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FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
Week 16 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings & Tiers: Studs, Sleepers, and Must-Starts (Ep. 1905)
00:37:37
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This is an iHeart podcast.
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And welcome into Fantasy Pros, the Fantasy Football Podcast. This is the Week 16, your semifinals matchup RB ranks I'm Chris Welsh, we got Pat Fitzmoreson, Andrew Erickson here as we're going to be going through the top 36 at the position. What are the big plays? What are the big questions? Hopefully we've got you guys covered. You guys want to follow along? Go to fantasybros.com rankings as it adjusts throughout the week. Game schedules a little bit different this week. Erickson how many big running back decisions do you have in your playoff matchups this week? How many playoff matchups do you have and are there any big questionable RBs.
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Not on the RB front? I think that I'm in a pretty good spot in most cases. Actually there is one league where my RB one all year has been Breece hall and somehow we ended up getting to the semifinals. This was the same league I mentioned on the wide receiver show. I started Jacoi Crosby merit over Breece hall and being a good decision. So this one I'm kind of scraping by and if the chips fall in my favor I might be starting Audrey Estimate in that league. So we'll see how things yeah, I.
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C
Was about to say yeah, we got to see how that shakes out. Injury wise Estimate definitely might be the Bill Crosby of this week as like a late jump in RB that you're going to deal with. My main takeaway for doing that little bit Fitzy was kind of like, doesn't it feel good to just not have questions around running back? Just think about that during the draft season next year where it's like wide receiver, wide receiver. But it does sure feel nice when you can nail the RB position and you've got depth and you just don't have big major questions. It feels to me it's actually like a little bit more comforting than wide receiver because there's just so much depth and so many players you could have picked off of the wire that now have, like, startability.
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Yeah. And there are some really interesting potential recent acquisitions who are startable this week. Like Michael Carter, for instance, who I know we're going to talk about who I'm considering starting over Omarion Hampton in one of my playoff leagues. And yeah, I've got. I've got some interesting choices this week. Like depending on how I feel about Jalen Waddle and depending up Drake, London comes back in a league where we have a lot of flexibility, I might be considering either, oh, Lord help me, Tony Pollard or Kyle Menong guy, you.
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C
Know, Tony Pollard there. Erickson.
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Tony Pollard, who just, like disappointed me so much in the early weeks of the season.
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I had to fight for Tony Pollard last week. Me. Why am I fighting for Tony Pollard?
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And you were right. He outscored Chris Rodriguez.
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Not Bill, because Bill was the dude.
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But.
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And he hit that 100 marker. Tony did it. Yeah. No, I. It'd be very funny, like, looking back and it's like, you know, your big decisions after having all these great running backs. And it's like, oh, I drafted Breece hall and I drafted Ashton Genti. And you're like, well, I'm starting Audrick Estimate and Bill Crosby Merritt. That's what I'm going in for. And I might flex, you know, whatever. Dumb Michael Carter. Michael Carter is my flex. That's what you're dealing with in this week 16. But we're going to talk about it. We can just keep going on about it. We'll talk about the actual ranks this week. As I mentioned, fantasyprose.com/rest Rankings. They're going to just throughout the week, make sure you're following there. Or you can just do it to follow along in this episode. But let's get to the big board. Your top 12 running backs for the week. It starts with Bijan Robinson going against Cardinals. Five star matchup. Only one in the top 12 here. It's Bijan Devon, Achan, Jameer Gibbs, Christian McCaffrey, James Cook and Saquon Barkley. Pretty chalky there in the top six. Followed by Jonathan Taylor, Josh Jacobs, Travis etn, Bucky Irving, Derek Henry and Travion Henderson. Derek Henry falling down the board slightly this week. He's going against the New England Patriots. Probably one of the worst matchups on this. Erickson, you're the high guy. You've got him at RB7 versus Fitzy, who's at 12. That's kind of a representation of like, no matter what you're probably not starting him, but seven. You're really like pounding the table Erickson for Derek Henry this week.
