Many of you are going to have to give up searching for a running back you like and settle for one you can stomach. That is, unless Isaac Guerendo is available and you still have FAB left. In that case, spend every dollar.
One team I left off the list of not having a good running back option was the Dallas Cowboys. That was intentional; things are trending up for Rico Dowdle. Dowdle has produced at least 98 yards and at least 12 PPR Fantasy points in each of his last two games. He has three or more catches in five of his last six games. He just scored his first rushing touchdown and looks to have wrestled the red zone job away from Ezekiel Elliott.
Dowdle faces a Bengals defense that just gave up 24.9 PPR Fantasy points to Najee Harris. The game before that they allowed J.K. Dobbins to score 18.9. While the Cincinnati defense has been better against the run than the pass, they aren't very good against anything right now. If you have Dowdle on your Fantasy team, you should feel privileged to get to start him in Week 14. With the Panthers and the Buccaneers on the upcoming schedule, Dowdle may remain a start even after the byes are over.
Now, let's get to the rest of the Week 14 RB Preview:
Fantasy Football Today Newsletter
Know What Your Friends Don't
Get tips, advice and news to win your league - all from the FFT podcast team.
By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge Paramount's Privacy Policy.
Whatever you have left in your FAB bag should be spent on Guerendo if he's available. He has two games with double-digit touches this season, and he averaged 14.6 PPR FPPG in those two games. As long as he stays healthy, he'll be a borderline top-12 running back in Week 14 and the Fantasy playoffs. The next-man-up philosophy in this offense worked with Jordan Mason earlier this year and has worked with a handful of running backs in the Shanahan era. Mitchell is a potential league winner.
McCormick has been the Raiders' best rusher, leading them in yards before contact and yards after contact. That doesn't mean he'll hold on to the lead job if Alexander Mattison returns, but he should. Antonio Pierce has spoken highly of him and has been open to merit-based lineup decisions at virtually every position. I would expect double-digit touches and a chance at double-digit Fantasy points.
McLaughlin is on bye, so he is strictly a playoff stash. He's been running efficiently for a month and was rewarded in Week 13 with a career-high 14 rush attempts, which he turned into 84 yards. It's dangerous guessing what Sean Payton will do on a week-to-week basis at this position, but for now, we're projecting McLaughlin to be the Broncos top back after their bye.
Guerendo should be the chalkiest player on the slate due to the fact that the 49ers running back injuries happened too late for them to be factored into Guerendo's price. He's a top-12 back priced like a backup. You don't need to get cute here.
I think people will see Pollard's poor performance in Week 13 and think it was because Tyjae Spears was back. Spears only played 25% of the offensive snaps. Pollard just ran into a terrible game script. I wouldn't expect that in Week 14 against Mac Jones and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Titans are home favorites against one of the worst defenses in the league. That should make Pollard chalk, but it won't due to his bad game last week.
RB Preview
Heath's Projections
My full set of Week 14 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 14. Projected stats for all starting running backs are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.
