Week 12 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings & Tiers: Studs, Sleepers, and Must-Starts (Ep. 1854)

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello friends, and welcome into Fantasy Pros. This is the
Fantasy Football Podcast Week twelve running Back Ranks. I'm Chris Welsh.
We got Pat Fitzmorris and Andrew Erickson. We're going to
be going through the top thirty six running backs where
worse starts are? What disgusting things are we going to
be dealing with? How bad does that like flex running
back range look, especially compared to what we did on

(00:21):
our wide receiver show. We'll talk about all of that,
tears and more using Fantasy Pros ranks on the website
using ECR. Mister Fitzie, what's up with running backs in
your world?

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (00:32):
Man, it sure looks better than the wide receiver position
this week.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Welsh.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
I think we're counting on running backs to carry the
day this week because the wide receiver position could not
be any more any less appealing than it is this week.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Erickson, if obviously, no, Bucky, how high are you obligated
to put Shan Tucker this week? After his performance? What
is the obligation of how high he should go? He
is going to be talked about in this show, But
the ECR does not rep present what he did last week.

Speaker 4 (01:01):
No, but ECR is trying to capture looking ahead, not
necessarily just regurgitating what happened last week, because last week
the optics were much better. For Sean Tucker played the
Buffalo Bills worst run defense in the NFL.

Speaker 5 (01:13):
This week?

Speaker 4 (01:14):
Is he even the starting running back for his team?
Is he the RB three on his team? So a
lot to unpack with that Bucks backfield. But I would say,
just generally speaking, this does feel like a flex running
back week.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
Wait, the Bulls are the worst run defense in the NFL.
I think the Bengals would like a word ericson.

Speaker 4 (01:31):
I mean, they're they're trying to be the worst run
defense in the NFL.

Speaker 5 (01:35):
They're doing their best.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
I don't think we've talked about running backs being like
viable flex until like the first couple of weeks of
the season. We've at least been on like an eight
week run of like, Nope, running back threes are really
gross and it's got to be wide receivers. But yeah,
like you said, comparative to what we did on the
Wide Receiver Show and what we're talking here, there is
a lot more playable wide running backs for this week,

(01:58):
So we are going to jump into it again. Go
to fantasy dot com slash rankings if you'd like to
follow along, if you want to see the updates. Remember
we are a time capsule of the ranks when we're
doing this, so there's a chance that when you're watching
this there might be some changes as more people submit
their ranks and ECR or make changes. But you can
do it fantasypros dot com slash rankings if you want
to follow along all the way up until kickoff. No

(02:21):
more time wasted. Let's jump into it. You're running back
ones for the week. Let's look at the big board.
Christian McCaffrey coming in at number one, up against Carolina Panthers,
Jonathan Taylor at two. He's got a tough matchup against
Kansas City Chiefs, Jamiir Gibbs, b Jeon Robinson, Saquon Barkley
and Traveon Henderson. Is a top six Derrick Henry, Nico, Rico, Dowdell,

(02:41):
kyn Williams, Javonte Williams, James Cook, and Chase Brown. That
is your bottom half of the first here. Saquon Barkley,
you guys are in a different space on him. This
isn't a non startable situation. Most likely unless you've got
like three top ten running backs. But you guys on
opposite ends, FITZI, you are on the high the high end.

(03:03):
It's the ECR end where you see him as a
top five back this week going up against the Dallas Cowboys,
it's a good matchup. Ericson is a little bit on
the other so it'll be fascinating to here. But regardless
of all the negative things we can say about the
Eagles offense, Dallas defense end, Finn done, that's kind of
where I stop with any discussion on a player, especially

(03:26):
if it's massively talented. Dallas's defense not super great, and
is that playing the biggest role in keeping Saquon Barkley
here top five?

Speaker 3 (03:35):
So I did feel a little queasy about this ranking,
and I am open to letting Ericson talk me into
dropping Saquon in my rankings. Like it looks like a
good match up on paper, the Cowboys are allowing the
eighth most fantasy points per game to running Backsaquon has
been more involved as a pass catcher this season. He's

(03:55):
averaging two point eight receptions a game, and the Cowboys
have a lot of the third most receiving yards to
running backs, but you know, they might be a little
bit of a different defense with Quinn Williams upfront now,
so they might be a little tougher. And the loss
of star offensive tackle Lane Johnson to a list Frank
injury is certainly worrisome for Saquon and just the Philly

(04:17):
offense in general. I do the Eagles have a lot
of talent on their offensive line. They have underachieved relative
to last year, but even without Lane Johnson, like this
is still a very talented offensive line, And I don't
know for what it's worth. When Saquon Barkley faced the
Cowboys way back in that Thursday night season opener in
Week one, Barkley eighteen carries for sixty one yards and

(04:40):
a touchdown four catches for twenty four yards. He was
tied for RB seven in Week one fantasy scoring, and
I think maybe even that was considered a bit of
a letdown for Saquon Barkley stakeholders. So I don't know,
RB five does feel too high. I'm not gonna lie
like you're starting him this week, but maybe maybe Ericson

(05:00):
as a point here with where he is.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
Ranking him and Erickson, You've got him at eleven so
not a top ten running back, but still in RB
one going up against the Cowboys. What is your theoretical
negative take on Saquon Barkley here.