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Yeah, that's because the Patriots run defense is not a bad matchup. Since they lost Milton Williams, this run defense has been bad, dare I say buns. This is what this defense has been like against the run, just like the Arizona Cardinals. So when you look at the defensive injuries and how it's impacted how this run defense has performed first nine weeks of the season, no running back had gotten over 50 rushing yards against the Patriots since week. Basically after that point they've allowed at least one 50 yard rusher in every single game since they've lost Milton Williams. Robert Spillane, one of their key linebackers, he didn't play at all against the Buffalo Bills. We just saw James Cook was RB1 on the week and now we're viewing it. Ah, Patriots, tough matchup for Derrick Henry when we just saw the RB1 finish against the so called New England Patriots impervious run defense. So Derrick Henry has been really productive over the last couple. He has 94 plus rushing yards back to back games. Hasn't scored a touchdown, which has been the reason why he's been kept out of the top 10. But before that, three straight top 10 finishes. So I'm trying to wrap my mind around how Derek Henry's not a top 10 running back this week. And if the Patriots aren't getting Milton Williams back, I think he's going to be a top 10 guy. And I got him in RB7 because I think he's. I'm bullish on him.
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C
Let me ask you this. Derek Henry or Travis Etienne? No Tootin anymore. Etienne just went out. Did you see my tweet, by the way? It's my favorite thing all season of DBRO. DBRO's like, by the way, number one ranker, greatest on the planet, our best friend. But DBRO's crying. He's like, look at all these touchdowns. No ETN. And then I went under. I went a few moments later. ETN scores three touchdowns after he complains about it. And ETN's a dude, but he's got a tougher matchup this week against the Denver Broncos. Who do you like, ETN or Derrick Henry?
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More Derek Henry. Slightly.
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Slightly. So they're close. Okay, Fitzy, you can do the same thing on the ETN Derrick Henry front just to get a little ETN talk in there. But you are and you are lower so that'll be interesting. You've got Derek Henry at 12, so little bit maybe more concern. Not that it probably matters, but talk to us on Derek Henry and the versus Travis ETN side.
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Right now it's ETN for me, but Erickson mentioned Milton Williams and Robert Spillane. I think the Patriots are expected to get Spillane back this week and he was active last week but just didn't play. And Splain is fantastic against the run. I think he has one of the highest, if not the highest run stopping grade of any linebacker on pff. So yeah, without Milton Williams and Spilling last week James Cook ran wild and if Spilling is out this week, I'm going to move up Derek Henry. But all right, right now like my my biggest concern is that the Ravens just aren't scoring a lot of points. They scored 24 against the Bengals that last week. That was actually the most points the Ravens have scored in a game since November 9th. They haven't scored 30 points in a game since before Halloween. I can live with the lack of receiving production from Derrick Henry if he's playing in an offense that's scoring a lot of touchdowns because presumably he is going to be getting a lot of those touchdowns. And Derek Henry had 18 touchdowns last year better than one per game. He scored 10 in 14 games this season and he got two of them in the season opener. So he's just not scoring touchdowns at the same rate. And that's my concern.
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C
RB2 well, the second RV we're going to talk about on this list is the RV12 here. There is a snap issue still hilariously with Travion Henderson, but snaps be damned. Travion Henderson just rolls. He eats and he balled out last week. But it is something you've got to pay attention to if you like the matchup a little bit less because reminder, Stevenson is just not going away. So there's like, you know, slight caps, but we are beyond where that needs to maybe be like a major thing. Fitz, you've got him at 11, so you've got Trevian Henderson, Derrick Henry this week he is ECR12. What do you think about any potential snap issues? Or is Travion Henderson just completely above all of that stuff now because of how explosive he is?
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D
I think I worried too much about the snap issues last week, which is why I had Travian Henderson ranked as a mid range running back too, which is one of the reasons I had a bad week in the rankings. So yeah, the last two weeks Week 14 against the Giants 49.2% snapchair, 14 touches, 86 yards from scrimmage last week against the Bills 48.1% snapchair, 16 touches, 161 yards from scrimmage, two touchdowns. I don't think it really matters much that Henderson is sharing work with Ramadre Stevenson as long as he's getting around 15 touches a game. Because Travion Henderson doesn't need 20 touches a game to do a lot of damage. This is a Dude who's averaging 5.4 yards per carry and has scored seven touchdowns in his last five games. So just get him those 15 touches and he's going to do a lot with them in most cases.
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C
Now, Erickson, you're a little bit lower. You got him at 15 again. What does that equate to? Maybe not much of anything outside of like shorter team leagues, you know, eight or ten man leagues possibly. But any concerns kind of fueling the rank of 15 for Travion Henderson kind of capping some of the upside? Is it some of the matchup with the Ravens which seems pretty good.
