We’re getting to the home stretch of the fantasy season, and these next few weeks are “must-win” weeks for most of us. Life in general tends to get complicated as the temperature cools and holiday commercials start to invade every aspect of our daily lives. For some, the fantasy season gets pushed to the back burner because the season hasn’t gone the way they had hoped. Let’s face it, it’s a little difficult for some of us to stay laser-focused on the waiver wire to make sure we’re putting in the optimal lineup for our 3-8 fantasy team. If you’re reading this article, that means you still care enough to keep an eye on things, so let’s make sure we finish strong and get the best players in our lineups possible. Some backs that make for great plays this week but aren’t in our top-10 running back rankings are Emmanuel Wilson (Green Bay vs. Minnesota), Kenneth Gainwell (Pittsburgh vs. Chicago), and whoever will be starting for Arizona against the Jags. Keep an eye on the injury reports, but as of now, it could be any one of Trey Benson, Bam Knight, or Michael Carter.
Speaking of that game, if you need a deep sleeper, go grab Laquint Allen from Jacksonville. Both Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten are dealing with nagging injuries, and if either or both of them miss this game, Allen will slide in and make for an interesting play, especially in PPR leagues. Let’s take a look at the top 10 backs for this week.
Week 12 Running Back Rankings
1) Jonathan Taylor vs. Chiefs
Taylor managers had it rough last week as they had to get by without the league’s best player through 10 weeks. Taylor got a much-needed week off following his 35 combined touches for 287 yards in Berlin against the Falcons in Week 10. There just isn’t any other place we can rank JT right now after the first 10 weeks he’s had. I don’t think he’s going to have another 3-touchdown week in Kansas City against the Chiefs and their #9-ranked run defense, but he’s going to get every opportunity to put up as many fantasy points as he can. Even in a disappointing week, Taylor puts up double-digit points. You don’t need me to tell you to play him; let’s move on.
2) Christian McCaffrey vs. Panthers
McCaffrey is #2 on this list after finishing last week as the overall RB2 (behind Sean Tucker) and currently sits as the RB2 in fantasy points per game scored for the season. Seems fitting, right? CMC is actually #1 in overall points scored and sits right next to Taylor on that top tier of all flex options for fantasy. Last week, the 49ers put to bed any worries about how they would use their star back once they had their full complement of offensive players. Despite the returns of Brock Purdy and Ricky Pearsall, who joined George Kittle and Jauan Jennings for their game against the Cardinals, it was still McCaffrey leading the San Francisco offense. Carolina has been good, but they have also gotten shredded a couple of times by fast backs (Travis Etienne & James Cook) so I expect a big game from CMC this weekend.
For more help with this week’s fantasy football matchups, check out our Week 12 Start/Sit!
3) Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Giants
I just love playing Lions in home games after a loss. Dan Campbell hates to lose, and I’m sure he especially hates it when he has nobody to blame but himself since he’s taken over play-calling duties. The Lions are going to try and score 50 points this weekend, and that means wheels up on Goff, Gibbs, St. Brown, and Jamo. Even David Montgomery is going to get in on the fun and should score a TD as well. With Sam LaPorta now on IR, Gibbs’ role in the short passing game will be even more enhanced. He’s a top 5 option for the rest of the season and will flirt with overall RB1 for this week.