Speaker 4 (05:12):
I'm not try have much else to add because I
think fits kind of outlined the concerns maybe some of
the pessimistic points about Saquon Barkley this week. And it's
weird because you're talking about top five running back. Did
not sound like your tone was not oh.

Speaker 5 (05:26):
Wheels up.

Speaker 4 (05:27):
We're like usually we're like top five running back, let's go.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
It's like, why are we even talking about this guy?

Speaker 4 (05:32):
It's like, yeah, Saquon, he's facing the Cowboys. He got
to start if he's a top twelve running back, which
is how I feel. Again, we saw him play Dallas
this week or this year. He was not a top
five running back in the first matchup, and that was
when the Eagles offensive line argue was at its strength,
full health across the board, and yet he couldn't be
a top five running back. Now, I'll admit, Barkley has
run kind of cold in terms of just touchdowns the

(05:53):
last couple weeks.

Speaker 5 (05:53):
He's gotten unlucky.

Speaker 4 (05:54):
So because the volume has definitely been there, he's seen
over twenty two carries in back to back weeks, but
we're just not seeing the same type of big, explosive plays.
And I'm really concerned about this Eagles offense overall last
two weeks have not looked great, and you take Lane
Johnson out of its offense and I just think this
matters so much. This was something that Bill Barnwell tweeted
out earlier this week. Since twenty thirteen, the Eagles are

(06:17):
the league's third best offense by EPA per play. With
Lane Johnson on the field, they are twenty eighth over
the same timeframe when he's not on the field. Now,
they do have a good swing tackle that has filled in,
So I don't think it's okay.

Speaker 5 (06:30):
Now they are the twenty eighth offense in the NFL.

Speaker 4 (06:33):
And although I agree that Dallas has improved dramatically, again
it's not oh, now you have to avoid the Dallas Cowboys.
But I just think it's kind of ie opening that
the Raiders rushed eight carries for thirteen yards with their
running backs, Like this defense was giving up yards after
yards after yards and Raiders couldn't do anything on the ground.
So I think that it should be keep that should

(06:54):
just be kept in mind when you're looking at Saquon
that I just don't think, I mean, has he been
a tough ive running back at all this season? No,
So for those reasons, that's why I'm outside top five.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
Probably going to be one of those talked about running
backs for the next couple of weeks. Every storyline we
know can go, but even into this week is Trevion
Henderson and Trevia Henderson given a very aggressive rank. Of
course because it's against the Cincinnati Bengals. It is a
four subsurpris not a five star rating on our rating
matchup grades over on Fantasy Pros, but Cincinnati Bengals, fantastic

(07:26):
matchup Trayvion. It's like, what the last three games over
three hundred total yards. I mean, he has been a monster.
There's always the Remandra thing that's just kind of looming.
There's the usage that's looming. But Ericson, you've got him
at eight, Fitzi, you've got him at six. So actually
let's go to Fitzi here because you've got him a
little bit higher. You actually got him at consensus with Ericson,

(07:47):
tiny bit lower. Where are the concerns, if any Travion.
You've got him at six. This is just a smash play,
don't overthink it type of thing, right.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
Well, the concern is that we get a rug pull
from Josh McDaniels and how he deploys his running backs
with Ramondre Stevenson expected back this week, you know, one
week after Trevion's three touchdown breakout game. This is a
great matchup, no question about it. The Bengals have allowed
the most fantasy points per game the running backs by far.

(08:18):
They've given up the most rushing yards, the second most
receiving yards to running backs. Running Backs are averaging five
point four yards per carry against Cincinnati. So great matchup
if Henderson gets the volume that allows him to cash in.
And my RB six ranking is based on the belief
that the genie is out of the bottle with Trevion

(08:39):
Henderson and he's going to get more work than Ramondre
Stevenson going forward. But that's just a guess and I
could totally be wrong about that.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
I agree with the sentiment that he will get more work,
but I don't. I think Grimandri. I think this is
this is a trojan horse, This is like this is
gonna be a problem. We're all like a Trevion and
we're gonna jeans that. We're all excited, and it's just
like Ramandre is gonna get twelve carries and he's going
to get a red zone. I don't want to rust
yeah goal liya, I don't trust this whatsoever. So to me,

(09:08):
this feels high because of that. But the matchup is
so great. Trevian has also proven to be one of
those guys if you give him ten touches, he could
have over one hundred, Like he could break this away
and make it all irrelevant. But the usage is what
I am very scared about. Ericson, you've got him slightly lower.
Are you scared about the usage whatsoever? Or do you
think they will not be able to help themselves? All

(09:29):
the coach speaks stuff all they're like, we love Ramondre.
Is that going to go out the window and you're
gonna see Stevenson get eighteen plus touches.

Speaker 5 (09:37):
I don't think he's gonna get eighteen plus touches.