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Good.
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What's your take on Trayvon Think it.
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Does have to do with the matchup the Ravens, how they historically do they always start the season really, really bad against all positions, quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, etc. But then they kind of get into form in the second half of the season and since their bye week only one running back has gotten 60 rushing yards against them. So yes, Henderson had two 50 yard touchdown runs last week. It was against the Bills. Like we this has been the Bills we've been attacking all year long because we know how bad the run defense is. But besides that one run that Travan Henderson had in the second half, which again awesome play off script, reversed field. I was watching this with some friends at a bar and we were just going absolutely insane. Patriots are back baby. And then they obviously lost the game, which was not ideal. But that being said, he had three carries in the entire second half of that game. Like the Patriots did not really run the ball very effectively against the Bills outside the big runs. Again, they'll still count and that's why you always are starting Trayvon Henderson because he has that explosive upside. But this is the toughest matchup they've drawn in a couple weeks against the Baltimore Ravens, who have been much better. You look at the RB finishes they've given up since week 11. RB38, RB16, RB15, RB18, RB19 so and they face some explosive running backs. Chase Brown was not a top 12 running back in either matchup against the Ravens. Breece Hall, RB16, Jaylen Warren, RB18 and then Judkins was RB38, so that's why I have him closer to the higher end of the RB2 tier as opposed to a low end fantasy RB1 because we always can be afraid of oh, they're at the goal line. Oh what do you know. Ramondre Stevenson touchdown like and that's something you just have to keep in the back of your mind because he is going to play significant snaps. So will Henderson have another 50 yard touchdown run and basically be Chris Johnson of 2025? I hope so, but trying to be realistic when it's not the Buffalo Bills defense.
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Yeah, one of the worries too is like if you read the tea leaves on what you said too, there's a lot of receiving running backs that thrive more than mass carries. And Ramon Dre is also a receiving back. Like they'll use him on third downs and pass block situations, throw him the ball. So my point would be is like if Trayvon was only a receiving back, maybe there's even a little bit more upside. But you've got to definitely be able to catch the ball to score some of those points. It just sucks that they split that job between Trayvon and Ramon Dre. So maybe a tiny bit of a cap. All right, RB2s are coming up, but this is your chance to unlock a month of Betting Pros Premium for free. Download the Betting Pros app today. Use code FP1 month FP, the number one month. Get access to tools like the same game parlay tool, the Prop Bet Analyzer, and the Price Picks Prop Bet Cheat Sheet. Don't miss out. Try it for free for one month. Available on iOS or Android with code FP the number one month. Do it today. Let's take a break in the action to talk about Zebiotics. Christmas parties, holiday dinners, late night gift wrapping with a glass of eggnog. It's the season for celebration. Just don't forget the Zebiotics Pre Alcohol Probiotic Drink Zebiotics Pre Alcohol Probiotic Drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's a buildup of this byproduct, not dehydration. That's to blame for rough days after drinking. Pre Alcohol produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down. Just remember to make pre Alcohol your first drink of the night. Drink responsibly and you'll feel your best tomorrow. Go to ZBiotics FantasyPros to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use FantasyPros at checkout. ZBiotics is back with a 100% money back guarantee, so if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. Remember to head to zbiotics.com fantasypros and use the code fantasypros at checkout for 15% off.
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The NBA on Prime is back tomorrow with another thrilling doubleheader. It tips off with Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers taking on Jalen Brunson and the Knicks at the Garden. Then SGA and the Thunder visit Anthony Edwards and the T Wolves. If you're not a Prime member, just sign up for a 30 day free trial. The Sixers and Knicks the Thunder and T Wolves Coverage starts at 6:30pm Eastern only on Prime. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details.
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Yes. Empty rushing volume. And since week six, Quinshon Judkins has averaged 3.1 yards per carry. Well, she's averaged under two yards per carry in each of his last two games. And we're talking about loving the matchup this week. The last two games he played the Titans and Bears, those are not very good run defenses. So I don't have a great deal of faith that Judkins is going to do significantly better against a bad Bills run defense. And a lot of this has to do with the Browns offensive line, which is just outrageously banged up right now. So Ethan Posick is out, Jack Conklin, Wyatt Teller, Zach Zinner, all questionable this week, I don't think. Yeah, it's just. I don't know if they have an offensive lineman who's completely healthy right now, so. And while Judkins does catch some passes, doesn't really move the needle as a pass catcher. Like 21 receptions this year, 142 yards in 14 games, it. It helps a little, but not much. So I just worry that Judkins really can't take advantage of a plus matchup at this point.
