for 16 yards on 18 carries in the two games prior to last week, then went off for 97 yards and a TD against a stout Chargers D last week.  His talent gives him the ability to go off at any given time, so make sure you play him against a middling Jaguars defense that has allowed a rushing touchdown per game on the year.

10. LeGarrette Blount (@ Was)

I loved seeing how hard Blount worked for his yards against a tough Falcons D last week and in fact, he almost single-handedly won that game for the Bucs.  Washington is no Atlanta when it comes to stuffing the run and with Albert Haynesworth out, you can be sure LeGarrette will make some serious noise for you in the playoffs this weekend.

11. LeSean McCoy (@ Dal)

McCoy has done it all this year, as he’s currently fourth in RB fantasy points (basic scoring format), 15th in rushing yards, first in receiving yards for a RB, first in receptions for a RB, and tied for fifth in total TDs for running backs on the season.  Dallas has been giving up points like it’s going out of style this year (31st in the NFL, 28.0/game), so you can bet that McCoy will at least get a 6-pointer this week.

12. Ray Rice (@ Hou)

Rice has one of the most complete games for a running back in the league, which is a real nice quality to have against the worst all-around defense in the league.  If he doesn’t total 130-plus yards with a possible TD tacked on in this one, I’ll be shocked.

13. Jamaal Charles (@ SD)

Can you believe The Ostrich is still rushing the ball at a 6.2 YPC clip?!?!  He’s simply electric with the ball in his hands, though against a tough all-around defense like the Chargers, he probably won’t go off like he has in recent weeks.  Still, he’s put up 100 or more total yards in six straight games, and seeing what McFadden did to the Chargers last week, a nice game out of Charles seems very plausible.

14. Ahmad Bradshaw (@ Min)

Bradshaw might have been demoted to second-string, but he’s still the main ball-handler on the team, seeing that he got 26 touches last week compared to Jacobs’ eight.  Who cares if he’s in there for the first series of the game or not, because with those kinds of touches, he’ll put up numbers against any defense in the league.

15. Steven Jackson (@ NO)

The Beast has been getting around 30 touches a game the last couple of weeks, and I expect him to get the same again this week against the high-flying Saints.  St. Louis will want to control the ball in this one, so a whole bunch of The Beast should be involved with around 100 rushing yards coming out of it.

16. Mike Tolbert (vs KC)

The Tolberticus Touchdownimus train was completely derailed last weekend against the Raiders, but it’s tough to get a guy rolling when your team has the ball for just 21 minutes and are down by 14 points after one quarter.  Expect a decent bounce-back against a Chiefs D that just gave up 161 yards rushing to Knowshon Moreno last week.

17. Fred Jackson (vs Cle)

The Bills couldn’t do a thing against the newly-inspired Vikings last week, Fred Jackson included.  However, Cleveland doesn’t have nearly as formidable of a defense as Minnesota, while playing at home should help FJax a bit as well. 

18. BenJarvus Green-Ellis (@ Chi)

Who knew BenJarvus was such a studly touchdown monger?  Actually, if you’d been studying up on the Patriots at all, you’d know that New England has finished in the top-8 in rushing touchdowns five of the past six years (11th in 2005) and is currently second in the NFL this season.  The Bears don’t give up much in terms of rushing yards, but Green-Ellis is a good bet for a TD this Sunday with Chicago giving up 10 already through 12 weeks.

19. Matt Forte (vs NE)

Forte looks as good as he has in his entire career right now, and Martz is taking notice.  He has 100 or more total yards in each of the last three weeks, with either a TD or a 100-yard rushing performance in each of them.  The Patriots have a middle-of-the-road rush D, so take a chance and ride Forte while he’s hot.

20. Chris Ivory (vs StL)

Ivory isn’t pretty, but he’s getting the job done.  Even if Pierre Thomas comes back, he’ll be eased in, so Ivory should still be able to garner around 15 touches (which is all he needed last week to put up 117 yards).  He’s also scored five TDs over the last three weeks, so the Saints would be hard pressed to take him out of his rhythm at this point.