Speaker 4 (09:39):
I think that they want to make sure that he's
kept in a role where he can remain efficient and
against the Bengals, Fit said, just you can be really
efficient against the Cincinnati Bengals. Like, I don't know if
he's gonna need eighteen touches to get it done against Cincinnati,
but I just want to capture Hey for Andre. He's
back this week. Look, I think Stevenson could be a
flex play. I mean Bengals too, So if he has

(10:01):
a role, then I just want to keep that in
mind because if Stevenson was Hey, he's not gonna play
this week, well, I mean Travion he could be like
two or three this week in ECR rankings. So the
upside is RB one on the week, and you just
can't bench that in any capacity. And it's hard to
rank that type of player outside the top eight, which
is why I have him eighth.

Speaker 3 (10:22):
Yeah, it's funny because like last year in college, I
don't think there was any single game where Traveon Henderson
had more than twelve carries because he was sharing a
backfield with Quinn Shawn Judkins. But like it didn't matter
because he was so good and so efficient. He could
have these explosive games on twelve carries and four catches,
you know against the Purdue boiler Makers, and the Bengals

(10:45):
are the Purdue boiler Makers of the NFL. Here, so
no offense to Purdue, and as a Wisconsin fan, I
don't have much room to talk this year.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
But yeah, it's just matchup.

Speaker 3 (10:56):
You do not necessarily need a twenty touch game out
of Travon Henderson smash here.

Speaker 1 (11:01):
Okay, two things yet, yes or no? Traveon Henderson has
a sixty plus percent snapshare over Romandre Stevenson. We'll start
with you, Fitzie.

Speaker 3 (11:13):
Boy, that is a real You've set this at a
very good number. While if that is a tough I'm
gonna I'll say maybe under, I'll say it's like fifty
eight to.

Speaker 1 (11:23):
Forty two, okay.

Speaker 5 (11:25):
Ericson, I take over on sixty percent.

Speaker 1 (11:28):
Okay, and then the other is nine point five carries
Romandre Stevenson over or under. Ericson will start with you
on this one.

Speaker 4 (11:37):
I think you can get double digit carries Moron Jay,
So yeah, I'll take over.

Speaker 5 (11:41):
I think Patrick here.

Speaker 4 (11:42):
Yeah again, I think Stevenson could be a flex play
this week because of how bad.

Speaker 5 (11:46):
The Bengals defense is.

Speaker 1 (11:49):
Dis you agree, ye, okay?

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Over, that is that.

Speaker 1 (11:53):
Those are things I think that are concerning points. The
biggest plus two trivion it is the Bengals. So again,
ten twelve touches, he could create a top ten fantasy
finish without hesitation. It's just we're laying out a scenario
here where Remandre does not go to the bench, and
that I think is the thing that we worry.

Speaker 5 (12:13):
A little bit about.

Speaker 1 (12:14):
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for fifteen percent off. Running back twos starting with our

(13:47):
RB thirteen Travis Etien, We've got on the big board,
Ashton gent Quin, Shawn Jutkins, Woody Marks, Brees Hall, DeAndre Swift.
The back half at nineteen is Aaron Jones, Ken Walker,
Jalen Warren, Emmanuel Wilson, David Monco, and Kareem Hunt. Travis
et and Gentlemen going up against the Arizona Cardinals. This
is one of a small handful of the four star

(14:08):
matchups in this general range. He is ECR thirteen ericson
you've got him at twelve fifthy, you've got him at
fourteen ericson why don't you kick us off? Touton getting
the usage but banged up right now? What do you
think about Travis Etn and the safety net of using
him for this week?

Speaker 4 (14:23):
I think it all depends on whether Twoton is one
hundred percent ready to go or if he's limited throughout
the week on the injury report. So this one, I
don't have a ton to add until we learn more
about Bashelle Tuton, because yeah, last week it looked like
it was a toot and tugboat takeover of that backfield,
although I thought both guys played relatively well, and I
think that Liam Cohen is sick of Trevor Lawrence and
he's like, I want to run the ball like with
my two talented running backs. We saw it do it

(14:45):
last year a little bit at times, with Rashad White
and Bucky Irving being both productive in the same backfield
using this pony personnel. So I think that both guys
could potentially be started as a plus matchup. Etn has
run pretty cold in terms of touchdowns. He's just been
be bad at the goal line. You get not to
necessarily like indictment on him. He just hasn't scored, but
he's got touch on upside, he's been efficient. T's been

(15:07):
good as well, So this guy will probably move a
little bit just based on Tuton's availability.

Speaker 1 (15:12):
So this rank is representative of Toton not playing.

Speaker 5 (15:16):
Either limited or your twelve not playing.

Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yeah, okay, and then Tutan is active, where does ETN go?
Just relative?

Speaker 4 (15:23):
I mean, I mean you're gonna I mean, you're going
to start him regardless, I got I don't think that
it's like, oh, well, TUN's gonna play, you got bench ETN.

Speaker 5 (15:30):
It's like I wouldn't see.

Speaker 1 (15:32):
That well, I mean, yeah, if you're I mean, I
guess if we're pushing a lot of running backs into flex,
I think there's a scenario of someone sitting there like,
what do you go below? What he marks? It's not
you know, crazy to think that somebody out there has
Derrick Henry, Rico Dowdell what he marks and Travis ETN.
And if Travis Eaton gets shoved to the bottom of
that list, he might not be startable. So, just just offhand,

(15:54):
if Tuton's active, what he marks at ETN for you.