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Ericsson, you seem a little bit more optimistic. You've got him at RB14, so you're toeing the line of an RB1. Is your optimism built around this defensive matchup that they're facing with the Bills?
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It's part of it. Still think the Bills can be vulnerable against the run like we saw against the Patriots last week? And I'm chasing the volume here. Sometimes it doesn't work out. Sometimes you get the 20 carries for 30 yards. Sometimes you just take One big run though, and Judkins is capable of doing that. So I still think that you're chasing the volume with Chris John judgments. He has 16 plus opportunities in 10 of his last 12 games played and this game's at home, which I do like a little bit more for the Browns perspective for their offensive line. Cold, windy game. What are they going to do? They're going to feed the ball to Quinch on Judkins. So yeah, could it be another 20 carry game where his yards per carry is absolutely terrible? Yes, very much in his range of outcomes. But you got to chase a potential ceiling and if he's going to see north of 20 carries against the Bills run defense, there is a ceiling spot for him, especially if they do get some of their offensive linemen back. It's possible that Wyatt Teller could play in this game after he's missed the last two weeks. So remains to be seen. But I mean, yeah, chasing the volume.
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If, if Erickson is telling me that he would start Quinch on Judkins over Trayvon Henderson, I want his Patriots fan card revoked right now.
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Oh, I didn't think about that. Yeah, you've got Henderson at 15. Say it out loud.
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I'll just, I'll find. I'll move. I'll. I'll, I'll move Henderson one spot ahead of Judkins.
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Okay, well, that's fine. That's fine. I just, I want it. We wanted you to make that commitment or, or changes. So there you go. I didn't even think about that. Good call there, Fitzy. We've talked a lot about Devon Singletary, but Tyrone Tracy is getting the card here at ECR20. You guys a little bit split. You kind of both around Fitz, he's a little bit higher. Erickson, you're at 21. We talked about like right as we're like, you know what? Ever since the takeover, it's all been Devon Singletary and then back to Tyrone Tracy just being the dude. So Erickson, are you. Even though you're a little bit lower, are you bought in on Tyrone Tracy at this point?
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I think you have to be. Season hind snaps last week at 76%. I do get concerned that they still seem to have this allegiance to Devin Singletary in the red zone, especially at the goal line. Even in this last game against the Commanders, one goal line carry was not Tyrone Tracy. It was Devin Singletary that got it. But everything else Tracy is checking off the box stuff, he just looked really good since he kind of took on a larger role after the Scatter Boo Injury. If you just look at the Giants running backs combined four straight games, the lead guy in that backfield again in the Patriots matchup, Tracy got hurt and it was Singletary. But in the other three games it was Tracy combined for 97 or more yards from scrimmage four straight games. So the Giants running backs have been pretty productive with some of these matchups. We know that this is a matchup against the Minnesota Vikings that yes, at times you can definitely run on Minnesota. They're also dealing with a couple of defensive line injuries. Javon Hargrave is banged up. They just put Garnard on injured reserve so he's one of their defensive ends. So yeah, I think Tracy's kind of locked in as a pretty strong backhand RB2 play this week given he has a three down skill set. So if the Vikings jump out to a big league, you're not worried about Tracy being game scripted out because he does catch passes as well. So yeah, I'm not really sure what else to add there.
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Yeah, it's perfect. Fitzy, what do you think? You got him higher though. You are a little bit more optimistic RB17 on Tyrone Tracy. Are you, are you fearless about Devin Singletary at this point? That this is just Tracy's, Tracy's backfield to own.
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So I'm not totally sure about that. And part of the reason I was way too low on Tyrone Tracy last week. I did have him ranked behind Devin Singletary because it seemed as if the Giants backfield was shifting in Singletary's direction with Mike Kafka calling the plays. But then as Erickson mentioned, Tracy played 76% of the snaps and 15 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown. Three catches for 27 yards, another touchdown. And now he gets this matchup against the Vikings who not only are they much easier to run on than they are to throw on. Minnesota's defense is the biggest run funnel in the league. The Vikings have faced the most rushing attempts by posing running backs 26.6 running back carries per game. So even if we're wrong about how the split works out and Maybe it's more 5050 this week, I think both running backs could be in play as fantasy options this week against the Vikings.
