Fantasy Football Week 12 Running Back Preview: Waiver adds, deep stashes, starts, sits, and more

In Week 12 the Falcons, Bills, Bengals, Jaguars, Jets, and Saints are on bye. That means we won't have Alvin Kamara, Bijan Robinson, James Cook, Breece Hall, Chase Brown or Travis Etienne. And somehow, running back still doesn't look all that bad this week. 

I have 27 running backs projected to score double-digit PPR Fantasy points in Week 12, meaning in a 12-team league there is still enough to go around, assuming the backs are evenly distributed. What's more, 15 of those backs are projected to score at least 13.8 PPR Fantasy points. I can only say that about 10 wide receivers this week. 

Within those 27 backs projected for at least 10 points are three sets of teammates. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are both top 14 backs this week, must-starts in any format, but the Commanders and Buccaneers are a little bit more difficult. I have Brian Robinson Jr., Rachaad White, Bucky Irving, and Austin Ekeler all projected for between 10.25 and 11.99 PPR Fantasy points. 

That projection means they're all ranked as low-end RB2s or high-end flexes, but I'm not sure that fully captures their upside. All four have outstanding matchups. Robinson and Irving should take advantage of bad run defenses to pile up yards on the ground while Ekeler and White could be the number two pass catchers on their respective teams. What we don't know for sure is who will score the touchdowns. Robinson and Irving are more likely to score from close.

Last week we saw both Ekeler and Robinson finish as top 15 backs. The week before Irving and White were both top 10 options. With six teams on a bye, you should feel just fine starting any of these backs, including two on the same team.

You'll find my projections for every player on the slate here.

Now, let's get to the rest of the Week 12 RB Preview:

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Week 12 RB Preview

The following players are not being projected to play in Week 12 at this time. Here's what it means:

Alexander Mattison RB LV Las Vegas • #22 Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs. At the beginning of the week we aren't projecting Mattison or Zamir White to suit up. That makes Ameer Abdullah and Dylan Laube interesting waiver adds.

Tyjae Spears RB TEN Tennessee • #2 Age: 23 • Experience: 2 yrs. Tony Pollard should be a workhorse again.

• 24.2% -- Javonte Wiliams' 24.2% target per route run rate keeps him in the starter discussion even with his weekly uncertainty in the running game.
• 6 -- Roschon Johnson has six rush attempts inside the five-yard line, which is tied with D'Andre Swift. Johnson is a touchdown-dependent flex this week if you need him.
• 10 -- Austin Ekeler leads all running backs with 10 receptions of more than 15 yards.
• 37% -- James Cook played a season-low 37% of the offensive snaps in Week 11. Hopefully, that's not a warning of what is to come.
• 77.3% -- Chuba Hubbard has a 77% rush share over the past month. It will be interesting to see if Jonathon Brooks cuts into that. 
• 67 -- James Conner leads all running backs with 67 tackles avoided this season. No one else has more than 56.
• 10.2 -- Nick Chubb has not scored more than 10.2 PPR Fantasy points in a game yet this season. Even with three teams on a bye, we would prefer to sit him.

Matchups that Matter

Projections powered by Sportsline

Brian Robinson Jr. RB WAS Washington • #8 Age: 25 • Experience: 3 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs DAL WAS -10 O/U 45 OPP VS RB 30th PROJ PTS 11.4 RB RNK 24th YTD Stats RUYDS 524 REC 10 REYDS 88 TD 7 FPTS/G 14.2

Bucky Irving RB TB Tampa Bay • #7 Age: 22 • Experience: Rookie Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ NYG TB -5 O/U 41.5 OPP VS RB 18th PROJ PTS 10.3 RB RNK 25th YTD Stats RUYDS 492 REC 26 REYDS 188 TD 4 FPTS/G 11.6

Chuba Hubbard RB CAR Carolina • #30 Age: 25 • Experience: 4 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs KC KC -11 O/U 41.5 OPP VS RB 1st PROJ PTS 12.3 RB RNK 14th YTD Stats RUYDS 818 REC 30 REYDS 124 TD 7 FPTS/G 16.2