Speaker 5 (15:57):
I'm going to play at.

Speaker 1 (16:00):
Mark's going up against Buffalo. By the way, FITZI, what
do you think about Travis Etn? You have got him
at fourteen's you're one spot lower on consensus, And is
this a rank of Touton not playing?

Speaker 3 (16:11):
It is a placeholder ranking there is If Tuton doesn't play,
I might move up. I'm gonna move up et in
one spot. He'll be RB thirteen. If Tuton does play,
I'm gonna move him down like five spots and I
will have uh, Travis Etn behind what he marks, probably

(16:31):
behind DeAndre Swift and then yeah, debate between guys like Quin,
Shawn Judkins, Ashton Genty, Breisee Hall, that's where he's gonna land.
He's gonna be more of a mid range running back too.
And like, even if Tuton doesn't play, I wouldn't be
surprised if we saw Laquin Allen take a lot of
the passing down work on. Allen is a good pass

(16:52):
catcher and he's really good in pass protection. So it's
not like this would be a ninety five percent snapchare
for Etn if Tooton was out. So yeah, I mean
it's not a terrible ranking, but ETN has been pretty
touchdown dependant, as Ericson mentioned so, and the touchdowns have

(17:14):
kind of dried up lately.

Speaker 1 (17:17):
Ashton Genty, he is ecr's RB fourteen on the list. Ericson,
you agree, But Fitzy, you've got him lower. He has
got the Cleveland Browns. This is the singular worst matchup
grade rating of these RB twos. Nope, it's a one
star nobody's lower. Genty did get involved in the receiving game,
which was nice to see in this last matchup. But Fitzy,

(17:37):
let's start with you because you are lower, pushing him
down to eighteen, still like a mid ish RB two,
but your optimism is obviously a little bit less. What
do you think about Genty for week two?

Speaker 6 (17:47):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (17:47):
Man, I love Gent.

Speaker 3 (17:49):
I'm gonna be aggressive on him in twenty twenty six drafts,
assuming the Raiders make some much needed repairs to their
offensive line. But things are just looking so bleak right now.
He's averaged three two point one yards per carry over
his last five games. It's just it's depressing, man, Like
the Raiders offensive line was not opening up hauls for
Gent even before they lost Colton Miller, their best offensive

(18:12):
lineman to a season ending injury. Now interior alignman Jackson
Powers Johnson is on IR. The Raiders Z line is
just a messing and while the Browns defense has not
been quite as tough in recent weeks as it was
early in the season, still not an easy matchup by
any means. It's just hard to generate a lot of
enthusiasm for Ashton Genty, even though I love the player.

Speaker 1 (18:35):
Ericson what do you think about gent? You got him
right at ECR. You seem to be a little bit
more optimistic. But it is a tough matchup against the Browns.

Speaker 4 (18:44):
Just a floor volume play because I expect Genty to
still get fed. He's seeing a lot of targets in
the passing game. You know, he has one of the
best receiving roles over the last couple of weeks, so
he is fifth and running back target share in his
last three games. He has five plus targets in three
straight games, thirteen percent target share in five of his
last six games, and he has at least eighteen opportunities
in four of his last six games. So volume is

(19:06):
enough for a guy to finish as a mid range
RB two A and I have a little bit higher
at RB fourteen, just because we have four.

Speaker 5 (19:11):
Teams on buy. So I think that he'll be fine.

Speaker 4 (19:14):
Is he gonna be a tough five Gala sy Probably not,
just because he plays on the Raiders. But you look
at the optics of this matchup. The Raiders are playing
at home against the rookie quarterback making his first start.
So if they're controlling game script, if they're gonna win
the game, like they're gonna have opportunities score, I don't
think they're just gonna get shut.

Speaker 5 (19:30):
Out at home.

Speaker 4 (19:31):
I mean, anything is possible when Tino Smith is your quarterback,
so maybe maybe that will be the case here. But
I think Jenny's gonna see enough volume. If he's seeing
twenty opportunities in a game where they're not getting blown out,
especially through the passing game, I think they he'll be fine.
If you again, going back to the Browns defense, you
look at where they actually have been weak this season.
They have been not that great in terms of misstackles.
So they're twenty two percent mistackle rate to running backs,

(19:52):
giving up three hundred and fifty two yards running backs
from miss tackles. That ranks top ten in the NFL.
Three hundred and fifty yards given up for miss tackle.
So look, get gent and space, let him work his magic.
Like that's the one thing that he's been able to
do at a high level this year. It's what he
did at Boise State, he's done at the NFL level.
She get him in space, let him run, and he
get yards.

Speaker 1 (20:12):
On the opposite end of this exact game, Quinchin Jutkins
comes in at RB fifteen. Things have just fallen just apart,
just obviously with the offense not being able to move
how it does. Offensive line hasn't looked as good. Judkins
is just not getting the same push. It's like seventeen
carries for fifty eight yards. It feels like every single week,
not a ton of touchdown equity. You guys are both

(20:34):
lower on him than consensus, and the matchup isn't super
super fantastic either. So ericson quick hit on Ashton genty
or on Quinchin Jutkins, He's kind of moving down the
excitement list a little bit. He does come in at fifteen,
but you have him at eighteen.