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C
This third one. Speaking of the Vikings is very fun because you've got Aaron Jones coming in at 21 of the three running backs. If you like the matchup grades. Matchup Ratings on fantasy pros There are three running backs that have five star matchup ratings this week. Bijan Robinson is the number One quinch on Judkins, who we talked about, and then Aaron Jones, because Aaron Jones is going against the Giants. So we love Giants matchups for running backs. Always. Aaron Jones has got him this week. He's kind of been the predominant guy and both of you are lower than consensus on him. So Fitzy, you tell me you've got him at 24, Ericsson's at 22. Not that you guys are like dramatically lower, but it's just funny because this is like the built matchup where you. You're going to love it and you guys are both lower than ecr. So what do you think, Fitzy?
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Yeah, I have no real beef with where ECR is on Aaron Jones. The matchup against the Giants is great. Giants probably have the worst run defense in the league. It's just that Jones shares work with Jordan Mason. And while Aaron Jones has had 14 and 15 touches the last two weeks, he's had 12 or fewer touches in seven of the 10 games he's played this season. So we just can't count on a substantial workload.
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Erickson, what do you think? Year lower. This seems like a prime spot. You're worried about touches. What do you think on Aaron Jones this week?
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I just think you can never be too high on Aaron Jones because of the facts that feel fits kind of laid out there where especially in the red zone, they still like to flirt with Jordan Mason. And just in the back of my mind is always this shoulder injury with Aaron Jones that he's always playing through and that he's re aggravated it multiple times this season. Just. I mean, this Vikings season has really been kind of a lost cause for fantasy football purposes. And to add salt to the wound, be like, oh, Aaron Jones, get the report on Sunday. Oh, banged up his shoulder again. And you see Jordan Mason go off for like this monster game on everyone's fantasy benches. So just kind of trying to keep that in mind. But I would agree he's a start as an RB2, just based on just how bad the Giants defense has been against the run.
- [24:01]
C
Then the last one in this tier. Then how about him versus Rico Dowdle? Rico's kind of in a similar situation where he's in a split, but I mean, of all the backs you put together, he might be the most talented of them. You know, he's getting. He's still getting some volume. He's got a decent matchup against Tampa Bay. He comes in at 24. And you guys are lower, both of you. Rico Dowdle over Aaron Jones. So do you Think Erickson, they're in the exact same bucket with a slight preference because it's the Giants for Aaron Jones or what is the impetus of like him clearly over Rico Dowdle.
- [24:34]
A
I think with Rico Dowdle the concern is there's a game script where it goes really bad for him. Against the Buccaneers we know Todd Bowles defense, they sell out, stop the run on early downs. That's what Rico Dowdle's job is in this offense is to be the early down in between the tackles, grinder, running back. Whereas Chuba Hubbard is the guy they use in passing situations and on third downs. And when you face Tampa Bay, you dial up the pass attack. And even Dave Canales who has been very clear about I want to establish the run this year with my two top running backs. When he faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, again, Dave Canales was once under Todd Bowles staff. He knows that Todd Bowles does everything to sell out against the run. He had a positive pass rate over expectation in those two games last year against Tampa Bay. So he let Bryce Young throw the ball a little bit more. So I think that kind of lends itself to this game being more Bryce Young pass attempts less early down carries for Rico Dowdle. Unless it's a game where the Panthers are blowing out the Buccaneers. But I think that this is probably going to be more of a high scoring pass heavy game. And that doesn't necessarily benefit a guy like Rico Dowdle who is still seeding snaps to Chuba Hubbard. So that's kind of why I think he's at back end RB2. Again you have touchdown equity with him at the red zone. But besides that, I wouldn't expect like this massive yardage game from against the defense that ranks top 10 and fewest rushing yards allowed per game to opposing running backs.
- [25:59]
C
Yeah, Fitzy, you pushed him outside of an RB2, you got him at RB26. That's kind of like that flex spot for Rico Dowdle. So not feeling him for week 16.
- [26:10]
A
Yeah.
