{"id":255676,"date":"2025-11-21T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T14:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=255676"},"modified":"2025-11-27T18:30:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T23:30:56","slug":"fantasy-football-rankings-top-10-running-backs-for-week-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/21\/fantasy-football-rankings-top-10-running-backs-for-week-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 10 Running Backs for Week 12"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Week 12 Running Back Rankings<\/h2>\n

1) Jonathan Taylor vs. Chiefs<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Photo Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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<\/a> 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

2) Christian McCaffrey vs. Panthers<\/h3>\n
\"Week
Photo Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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<\/a> 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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For more help with this week’s fantasy football matchups, check out our Week 12 Start\/Sit<\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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3) Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Giants<\/h3>\n
\"Week
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) celebrates first down against Chicago Bears during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I just love playing Lions<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

4) Bijan Robinson vs. Saints<\/h3>\n
\"Bijan
Photo Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Falcons lost Michael Penix to yet another knee injury last weekend and will turn to Kirk Cousins at QB. Drake London is also nursing a knee injury and most likely will also miss this weekend’s matchup with New Orleans<\/a>. Atlanta doesn’t have much left outside of Bijan and Tyler Allgeier, so I expect them both to play a lot of snaps in this game. Bijan will be relied on in the passing game, so I can see him having a bunch of games down the stretch like he had in Week 9 at New England<\/a> (12 carries for 46, 8 catches for 50). The loss of his teammates will make it tougher on the offense overall, but it should lead to a much larger workload for Robinson.<\/p>\n

5) Derrick Henry vs. Jets<\/h3>\n
\"Derrick
Photo Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I love Henry in this matchup this weekend. The Jets<\/a> are a dead team right now, and the Ravens<\/a> have everything to play for. Baltimore is going to be able to do whatever they want against this depleted team this Sunday in front of the home faithful. I expect Lamar Jackson to work the ball downfield early in an attempt to try and figure out who Baltimore will use as a field stretcher in tougher matchups later in the season. Rashod Bateman missed last week’s game with an ankle injury and hasn’t been much of a factor all season, while Baltimore has been using multiple tight end sets and D’Andre Hopkins opposite Zay Flowers. The Ravens need a deep threat, and I’m not sure if it exists on this roster. The Jets offense isn’t going to put much pressure on Baltimore to have to throw for the entire game, and I expect Henry to rule the second half. This should be very similar to the game against Miami a few weeks ago; hopefully, King Henry finds the end zone at least once in this one.<\/p>\n

6) Saquon Barkley vs. Cowboys<\/h3>\n
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Photo Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dallas<\/a> did look much better last week against the Raiders<\/a>, completely stifling Ashton Jeanty all night long. This week, it will be interesting to see how they handle the Eagles<\/a> offense and Saquon Barkley. The Eagles aren’t going to mess around in Dallas and should come out punching to try and get an early lead. If the game goes the way I expect it to, Philadelphia will be leaning heavily on Saquon, and he should get a workload in excess of 20 combined rushes and pass targets.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

7) Kyren Williams vs. Buccaneers<\/h3>\n
\"Rams'
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Bucs<\/a> are very good against the run, but fantasy running backs have been piling up points against them as pass catchers. Overall, Tampa is ranked 25th in DVOA against the running back position. Williams has had his moments as a pass catcher this year and has the ability to contribute as a receiver if Sean McVay decides that’s how he wants to attack the Bucs. I think McVay is a smart dude, and that’s exactly what the Rams<\/a> will do. I’m expecting a game similar to the Thursday night game, week 5, against the 49ers where Williams had over 60 yards both on the ground and through the air.<\/p>\n

8) Rico Dowdle vs. 49ers<\/h3>\n
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Photo Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He’s officially an RB1 for the rest of the season. The days of sharing touches with Chuba Hubbard or Trevor Etienne are long gone, and Carolina<\/a> has had themselves a true “bell cow” back since Week 5 (minus one minor blip against Buffalo<\/a>). If you have Dowdle, he will be a fixture in your lineup going forward, albeit with a bit of a tough late-season schedule. This matchup against San Francisco represents one of the softer ones left for Dowdle and the Panthers, so fire him up. Carolina has a late (Week 14) bye but has a nice matchup against the Saints in Week 15 for the fantasy playoffs. After that, they finish with a couple of tough games against Tampa and Seattle<\/a>, but we’ll worry about those games when we get to them.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

9) Quinshon Judkins vs. Raiders<\/h3>\n
\"quinshon
Photo Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This game is going to be a “snoozefest”. What do you expect when you have a showdown between Geno Smith and Shadeur Sanders? A lot of running plays, that’s what. While Ashton Jeanty will have his hands full trying to find room against Myles Garrett and the Browns, his fellow rookie counterpart should be able to have success against Maxx Crosby and Las Vegas. I don’t expect a ton of points to be scored, but if anybody is a “favorite” to find the end zone in this game, it’s Judkins. While he hasn’t found his way into the painted paradise at the end of the football field in his last three games, he still leads the team in total scores with 5 of the team’s 12 touchdowns. He’s also the only Cleveland player to score a rushing touchdown this season, so if the Browns are going to get into the end zone this week, it very likely will be Judkins.<\/p>\n

10) TreVeyon Henderson vs. Bengals<\/h3>\n
\"TreVeyon
Photo Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We aren’t sure right now if Rhomondre Stephenson will play or not, but either way, I would start Henderson against the Bengals<\/a>. Cincinnati is ranked dead last in the league at stopping the run, and Henderson doesn’t need a lot of touches to do damage. He also showed us (and hopefully Mike Vrabel) that he could be trusted at the goal line as he smashed into the end zone from short yardage against the Jets<\/a> last Thursday during his 3-touchdown performance. There are some other backs with larger guaranteed workloads, like James Cook, Javonte Williams, Breece Hall, and Chase Brown, who all make fine starts this weekend. I just like the upside of Henderson in this matchup and would get him in my lineup if I had him.<\/p>\n

For more great fantasy football analysis, check out DrRoto.com<\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5637,"featured_media":255681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,33912],"tags":[349,2320,33805],"class_list":["post-255676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy","category-fantasy-rankings","tag-fantasy-football-rankings","tag-nfl-schedule","tag-running-back-rankings"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5637"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255676"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255682,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255676\/revisions\/255682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}