Speaker 4 (20:51):
Kind of feels the same way as Genti, right, just
a volume play on a bad offense behind a bad
offensive line. It's just who which rookie running back can
break more tackles? Right, It's like who is the best
rookie running back in this game? Because they're going to
be doing it all on their own because they're not
going to get a lot of help from their offense environment.
The Browns had more offensive line injuries last week. Cam
Robinson got hurt, Jack Conklin is hurt. They're starting a
rookie quarterback Shdar Sanders. Again, it's very easy to paint

(21:15):
the picture where the things could go south for Judkins,
and what he doesn't have that Genty has is the
receiving right. Genty has that floor with targets no matter what,
if the Browns come out, you know, up fourteen to nothing.
The Raiders abandoned the run game for two straight weeks
in a row. Well, at least Jendy's going to catch passes,
whereas Judkins Raiders open up to a big lead. Judkins
is nowhere to be found potentially with a very subpar

(21:36):
receiving role. But besides that, again, he still says a
ton of carries and if the game is close, I
would expect them to continue to feature him to help
protect their young rookie quarterback.

Speaker 1 (21:46):
Me Fitzi, it's hard to imagine Judkins doesn't at least
get the opportunity for volume with a rookie quarterback in there.
It's just it has not amounted to a whole lot.
So you also have the lower ranking on Judkins. What's
your take on him for Week twelve?

Speaker 3 (21:59):
Yeah, correct, it's just been empty volume and he has
averaged three point two yards per carry over his last
five games. He has just eight receiving yards over that stretch.
After that three touchdown bad weather game against the Dolphins
in Cleveland, he's gone three straight games without a touchdown.
And Judkins matchup against the Raiders like it seems enticing,

(22:21):
but the Raiders run defense is actually respectable. There's sixteenth
in Dvoa against the run. They've a lot of the
fourteenth fewest fantasy points to running backs, just sort of
a neutral matchup. And Brown's Raiders as a Vegas total
of thirty six and a half points. So as far
as touchdown odds, doesn't seem like the touchdown odds are
great for anyone in a game with a total of

(22:41):
thirty six and a half.

Speaker 1 (22:43):
This last one, this is a tough one. This is
going to be a placeholder conversation. But Emmanuel Wilson comes
in at twenty two going up against the Vikings. Fits
you got him at twenty four, ericson, you got him
in twenty three. There's just still questions about Josh Jacobs
and what's going on. So FITZI, this is the placehold.
I'm guessing this is the placeholder rank for Josh Jacobs

(23:05):
not being active at all, or if you get the
not active, do you think there is more potential upside
in him being the top back?

Speaker 2 (23:13):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (23:13):
Correct, As of now, I'm not ranking Jacobs, but you know,
if it's just a knee contusion, which it sounds like,
is the case, no damage, It's possible Jacob's plays against
the Vikings this week because that is one tough dude,
in which case Wilson would just become unplayable. But if
Jacobs is out, Packers are run heavy team. They're running

(23:34):
the bought the ninth highest straight in the league, their
pass rate over expected as minus three point four percent,
and the Vikings just sort of a neutral matchup for
running backs. One thing that concerns me a little bit
about Emmanuel Wilson, though, If Jacobs is out, the Packers
other running back Chris Brooks pretty good player. It's possible
Brooks could split carries with Wilson and Matt Lafleur could

(23:57):
go with kind of the hot hand approach, because one
point earlier this season it looked like Brooks was actually
number two behind Jacobs, but then Emmanuel Wilson sort of
passed him up. So it might be a little more
vague with the usage than we think. I know we
have Wilson locked in as the pure backup, pure handcuff
to Josh Jacobs. I'm not one hundred percent sure that's

(24:18):
the case.

Speaker 1 (24:19):
See that's interesting, and I want to get your take
on that, ericson because in my mind here I actually
feel like this rank unless that specific thing is part
of it, this rank feels like one foot in, one
foot out, because if there is no Jacobs in my mind,
I do think Emmanuel Wilson will be the top guy.
I think he should rank higher. I think he should
be into the teams, especially with the run heavy team

(24:41):
that they are in a neutral matchup, Plus they can
use him out of the passing game. But if you
think Chris Brooks is going to take it, away and
they're not comfortable giving that Wilson the Josh Jacobs touches.
Then that that does make sense for this style of
rank in like the late twenties. But ericson you tell
us is Brooks a threat? Is this one hundred percent
rank of Jacob's not? There is this kind of placeholder?

(25:03):
Where are you at on Wilson and the Packers running back?

Speaker 4 (25:06):
I mean I can't speak personally or for everyone in ECR.
I know I ranked this as Jacobs is out. Emmanuel
Wilson is a back end fantasyr too, Like That's how
I view him, and I think even like stylistically, like
that's kind of what he looks like. I don't and
fits correct me if I'm wrong, But I don't think
that Emanian Wilson is some like super dynamic special running
back and he's definitely not Josh Jacobs, like like Josh

(25:27):
Jacobs is going to fight for every single yard, and
especially given some of the injuries on the Packers offensive
line this year, it's been tougher setting. I think for
Jacobs it's not just these wide open holes, so he's
had to create a lot of yards on his own.
I think Wilson is more of that kind of like
grinder type of running back, and he's pretty good with
yards after contact, but he's not like super elusive and anyway,
he's not like making guys miss in terms of like

(25:48):
breaking ankles. Again, I don't think, yeah, he's like so
different from guys like Rodriguez or Bam Knight, and like
we were never ranking these guys' top twenty running backs
even when we felt like, oh, Bam Knight's the guy
this week. Okay, did he score touchdown?