- [26:11]
D
So aside from sharing more work with Chuba Hubbard recently, Rico Dowdle has averaged 3.2 or fewer yards per carry in four of his last five games. That the Panthers running game Just maybe. Well, at least for Rico, not working quite as well. And other than the Rams, none of those games are really against top run defenses. So this week obviously the Buccaneers focus on stopping the run. That's just kind of the Todd Bowles way. But you can get the Buccaneers like running backs catch a lot of passes against them. They've given it up to running backs in the receiving game. So maybe that is the hope for Rico Duddle cause he has had some pretty good receiving games. He had 5 for 55 against the Falcons a few weeks ago, 4 for 36 against the 49ers. But you know he also has games where he catches one or zero passes so that might be the the key to him having a decent fantasy day.
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C
This this week we've got running back threes 25 through 36 are kind of flex RBs coming up. But first dominate your fantasy football leagues and playoffs with Fantasy Pros Premium. You can get that free for six months when you deposit or place your first wager on any of our partner sportsbook. So you want full access to our top fantasy tools all season long and all playoffs long. Go to fantasypros.com premium and get started. Arby's 25:36 We've got Ashton Gente who's got the Texans, Jalen Warren, Tony Pollard, Michael Carter at 28, Ken Walker, Kenneth Gainwell, Kyle Menagai at 31 followed by Blake Corum, Cory Crosky, Merritt, Bill Chuba Hubbard, David Montgomery and Kareem Hunt. We' some soft mentions of him, but Michael Carter, there's no Trey Benson there looks like there's no Bam Knight. So Michael Carter, but he comes in at 28. Some questions of like Carter D Markado, what are they going to do? They've got the Atlanta Falcons this week and you guys, this is a big, big split range. And actually Fitzy, let's start with you because you've got Michael Carter as an RB2. Erickson's barely got him as an RB3, so we'll see if maybe there's some adjustment there. But you got him at 19 fit, so you're all in on Michael Carter as an absolute flex play. But RB2?
- [28:19]
D
Yeah, and I think Bam Knight is going on IR so he's, he's not coming back for this one. So last week after after Bam left and I think Bam got hurt on the first play of the game, Carter was a workhorse. Like he played 53 snaps. Amari Dmercado played seven. Now I don't know if the split between those two is going to be quite as pronounced this week, but it does seem like there's a pretty good chance. Carter plays a workhorse role and he has got dual run catch versatility. Had 14 carries for 56 yards against the Texans last week, four catches for 38 yards and the Houston defense might be the best in the league. He wound up getting 94 yards from scrimmage. So much softer matchup this week against the Falcons. I had some really big spends on Michael Carter in in waivers this week in leagues where I'm in the playoffs and I wanted to either two of those leagues I'm getting Carter with the intention of starting him and one of those leagues I just wanted to block other people from getting him. So like to get a guy who to think that Michael Carter is worthy of blocking someone. I think that reflects just how highly I think of him for this week. I do think He's a top 20 running back.
- [29:43]
C
I also love you saying that too. By the way, the block. I feel like I did that with multiple people. Even about Colby Parkinson this week. Not to jump to tight ends, but it was just like, hey, if you got dead roster spots, I'm all about whether you need them or not. Pick up these guys and block others. Unless you think there's like a landmine situation. Erickson, do you think there's a landmine situation going on with Michael Carter? Because at least from the rank we have here, I don't know if you made any adjustments. You got them low. You got him at 32. So your investment seems to be pretty low on what you think he's going to be able to produce this coming week.
- [30:12]
A
Yeah, I'm just concerned that he's not the workhorse that he was last week. D. Markado was coming back from his first game after a bunch of missed time. He only played seven snaps. But we've seen this play out where it's DeMarcado and Michael Carter in the lineup, Weeks 9 and 10, and D. Markado was clearly behind or excuse me, DeMarcado was clearly ahead of Michael Carter. Michael Carter was. That was. We were going through the whole thing where he was inactive and then like cut from the team and then like re added back to the practice squad. So we've seen the Cardinals go back to their hierarchy before. Remember that one game, Marvin Harrison Jr. Came back, Michael Wilson nowhere to be found in terms of his target. So that's where I get concerned about Michael Carter is it's not the same type of snapshare that it was last week and we have the sample size of D. Markado playing ahead of him when both guys are healthy and in the lineup. So Michael Carter has been splitting touches with Zonneman Knight. So I think that it's more likely to be a 5050 type of split for the Arizona Cardinals backfield than it to be Michael Carter to be the workhorse And I wanted to pose a question to you. Fitz, again, talking about another running back that's kind of in this range. So I capitulated on moving Henderson ahead of Judkins. So your confidence level with Carter being the workhorse is higher than Judkins being the workhorse for the Browns this week then, right?