21. Tashard Choice (vs Phi)

With his performance last week, Choice earned himself an expanded role for the ‘Boys going forward, so says Jerry Jones and Coach Garrett.  Neither Marion Barber (still slightly injured) or Felix Jones were really getting the job done, so watch for Tashard to make another mark this weekend in what could be a high scoring game against a beatable Philly D.

22. Jonathan Stewart (vs Atl)

Stewart looked good again last week against the Seahawks and has a firm hold on the role of the Panthers' main ball-carrier at this point.  Carolina will continue to work him hard as they make an effort to see if he can still be their RB of the future, so expect another 20-25 touches for Stew this weekend.

23. Ryan Torain (vs TB)

I’m going to make a call here that Torain gets the start this week and commands most of the carries for Shanahan and the Redskins.  If this happens, he should be able to put up some nice fantasy stats for your team.  However, you’ll need to check the news throughout the week at www.pyromaniac.com or www.ffpharmacy.com to be sure he plays before getting him in your lineup.

24. Brandon Jacobs (@ Min)

Doesn’t really matter that Jacobs is starting because the Giants are still only giving him RB2 touches.  He did, however, do the most with his eight carries last week rumbling off 103 yards and two touchdowns against a terrible Redskins D, and it looks like his power will be needed in this one versus a tough Minnesota front line.

25. Tim Hightower (vs Den)

Beanie Wells has pretty much bungled his way out of the Cardinals' good graces, so it looks like Hightower will continue to see time as a feature back.  If Denver wasn’t so awful on D, I probably wouldn’t be ranking Timmy here, but they are, so he is, and with the Cards rolling out a rookie QB, you can bet Hightower will be used often.

26. Cedric Benson (@ Pit)

Benson actually had a decent game against the best rush D in the league earlier this season, rolling out 74 total yards and a touchdown back in Week 9.  His two 100-yard games against the mighty Ravens last year showed he can bulldoze even the best defenses, so if you’re in a bind this fantasy weekend, he might be worth a chance.

27. James Starks (@ Det)

Starks looked like the whole package last week against the 49ers, and by his 18 carries last week (Brandon Jackson only had four), it looks like the Packers noticed the same thing.  He’s still a raw rookie work-in-progress, so anything can happen, but he might just be worth a shot against a low-end Lions defense this Sunday.

28. Anthony Dixon (vs Sea)

Dixon, like James Starks, is another raw rookie that looks pretty darn good so far.  He’s a beast standing at 6’1”, 233 pounds, but he plays even bigger than that.  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out this college run of his.  If he keeps playing like this, you can almost certainly expect a couple of TDs from him in the next few weeks.

29. LaDainian Tomlinson (vs Mia)

LT is pretty much splitting carries right down the middle with Shonn Greene right now in an effort to keep him fresh for the playoffs, so his production will tend to be on the light side going forward.  That said, he still has the ability to be lethal, seeing that he’s also the third-down back in most situations and doesn’t come out around the goal-line.

30. Felix Jones (vs Phi)

Tashard Choice will get a shot to compete with Felix from here on out, but that doesn’t mean Jones will be forgotten.  He still has some big-play ability in him and should see around 15 touches in this game, so he’s not a terrible flex for your fantasy team at this point.

31. Thomas Jones (@ SD)

Jones’ touches are slightly unpredictable at this point in the season with Jamaal Charles rolling the way he is, but the Chiefs may need his power a bit in this game against the Chargers to grind out the tough yards and along the goal line.  However, he’s really no more than a flex play for you now.

32. Danny Woodhead (@ Chi)

I am going to repeat this statement until he becomes a household name: the records this kid set at both his high school in North Platte, Wisconsin and at his D-II school at Chadron State College are simply staggering.  I mean Madden 2011-style staggering.  As in the kid averaged 183 rushing yards/game over FOUR YEARS at Chadron State (212.0 in his junior year was his highest average) and had 109 total TDs during that time (38 was his most, also as a junior).  He rushed for more than 200 yards in a game 19 of his 39 appearances and scored in 37 straight contests, both NCAA records.  Just to top it all off, Woodhead also ran track in high school for one year and broke his school’s 100-meter record with a time of 10.5 seconds.  Undrafted in the NFL or not, this kid is special.

Week 14 rankings for QBs, WRs, and TEs