Speaker 5 (26:00):
Am I happy? Yes?

Speaker 4 (26:01):
Checking off the boxes. So I think that's kind of
what you're looking for with Wilson is like, hey, does
he find the end zone?

Speaker 5 (26:07):
Great? I feel good about it.

Speaker 4 (26:08):
But I don't think we're looking at always going to
go for one hundred yards a two touchdowns, like a
monster game from Wilson, so compared to a lot of
these wide receivers that we don't feel great about, Yeah,
gim me Wilson.

Speaker 5 (26:18):
Give me the floor that he's going.

Speaker 4 (26:19):
To offer, especially playing for the Packers high powered offense
most weeks. At least you feel good about that. But
I'm not trying to rank him super aggressively because yeah,
I think Chris Brooks is pretty good, and I think
entering this year it seemed like it was going to
be more Chris Brooks than Wilson. Wilson has played a
little bit better and earned more of a role, even
alongside Jacobs at times this year when he was nursing
that calf injury. So, if anything, I guess I would

(26:41):
be still kind of concerned about Jacobs if he does play,
because we saw his snaps produced dramatically when he was
dealing with that calf injury and Wilson was playing more.
So I don't think we're going to get eighty five
percent snapshare of Josh Jacobs. I think that he would
be limited now. Always see he could score a touchdown,
but I think Jacobs would probably be more of a
low end RB two or at mid range R two
this week than a locked and loaded top ten guy

(27:02):
like he usually is.

Speaker 1 (27:03):
Yeah, that's what I was gonna ask. It would be like,
you know, eighteen to twenty, and then Wilson probably gets
thrown down into the thirty forty type of range. It
seems like we were kind of.

Speaker 2 (27:12):
Headed, all right.

Speaker 1 (27:13):
We got wide receiver or running back threes, not wide
receivers running back threes coming up, but first dominate your
fantasy football league with Fantasy Pro's Premium, now available free
for six months when you deposit and place your first
wager on one of our partner sports books. The easiest
way to get full access to our top fantasy tools
all season long. Go to fantasypros dot com slash Premium

(27:34):
to get started, even this late in the season. In
the season, it totally you know, can set you up
for the playoffs and more so, go and do that today,
all right. RB Threes twenty five through thirty six starts
off with Alvin Kamara at twenty five, Tyrone Tracy Zach Charboney,
Sean Tucker at twenty eight, Kenny Gainwell, Bam Night at
thirty back half as Rashad White, Taj Spears, Tony Pollard, Kamana, Guy,

(27:58):
Devin Singletary, and Tyler Algier. Has Alvin Kamara re entered
the circle of trust? FITZI, you and him have a
bad relationship he had the big game. Is he back
in the circle of trust? You've got him? At twenty six?
Ericsson does as well. You guys are essentially ECR, but
has the thought process changed for you FITZI.

Speaker 3 (28:21):
Yeah, he's maybe not back in the circle of trust yet, Welsh,
but he's he's ringing the doorbell and I'm thinking about
whether to let him in. Things were just looking so
bad for Kamara until Week ten, the Saints last game
before their Week eleven by Kamara had either as past
your second best game of the season in Week ten,

(28:42):
with eighty three rushing yards and thirty two receiving yards.
Before Week ten, Kamara had not produced more than thirty
one rushing yards in a game since Week four. And
I just wonder if Tyler Schuck might be better for
Alvin Kamara than Spencer Rattler.

Speaker 2 (28:59):
Wolves not even so much from.

Speaker 3 (29:01):
A pass catching perspective, but it was just that Rattler
was not challenging defenses downfield very often, so defenses didn't
really have to worry about Rattler beating them over the top.
Maybe Tyler Shuck can loosen up defenses a little bit
for Kamara and keep safeties from cheating up against the run.

Speaker 2 (29:19):
Like I'm not that optimistic, but.

Speaker 3 (29:23):
Yeah, I mean, I feel better about Alvin Kamara now
that I did a couple of weeks ago. But you know,
the Saints offensive line is still kind of a mess.
It's not a high powered offense. So we're keeping expectations
in check for sure, but expectations boy, back before week
ten they were at rock bottom Welsh.

Speaker 1 (29:41):
Yeah, I mean we'd been in ranges of Cuttingham and
being done with him. We've talked a lot about the
Saints here ericson and their offense and what Shuck is doing.
You know, you have been twenty five or twenty six,
so you're not like ringing the bell or anything like that,
but the level of confidence has raised a little bit
and that he can be a fly. We've talked about this,
like wide receiver three versus running back three. Kamara is

(30:03):
definitely a higher in flex option.

