{"id":256580,"date":"2025-11-28T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T13:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=256580"},"modified":"2025-11-27T18:30:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T23:30:54","slug":"fantasy-football-rankings-top-10-running-backs-for-week-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/28\/fantasy-football-rankings-top-10-running-backs-for-week-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 10 Running Backs For Week 13"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody! Thanksgiving week means one thing around my household. We will be watching football for five straight days and stuffing our faces with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and anything else we can shove into a leftover sandwich. Our fantasy seasons are beginning to wind down, and most of us are thankful that we can field our teams this week without having to worry about those pesky bye weeks. Most of us are in “must-win” mode, and picking the right running backs and receivers for our starting lineups is more important than ever. If you need to work the waiver wire, take a shot at Devon Neal on the Saints<\/a> or Dylan Sampson on the Browns<\/a>. Neal will take over as the lead back in New Orleans, and while they are a mess on offense, he has shown that he is an effective pass-catcher and will help teams in PPR formats. The same goes for Sampson, who looks to have carved out a role as the Browns’ passing down back, which may bear some fruit with Shadeur Sanders under center. As for the top players at the running back position, let’s take a look at who ranks as our top 10 for week 13.<\/p>\n

Week 13 Running Back Rankings<\/h2>\n

1) Jonathan Taylor vs. Texans<\/h3>\n
\"Colts
Photo Credit: Lisi Niesner\/Reuters via Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He had a down week against the Chiefs<\/a> in Kansas City, which made it the second time in three starts that he failed to find the end zone. In his previous eight games, he not only scored in six of them but scored a total of 14 times over that span. This week, he gets another tough matchup against the Texans<\/a>, but he should still be able to find room to run. Last week, they allowed James Cook to top 100 yards and a score on just 17 carries, so Taylor should be able to have similar success. He’s way too good to consider benching.<\/p>\n

2) Jahmyr Gibbs vs. Packers<\/h3>\n

\"Week<\/p>\n

He was a one-man wrecking crew last week as he piled up over 50 fantasy points against the Giants<\/a>. It’s a little hard to trust that he will be able to do it again on a short week with a much tougher opponent, but who are you going to start over him? He’s a lock for anybody’s lineup on a weekly basis, and he should be a key part of the Detroit lineup as they kick off the holiday festivities this Thursday.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

3) Bijan Robinson vs. Jets<\/h3>\n
\"Week
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Falcons<\/a> are a mess right now with both Drake London and Michael Penix out of their lineup. Penix isn’t coming back this season, so it will be Kirk Cousins under center for the remainder of the way for Atlanta. The offense needs to run through Bijan, and this weekend, he should be the focal point of Atlanta’s offense as they take on the Jets<\/a>. As bad as things are in Atlanta right now, they’re looking like the 2007 Patriots<\/a> compared to the teams that play in New York. If Robinson stays healthy and doesn’t get 20+ touches, Raheem Morris should be left in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

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For more help with your Week 13 lineup, check out our top streaming options<\/a> to help plug any leaks.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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4) Derrick Henry vs. Bengals<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Photo Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Father Time definitely looks like he has one hand on King Henry’s shoulder, but the big back can still get it done when the situation is right. Last week, against the hapless Jets, the situation was right enough for him to score two touchdowns, despite only averaging 3 yards per carry. This Thursday night, the situation gets even juicier as the Ravens<\/a> take on the Bengals<\/a> and their #31-ranked run defense. There will be scoring opportunities aplenty for all involved with this matchup, and King Henry should be in the middle of any scoring done by Baltimore.<\/p>\n

5) Saquon Barkley vs. Bears<\/h3>\n
\"Saquon
Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saquon is another back who has looked like he has slowed down some from last year, but that has more to do with a few lingering injuries and some key losses along the Philly offensive line. He should be good to go in this matchup on Black Friday, and the Bears<\/a> are absolutely wrecked right now on defense. Their run defense was already ranked in the bottom 5 of the league before losing all of their linebackers to various injuries. You could argue that the starters stunk anyway, and the backups couldn’t be much worse, but let’s just assume the coaches actually play the better players, and the guys playing this Friday will be a step down in talent. Philly is going to keep their foot on the gas to try and erase any memory of last week’s horror show in Dallas, so I’m expecting a big offensive day from the Eagles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

6) De’Von Achane vs. Saints<\/h3>\n
\"Buy
Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s not often that the Dolphins<\/a> enter a matchup as a prohibitive favorite this season, even at home. That’s just where they find themselves this week as 6-point home favorites over the reeling Saints. Achane is the best player in this game, and any damage Miami does will be through him. The game script will favor Achane getting a healthy dose of carries, and he should be able to top 100 total yards for the 4th straight game. He’s in a great spot this week and could flirt with the overall RB1 spot.<\/p>\n

7) James Cook vs. Steelers<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pittsburgh may be leaky against the pass, but they aren’t exactly stout against the run either. Buffalo should come into Pittsburgh and handle a Steelers<\/a> team that has been up and down all season. Cook should be in the middle of everything as he’s the only Bills<\/a> offensive player that they can consistently count on outside of Josh Allen. He’s having an amazing year, and he’s just too good to consider benching.<\/p>\n

8) Christian McCaffrey vs. Browns<\/h3>\n
\"What
Photo Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Browns have one of the best defenses in the entire league, ranking #2 overall, #2 against the pass, and #12 against the run. They are also ranked 9th overall against the running back position in fantasy points allowed. With all that being said, McCaffrey is going to get his usual dose of 25+ touches and can sleepwalk to a top 10 ranking no matter who the opponent happens to be. Cleveland’s offense isn’t going to light up the scoreboard, so CMC, as well as Brian Robinson, should get plenty of work this weekend. Put CMC down for 100 total yards and a score, guaranteed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

9) Kyren Williams vs. Panthers<\/h3>\n
\"Week
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The workload isn’t as consistent as we would like, but he’s still the Rams<\/a>‘ top back. This is a great matchup as the Panthers<\/a> rank 24th in the league against the running back position in fantasy, and the Rams should be able to win this game easily. Williams should be able to get back into the end zone after being held out of the painted paradise for just the 4th time this season by the Buccaneers<\/a> last week. He hasn’t been held scoreless in consecutive games this season and has followed up each of his previous single-digit fantasy days with 18+ points the following week. Fire him up.<\/p>\n

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

Henderson isn’t Jahmyr Gibbs; we get that. But did you see what Gibbs did last week to the Giants? The New York defense, especially their linebackers and safeties, is way too slow to deal with an explosive back like Gibbs. Enter Henderson and his home run hitting ability. While Rhamondre Stevenson may still get the goal-line work, there’s an excellent chance that the rookie is able to get into the end zone at least once from downtown. His scoring ceiling is too exciting to ignore, and he still has a solid scoring floor between his involvement in the running game and as a pass catcher.<\/p>\n

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

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody! Thanksgiving week means one thing around my household. We will be watching football for five straight days and stuffing our faces with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and anything else we can shove into a leftover sandwich. Our fantasy seasons are beginning to wind down, and most of us are thankful that we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5637,"featured_media":256586,"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-256580","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\/256580","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=256580"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":256588,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256580\/revisions\/256588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}