Fantasy Football Week 15 Running Back Preview: Playoff starters, Projections, DFS plays, and more

With the Fantasy playoffs upon us, the running back rankings are getting very crowded. The returns of Omarion Hampton and Bucky Irving have the potential to give us more depth in the RB1 section of the rankings, but if they are stuck in committees, it may just muddy the RB2 waters. We have some big disagreements about those two in our initial Week 15 rankings.

Irving's case seemed settled. In his first game back, in Week 13, he had a 60% rush share while Rachaad White and Sean Tucker both had a 7.4% share. In Week 14, that changed drastically with White matching Irving's 49.3% snap share and Irving's rush share falling to 38.5%. This could just be a one-week blip, but what concerns me is that the Buccaneers have a reason for playing Irving less on running downs. By almost any measure, he has been their worst rusher.

Irving ranks behind both White and Tucker in rush success rate, rush EPA, yards before contact, yards after contact, and number of rushes for zero or negative yards. For added context, he has had a lower percentage of his carries against stacked boxes than White and Tucker. It's not a pretty picture. 

Hampton, on the other hand, looked good with the ball in his Week 14 return, but awful in pass protection. Kimani Vidal played 69% of the snaps in this game, had a higher rush share and target share than Hampton. Because it was Hampton's first game back, I expect more work for Hampton moving forward, but I am not sure I expect them to play him often on true passing downs or in the two-minute drill. 

In my early Week 15 rankings, you will see Irving and Hampton in the low-end RB2 range, as opposed to Dave and Jamey, who both have Irving top 10 and Hampton top 18. One guy they would sit for both of them is Woody Marks, and I have Marks ranked the highest of the group. He was impressive against the Chiefs, and the Cardinals have been hemorrhaging Fantasy points to running backs in the last month.

Now let's get to the rest of the Week 15 RB Preview:

Week 15 RB Preview

• 3.4 -- Bucky Irving's 3.4 yards per rush ranks 40th out of 41 rushers with at least 100 rush attempts this season. Only Rhamondre Stevenson has been less efficient.
• 18 -- Rico Dowdle has at least 18 rush attempts in four of his last five games. Even in a committee, he should get plenty of touches in a positive game script against the Saints.
• 71.9% -- Travis Etienne had a season-high 71.9% snap share in Week 14. Bhayshul Tuten did not touch the ball again after his fumble. Etienne is a potential league winner with this role.
• 69.3% -- Over the last month, Woody Marks has a 69.3% rush share. Only Jonathan Taylor and Ashton Jeanty have seen a higher percentage of their team's rush attempts.
• 3.81 -- TreVeyon Henderson is averaging 3.81 yards after contact per rush attempt. Only De'Von Achane and Jonathan Taylor have a higher average.
• 60 -- The Cowboys have not allowed a running back to run for more than 60 yards in a game since Week 9.

Week 15 Adds (RB Preview)

Devin Singletary RB NYG N.Y. Giants • #26 Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs WAS NYG -2.5 O/U 47.5 OPP VS RB 27th RB RNK 32nd ROSTERED 43% YTD Stats RUYDS 306 REC 12 REYDS 126 TD 3 FPTS/G 5.7 We are expecting Tyrone Tracy to return in Week 15; otherwise, we would have Singletary ranked as a top 24 running back. He still may be a flex even with Tracy. Singletary had a 45% rush share in the first three quarters of their most recent game and is the more trusted option in the red zone. For the season, Singletary has 15 red zone rushes to just nine for Tracy. Singletary has six rushes inside the five, versus just one for Tracy. That matters more this week against a Commanders defense that has given up the fourth most Fantasy points per game to running backs and five rushing TDs to running backs in their last three games.

Jaylen Wright RB MIA Miami • #5 Age: 22 • Experience: 2 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ PIT PIT -3.5 O/U 42.5 OPP VS RB 9th RB RNK NR ROSTERED 4% YTD Stats RUYDS 172 REC 1 REYDS 0 TD 1 FPTS/G 4 Don't splurge on Wright because we are hopeful De'Von Achane will return in Week 15. But if Achane is out, Wright could be a top 20 back against the Steelers. The Dolphins have gone very run-heavy, and Wright had 24 rush attempts in relief of Achane last week.

Blake Corum RB LAR L.A. Rams • #22 Age: 25 • Experience: 2 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs DET LAR -5.5 O/U 55.5 OPP VS RB 1st RB RNK 40th ROSTERED 56% YTD Stats RUYDS 550 REC 6 REYDS 13 TD 4 FPTS/G 6.7 Corum splashed last week, so he won't likely remain on the waiver wire. The truth is, he probably should have been rostered already as one of the most valuable handcuffs in Fantasy. Handcuff is probably the wrong word because Corum and Kyren Williams have been rotating snaps for a month. If Williams goes down, we could see a 70% snap share for Corum, and he could be a league winner.

Top DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Woody Marks RB HOU Houston • #27 Age: 24 • Experience: Rookie Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP vs ARI HOU -9.5 O/U 42.5 OPP VS RB 29th PROJ PTS 12.3 RB RNK 19th YTD Stats RUYDS 554 REC 20 REYDS 196 TD 5 FPTS/G 9.7 Marks is priced as a low-end RB2, and I think he may be a borderline RB1 in this matchup. In their last five games, the Arizona Cardinals have given up 32 PPR FPPG to opposing backfields. While most backfields are committees right now, Marks is a true workhorse with a truly elite matchup.

Contrarian DFS Play

Projections powered by Sportsline

Rico Dowdle RB CAR Carolina • #5 Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs. Weekly Breakdown MATCHUP @ NO CAR -2.5 O/U 40.5 OPP VS RB 18th PROJ PTS 12.5 RB RNK 16th YTD Stats RUYDS 929 REC 29 REYDS 254 TD 6 FPTS/G 14.1 Interest in Dowdle has plummeted due to Chuba Hubbard's increased role in Week 13. But Dowdle still had 20 touches in that game. The Panthers have gone to a run-heavy approach and are 2.5-point favorites at New Orleans this week. If they are playing with the lead Dowdle and Hubbard could combine for 35 rush attempts.

My full set of Week 15 Fantasy football projections for every position are now available on SportsLine. 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 15. Projected stats for all starting running backs are available, so be sure to check out the full set of projections at SportsLine.