Speaker 5 (30:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (30:05):
I just like this spot for the Saints to be honest,
going up against the Falcons at home, like this is
a spot where their offense should be productive. And if
Alvvi Kamara is going to see twenty five touches for
the second straight game, then I mean he's got to
finish like top twenty. I know, like he got the
seventeen the last time he played, which again, twenty five
touches for over one hundred scrimmage ary, you're expecting an

(30:27):
RB one finish. I think that you always have to
bring it down a little bit when it comes to
the Saints offense. I don't think we're going to see
them score forty points against the Falcons. But he's been
better in home games this year, and I think that
just goes to the fact that the Saints playing closer games,
they're not getting blown out, then they can keep Kamara
in the game. However, I do have some concerns that
it's not twenty five touches and we do see a

(30:48):
lot of Devin Neil. Devin Neil has been playing that
Kendre Miller role alongside Kamara where both guys were involved
and I don't know, guys, I'm getting the field that's
going to be Taysom Hill week as well. We're talking
about having a big game if they're having red zone opportunity,
like they love Tasze Mill in the red zone. So
I think that's how this hurts you. It's not that
the Saints offense lays an egg. It's oh my god,

(31:11):
Taysom Hill scored another rushing touchdown in the red zone. Man,
you're pulling your hair out. So that's kind of why
I'm just pressing pause a little bit on wheels U
Kamara Top twenty guy, but I think he's fine this week,
obviously better in full PPR. But hey, I mean Taysese
Mill on the flex maybe maybe maybe just can't.

Speaker 1 (31:27):
I can't, We can't, We can't, Erickson, it's too late
the season for us to chase the Taysom Hill week.
We just can't unless we're forced to. Shawn Tucker, though
we talked at the top of the show, Sean Tucker
ECR twenty eight, Fitzy, you've got him a little bit
higher and Ericson is trying to bury him. So Fitzy,
let's talk the positive here for a second. Shaun Tucker

(31:48):
has a huge week. There's questions, of course, you know,
and the usage and the starting. It's also not a
great matchup that's thrown out there. But Tucker definitely had
to create a wider net of confidence with the Bucks
that he could be used more. But you know, these
ranks aren't super hyper aggressive. But again, you are one
spot higher than consensus. So what's your positive take ish

(32:10):
on Tucker as a flex.

Speaker 3 (32:11):
Yeah, I mean it does feel like I'm too high
on him quite honestly. As good as Tucker was last week,
one hundred and six rushing yards, two touchdowns, one hundred
and forty yards from scrimmage. He still played eleven fewer
snaps than Rashad White and had a favorable matchup against
the Buffalo run defense. And now he gets a much
tougher draw against the Rams, who have a lot of
the third fewest fantasy points to running backs. And obviously

(32:35):
we're gonna have to drop Sean Tucker in the rankings
considerably if Bucky Irving is able to return this week.
Still no word on his practice status as we record
this podcast early Wednesday afternoon, But you know, I think
Tucker is like flex worthy if Irving doesn't come back.
But yeah, we're probably not getting another one hundred and

(32:57):
forty yards out of him.

Speaker 1 (32:59):
Yeah, and good point. This is the placeholder ranking. I
think this is the placeholder ranking for Bucky not playing.
But there could be some people that are like, I
just don't know, let's see, and then they just kind
of put them in a relative space. Ericson, you seem
pretty definitive. You pushed him down to thirty five, so
he's just barely in that top thirty six, into that
flex range. What is your week twelfth take on Shawn Tucker.

Speaker 4 (33:20):
Well, Todd Bowles said, again, this is kind of relatively
new that Bucky Irving is ramping up his practice reps
to be available for Week twelve. So I think we
could have a three headed mess in a terrible matchup
against the Rams. So this is a situation where we
don't know how the touches are going to be distributed
at all, and they're not facing the Buffalo Bills. It's

(33:40):
one thing when you can kind of embrace the risk
of Okay, I'm not sure what the workload is going
to be like, but it's the Bills, it's the Bengals,
it's the Cowboys, whatever. The guys can be efficient. But
against the Rams, much tougher defense to run the football on,
you gotta have big stones to play Shaun Tucker again,
So this is.

Speaker 1 (34:01):
This is this rank Bucky is out.

Speaker 4 (34:05):
No, Bucky's in like RB thirty five for me is
he's you're not starting Shaun Tucker this week?

Speaker 1 (34:11):
No, No, I meant like your thirty five rank of
Shawn Tucker. This is Bucky being out.

Speaker 5 (34:16):
No, it's Bucky being in it.

Speaker 1 (34:17):
And oh, okay, I'm sorry. Yeah, then I wasn't. So
then where where's Bucky in your ranks? In this three
headed monster?

Speaker 4 (34:23):
I have not ranked Bucky yet, so I was still waiting.
I mean, I was under the impression that he was
going to come back at some point. But again, all
these Buccaneers running backs ranks are going to change by
the time we get the full news on Friday.

Speaker 1 (34:36):
So what okay? So what's the theoretical rank all three
or active? What does it look like to you? You
don't have to be exact. You can just give ranks.

Speaker 4 (34:43):
I really don't know off the top of I am.
I mean, I don't mean to give bad radio, but
I just like, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (34:50):
Okay, So my brain is frying. The Sean Tucker rank
of thirty five is with Bucky active, correct, and Bucky
will rank higher, but he is not ranked there.