J.K. Dobbins RB LAC L.A. Chargers • #27 Age: 25 • Experience: 5 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs BAL BAL -3 O/U 51 OPP VS RB 10th PROJ PTS 12.7 RB RNK 18th YTD Stats RUYDS 726 REC 25 REYDS 115 TD 8 FPTS/G 15.7

Nick Chubb RB CLE Cleveland • #24 Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs PIT PIT -3.5 O/U 36.5 OPP VS RB 11th PROJ PTS 9.7 RB RNK 29th YTD Stats RUYDS 163 REC 2 REYDS 6 TD 1 FPTS/G 6.3

Week 12 Adds (RB Preview)

Justice Hill RB BAL Baltimore • #43 Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ LAC BAL -3 O/U 51 OPP VS RB 3rd RB RNK 31st ROSTERED 44% YTD Stats RUYDS 130 REC 31 REYDS 300 TD 2 FPTS/G 7.8 Hill has three games with at least 11.5 PPR Fantasy points and he scored 8.2 last week. That's not great by any stretch, but it's not bad on a week that six teams are on bye. Hill is only an option in full PPR leagues.

Ameer Abdullah RB LV Las Vegas • #8 Age: 31 • Experience: 10 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs DEN DEN -5.5 O/U 41 OPP VS RB 15th RB RNK 30th ROSTERED 3% YTD Stats RUYDS 82 REC 17 REYDS 76 TD 2 FPTS/G 4.3 If both Alexander Mattison and Zamir White are out then I am way too low on Abdullah and he should be a top waiver wire priority. Unfortunately, we won't know that when claims go through. If you're desperate for a running back, must win this week, and still have a lot of FAB left I wouldn't blame you for blowing a chunk on Abdullah just in case.

Zach Charbonnet RB SEA Seattle • #26 Age: 23 • Experience: 2 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs ARI SEA -1 O/U 47.5 OPP VS RB 25th RB RNK 32nd ROSTERED 60% YTD Stats RUYDS 216 REC 27 REYDS 191 TD 5 FPTS/G 9.8 It was just three weeks ago that Charbonnet scored a touchdown and 11.4 PPR Fantasy points. He catches a couple of passes every week as well. Charbonnet is a better add as a bench stash.

Stashes (RB Preview)

Trey Benson RB ARI Arizona • #33 Age: 22 • Experience: Rookie Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ SEA SEA -1 O/U 47.5 OPP VS RB 22nd RB RNK 37th ROSTERED 39% YTD Stats RUYDS 216 REC 5 REYDS 55 TD 1 FPTS/G 4.2 After a slow start to the season, Benson has caught fire as a rusher. He's averaging 5.6 yards per carry over his last five games and could be a league winner if James Conner misses time in the Fantasy playoffs.

Top DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Saquon Barkley RB PHI Philadelphia • #26 Age: 27 • Experience: 7 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ LAR PHI -3 O/U 50 OPP VS RB 12th PROJ PTS 19.2 RB RNK 2nd YTD Stats RUYDS 1137 REC 23 REYDS 210 TD 10 FPTS/G 22 I have Barkley projected for two more points in half PPR than any other back. He's gone over 25 Fantasy points in three of his last six games and is averaging a league-high 22 touches per game. In cash games he should be the chalk at running back and he's worth it.

Contrarian DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Josh Jacobs RB GB Green Bay • #8 Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs SF GB -2.5 O/U 48 OPP VS RB 17th PROJ PTS 14.4 RB RNK 7th YTD Stats RUYDS 838 REC 23 REYDS 186 TD 5 FPTS/G 15.4 Jacobs' lack of touchdowns and tough matchup should limit his rostership, but he projects as one of my best values on the main slate. He's averaging 19.9 touches per game and 5.1 yards per touch. He's also scored four times in his last four games, so don't worry about the fact that he didn't score early in the season.

My full set of Week 12 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. You'll find them here. Find out which of my favorite plays are projected to score higher than consensus rankings and which don't live up to their draft hype, at least in Week 11. Projected stats for all starting running backs are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.