- [31:28]
D
I don't know if I'm more confident in Carter. Like, if I was betting on who's going to get more touches, I would bet on Judkins. I just don't think he's going to do a lot with those touches, which is kind of the way it's been going for Judgins for the last two months.
- [31:43]
C
It's a good. It's an interesting point, by the way. So if someone asked the question, this is like the Erickson thing. Like, you really going to have Judkins over Henderson? Erickson's like, all right, fine.
- [31:50]
A
Well, Fitz was right. He came at me. He's like, you're right. I got to move Henderson.
- [31:53]
C
So he. Fitz, if someone asks you, do I start Judkins or Michael Carter? You are committed to saying Michael Carter?
- [31:59]
D
I am committed. Sorry, I can't move off that.
- [32:02]
C
What a dog. What a dog. I love it. I love it. Get that commitment. All right, how about Blake Corum? Blake Corum, he's been a dude the last couple weeks. We know he does the every other drive. I think there's always the question people have of just overall volume. He's got a score, and they just always score. Like, it's just. It's ridiculous. At their level of scoring, they're without Devonte Adams, so they could lean on the run game a little bit more. All of that aside, though, horrifically bad matchup in a divisional matchup against the Seahawks, like, it's the worst graded individual star graded matchup on the entire top 36 RBs are up against Seattle. So Blake Corm comes in at RB32, regardless of some of that positivity. But Fitzy, you're a little bit higher. You guys are both in the 30s. You guys are both flex options. On Corum, you get a little bit of the high spot. So talk to us about Blake corum for Week 16 against the Seahawks.
- [32:53]
D
I don't feel great about having Blake Corum ranked this highly, knowing that he only plays about one third of the Rams offensive snaps, although his Snapchat was up to 46% last week. And I know the matchup against the Seahawks is a really tough one, and Corum doesn't really add anything as a pass catcher. So it's like, why do I have him here? Couple of reasons. One is that the guys he's ahead of are also basically 50, 50 backs in tough matchups. Guys like Kenneth Walker going against the Rams and Ramon Ray Stevenson going against the Ravens and Kyle Menangai going against the Packers. So I've got Corum basically in that tier and right now I've got him just ahead of those guys. But the other reason I've got him there, Stu's had double digit carries the last two weeks and over his last three games, three games. Blake Corum is averaging 93.3 rushing yards a game and 9.3 yards per carry with four touchdowns. Like the Rams running game is just humming right now. So while the matchup is tough, I don't know, I still think Corum can be effective in it.
- [34:01]
C
Yeah, it was it like top 5 RB the last 3 weeks. I think he's been, I mean he's just been ridiculous, ridiculous numbers out there. Erickson, you got him at 33. You're a little bit lower. Are you echoing pretty much everything that Fitzy is saying or is there any extra worry maybe based on this matchup?
- [34:17]
A
No, not really any extra worry. And in fact, the last time we saw the Rams play the Seahawks, Blake Corm was terrible, 8 for 10 yards, but he had three goal line attempts and he just didn't find the end zone. So we know someone's going to benefit from Adams being out, right? Just trying to figure out, okay, where are these touchdowns going to go? Is it going to be Kyron, is it going to be Corm, is it going to be three touchdowns for Kobe Parkinson? We all know it's going to end up being Terence Ferguson. We're going to be tilting our faces off because nobody actually started ends up scoring these touchdowns. But I think it's worth the gamble to go after especially as like a flex type of play with Blake Corum because to your point, I can't, I'm not going to move him down just because he's facing the Seahawks. When we saw the Rams play the Seahawks and Kyron Williams rushed for 91 yards on 12 carries, like clearly they can run the football on the Seattle Seahawks and clearly on anybody. And Corm has just been so, so good. So I can't move him down so substantially just because, oh well, it's the Seahawks. Oh well, it's the Rams offense, like watch out, you got to move the Seahawks down your rankings because they're facing a really good Rams rushing attack. So again, not a top 24 running back by means, but someone that I think that if you need to start somebody in a pinch, I think Corum makes sense just based on how well he's played.