Speaker 5 (35:03):
Correct.

Speaker 1 (35:04):
I have if Bucky is If Bucky is in active,
does Tucker move higher than thirty five?

Speaker 5 (35:11):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (35:13):
Thirty sure?

Speaker 5 (35:16):
Okay?

Speaker 4 (35:16):
Cool?

Speaker 5 (35:16):
That makes it?

Speaker 2 (35:18):
It does.

Speaker 3 (35:20):
Ericson's ranking of Sean Tucker has turned into a who's
on first?

Speaker 1 (35:23):
Think that it's one hundred percent like we're dancing.

Speaker 4 (35:26):
Check the rate those on Friday at five PM Eastern.
We can all find out together where I decided to
put Sean Tucker Boom.

Speaker 1 (35:32):
That's who's on first. All right, let's go through the
final one here. It is Bam Knight. Bam Knight comes
in at thirty. Kind of another one of those that's
floating out there. There's no de Marcado, so you know
you have that Trey Benson's window is up. That will
obviously affect this. So this rank is going to just
be a rank of he's the only guy. Which that's
kind of the wheels up situation off like he's just

(35:53):
the dude. You gotta feel good about it. He is
at thirty. You guys are roughly in the same range.
Erickson kick it off real quick. I'm not going to
ask you if Bucky is active? What is bam Kyler.

Speaker 5 (36:05):
Murray comes back in this game? How does that effect?
What about Marlon Mack? What?

Speaker 1 (36:09):
I could do the trade Benson. I could do the
trade Benson one here, but talk to us about Bam.
BAM's the only guy in tellent.

Speaker 4 (36:14):
I think Bam is fine. He's got touchdown equity on
an offense that can score points.

Speaker 5 (36:19):
The Jaguars like.

Speaker 4 (36:20):
Fits mentioned on one of the I think it was
the wide receiver show. They are more of a pass
funnel than a run funnel, So you're not expecting this
massive rushing efficiency from Bam Night. But this offense moves
the ball and puts themselves in red zone opportunities. He
should get goal in touchdowns. So yeah, I think that
he's in a strong RB three and with him versus

(36:41):
some of these fringier wide receiver options, I think that
he can be fine in a pinch.

Speaker 1 (36:46):
Fitzy, you got him at thirty one, just right off
of there. But take us home here, Bam Knight. Confidence level,
Like I asked you before, is he like the Do
you think it's a start of a tier, the end
of a tier? Or I mean you could play the
middle too if you want. Like where do you think
he kind of sits the range of rbs that he's
he's around you know, Kenny Gainewell and Seawan Tucker and
sharbon A and behind him is like Tajy Spears and Pollard.

Speaker 3 (37:07):
Yeah, Ericson just used two phrases that paint sort of
different pictures. Strong RB three or well find in a pinch.
I'm more with the fine in a pinch, like I
don't see him as that strong.

Speaker 2 (37:19):
I kind of have him in a.

Speaker 3 (37:20):
Tier like I've actually got Tyler Lgier ranked one spot
ahead of Bam Knight this week, and I've got him,
I've got I've got Bam Knight just ahead of the
two Tennessee Titans. And I don't think any anyone feels
great about either TAIJ. Spears or Tony Pollard against the
Seahawks this week. I guess the Jaguars are a good

(37:44):
run defense, like they have allowed the second fewest rushing yards.
Only the Patriots have given up fewer rushing yards than
the Jaguars this year. And while barring a surprise return,
or maybe not such a surprise, but barring Trey Benson's return,
Knight's going to be the lead guy. But Michael Carter
is probably going to get some snaps too, So I

(38:06):
don't know. It's just hard to see a big ceiling
for Bam Night, but maybe he can at least give
you a decent floor.

Speaker 1 (38:13):
Always forget about Michael Carter. Michael Carter, forgetting about well
ECR thirty, he's in that mid tier range. It's funny
you said Algier, because that was one I was going
to bring up going up against the Saints, and you know,
probably going to want to run the ball a little
bit more to get the ball out of Kirk Cousin's hands.
I think Algier becomes kind of an interesting flex option
as well. Those are our running backs for week twelve
that we're talking about. If we did not pseudo answer

(38:36):
your question or there was another guy, you still got
an opportunity. The Start and Sit live stream on our
YouTube channel where you can come and ask any specific
start and Sit questions Thursday, three pm Eastern. If you're
on the podcast YouTube dot com, slat Fantasy pro subscribe,
click get notified, don't miss it. That is going to
do it. Week twelve rbs in the books for Ericson

(38:56):
and FITZI. I'm Welsh. Let's see what happens to Bucky Irving. Goodbye.

Speaker 6 (39:00):
Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football podcast.
If you love the show, the best freeway to support
us is by leaving a positive review on Apple podcasts
at Fantasypros dot com, slash review or on Spotify.

Speaker 5 (39:13):
Follow us on.

Speaker 6 (39:14):
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All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Hosts And Creators

Andrew Erickson

Joe Pisapia

Derek Brown

Thor Nystrom

Ryan Wormeli

Pat Fitzmaurice

Matthew Freedman

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Week 12 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings & Tiers: Studs, Sleepers, and Must-Starts (Ep. 1854)