- [35:27]
C
Speaking of being started in a pinch, this was last second last week. Bill Crosby. Merritt was probably a we round one playoff saver. Can that carry over into round two? He is ranked 33 on the list going up against the Eagles. That's a great matchup. Questions obviously about who's in the backfield. You guys are on opposite ends. Erickson, you're right at ecr. Fitzy, you're lower. Erickson, let's get your take on Bill Crosky this week. Is he someone you can trust? You got him one spot lower than Corum.
- [35:54]
A
I will not trust him if Chris Rodriguez is back. And I think that's kind of where we're going to end up happening with this backfield. It seemed like he was kind of close to playing last week. Again was a game time decision and immediately after the game it's not the coaches are talking about, oh, we love Bill, we love jcm. It's can't wait to get Chris Rodriguez back in the lineup. So that's a concern for me. Facing the Eagles defense is always a concern. Even though they don't have Jaylen Carter. We have seen a couple spike weeks of production from running backs. It's going to be a three split backfield between these three guys. McNichols started the game for the Commanders again. He didn't do anything with it and end up going to Bill. But it just seems like Bill is not on their priority list of hey, we got to get Bill going like it was at the beginning of the year. So I think that this is one where you're like, bill, thank you for getting to me to my semifinals, but here's the bench, man. Like I can't go back to you this week.
- [36:46]
C
Is your rank representative of Chris Rodriguez being active?
- [36:50]
A
It's kind of just like a hedge ranking because again, I don't want, I don't want to make any definitive statements until we like see the practice report.
- [36:56]
C
Sure. So then, okay, so he's more likely.
- [36:58]
A
To go down than up.
- [36:59]
C
Okay, so let's say Chris Rodriguez is inactive. Where's Bill? Just a rough frame. You have to give me like the exact but like top 24.
- [37:08]
A
She's probably like probably top 30. Yeah.
- [37:13]
C
Okay. And then if Chris Rodriguez is active.
- [37:18]
A
He'S hand holding with where Fitz has.
- [37:20]
C
Him ranked and that takes us to Fitzy because that was going to be the question is Fitz is your rank representative of Chris Rodriguez not being active and then same vibes like if active if not active. But is your 43 rank saying you think Chris Rodriguez is going to be active and Bill's just not trustworthy?
- [37:37]
D
Yeah, right now I've got Rodriguez 42 and Bill 43 and if Rodriguez is out I'm probably going to have Bill right around where Blake Corum is at running back 30. Can't decide whether I'd have him higher or lower than Corum.
- [37:51]
A
I think too is point to like I think Corum is a good guy to bring up here because you may not have that information. So it's like do you I wouldn't wait out jcm. I would probably just start Blake Carm on Thursday night because the risk of having Rodriguez come back then you're kind of left holding the bag with nothing. Whereas hey, we already talked about Corum again it's not an amazing spot but just been too good. Do I think that he would be the lean there? Right?
- [38:15]
D
Because it would be a three man backfield with McNichols and Corum and or McNichols, Rodriguez and JCM. So it's not like it would even be just a two man backfield. A three man backfield against a not.
- [38:28]
C
Pushover Eagles defense very much so. Lots of stuff, lots of plays and maybe there's still lots of questions if there are. We got you covered Thursday right here on our YouTube channel. 3pm Eastern Start and sits. You guys want to roll with it? YouTube.com fantasypros subscribe make sure you're notified. Don't miss it. Come and ask any of those last minute playoff questions. We got other outlets for you but that's the most specific one based on this show if you missed out. So come and join there. That is going to do it for the week 16 RB ranks. Good luck in your matchups. Hopefully we helped you out and you know where to go if you got any more questions for Fitzy and Ericsson. I'm Welsh. We'll talk to you next time right here on Fantasy Pros.
- [39:10]
A
Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by.
- [39:16]
B
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C
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A
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B
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- [39:27]
C
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- [39:52]
A
This is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something. Do you know the symptoms of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA in adults with obesity, they may be happening to you without you knowing. If anyone has ever said you snored loudly, or if you spend your days fighting off excessive tiredness, irritability and concentration issues, it may be due to osa. OSA is a serious condition where your airway partially or completely collapses during sleep, which may cause breathing interruptions and oxygen deprivation. Learn more at don'tsleep on OSA.com this information is provided by Lilly, a medicine company. At cvs, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night, and we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and yeah, healthy snack. At cvs, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters. So Visit us@cvs.com or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location. Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line. But first.
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Ah, there.
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