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Fantasy football rankings, Week 12: Running backs for standard, PPR leagues

Jonas Gray just compiled a career day rushing against the Indianapolis Colts. You shouldn't bench him in Week 12, right? RIGHT??!

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By John Daigle Updated

If you’re fortunate enough to own a running back that’s guaranteed at least 15 touches per week, you might already hold an edge over your opponent. As usual, the running back rankings use subjectivity as reasoning after the top ten, but that first tier of names remains the same if only for their consistent workload. Week 12 yet again holds true, except for a few matchups to be wary of before setting your lineups.

Jonas Gray, for instance, is coming off an historic performance against the Indianapolis Colts. No one in the history of ever has suggested you bench a running back that just produced a 200-yard, four-touchdown day, but this might be the week best suited to do so. Gray’s 37 carries give a bit more faith that Bill Belichick won’t be up to his usual bag of tricks, but if history has taught us anything, it’s that we shouldn’t be shocked if Branden Bolden comes away with 20 carries next week. The New England Patriots also have the task of facing the No. 1 rushing defense in the league, so it's probably best to look elsewhere for an RB2 this week.

Dan Herron, C.J. Anderson and Isaiah Crowell, on the other hand, appear primed to explode following an injury (or in the case of Crowell, the release of Ben Tate) to those originally listed ahead of them on the depth chart. If anything, favor the workload you can trust as opposed to the back that, for whatever reason, just doesn't receive enough carries (sorry, Jerick McKinnon owners.)

And with the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers enduring the final bye weeks of the NFL season, finding that workload has suddenly become more important than ever.

Running back rankings (Standard), Week 12

(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska)

Rank Consensus Team Opponent DK DC JD SK
1 DeMarco Murray DAL @NYG 1 1 1 1
2 Matt Forte CHI TAM 2 3 2 3
3 Jamaal Charles KAN @OAK 3 2 3 2
4 Eddie Lacy GB @MIN 5 4 6 4
5 Arian Foster HOU CIN 4 9 4 8
6 Marshawn Lynch SEA ARI 6 5 9 5
7 LeSean McCoy PHI TEN 12 6 7 6
8 Mark Ingram NO BAL 10 7 10 7
9 Andre Ellington ARI @SEA 8 8 13 10
10 Justin Forsett BAL @NO 7 13 5 15
11 Denard Robinson JAC @IND 11 12 12 12
12 C.J. Anderson DEN MIA 17 10 16 9
13 Rashad Jennings NYG DAL 16 11 14 11
14 Frank Gore SF WAS 13 17 11 14
15 Jeremy Hill CIN @HOU 25 16 8 17
16 Trent Richardson IND JAC 14 14 28 13
17 Tre Mason STL @SD 15 19 15 21
18 Alfred Morris WAS @SF 9 15 31 16
19 Steven Jackson ATL CLE 20 20 17 20
20 Isaiah Crowell CLE @ATL 29 18 19 19
21 Lamar Miller MIA @DEN 21 23 18 24
22 Ryan Mathews SD STL 22 22 21 23
23 Joique Bell DET @NE 18 24 27 22
24 Jerick McKinnon MIN GB 24 25 26 26
25 Jonas Gray NE DET 27 31 25 25
26 Charles Sims TAM @CHI 31 28 20 31
27 Bishop Sankey TEN @PHI 30 29 22 29
28 Chris Ivory NYJ @BUF 26 27 29 28
29 Shane Vereen NE DET 28 26 30 27
30 Giovani Bernard CIN @HOU 23 21 -- 18
31 Fred Jackson BUF NYJ 19 34 36 30
32 Alfred Blue HOU CIN 38 33 24 33
33 Terrance West CLE @ATL 34 30 35 34
34 Darren Sproles PHI TEN 39 32 32 32
35 Bryce Brown BUF NYJ 37 36 34 35
36 Dan Herron IND JAC 40 43 23 38
37 Latavius Murray OAK KAN 32 38 41 42
38 Reggie Bush DET @NE -- 35 33 36
39 Branden Oliver SD STL 35 42 40 45
40 Bobby Rainey TAM @CHI 41 40 44 41
41 Darren McFadden OAK KAN 46 41 37 43
42 Juwan Thompson DEN MIA 33 -- 38 --
43 Matt Asiata MIN GB 47 44 43 40
44 Theo Riddick DET @NE 50 37 -- 37
45 Carlos Hyde SF WAS 44 45 42 44
46 Roy Helu Jr. WAS @SF 36 47 46 49
47 Knile Davis KAN @OAK 49 39 -- 39
48 Chris Johnson NYJ @BUF 43 46 39 --
49 Benny Cunningham STL @SD 42 50 -- 50
50 Travaris Cadet NO BAL -- 48 -- 46
-- Anthony Dixon BUF NYJ -- -- 47 47
-- Toby Gerhart JAC @IND 45 -- -- --
-- Khiry Robinson NO BAL -- -- 45 --
-- Lorenzo Taliaferro BAL @NO 48 -- 50 --
-- Andre Williams NYG DAL -- -- 48 --
-- Damien Williams MIA @DEN -- -- -- 48
-- Devonta Freeman ATL CLE -- 49 -- --
-- Robert Turbin SEA ARI -- -- 49 --

Running back rankings (PPR), Week 12

(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska)

Rank Consensus Team Opponent DK DC JD SK
1 Matt Forte CHI TAM 1 1 1 1
2 DeMarco Murray DAL @NYG 2 2 2 2
3 Jamaal Charles KAN @OAK 3 3 3 3
4 Arian Foster HOU CIN 4 4 4 5
5 Eddie Lacy GB @MIN 7 5 6 4
6 Marshawn Lynch SEA ARI 8 7 9 6
7 LeSean McCoy PHI TEN 9 6 8 7
8 Andre Ellington ARI @SEA 6 8 11 8
9 Justin Forsett BAL @NO 5 18 5 14
10 Mark Ingram NO BAL 10 11 12 10
11 Denard Robinson JAC @IND 11 10 10 12
12 C.J. Anderson DEN MIA 18 9 16 9
13 Rashad Jennings NYG DAL 23 12 15 11
14 Jeremy Hill CIN @HOU 26 14 7 19
15 Trent Richardson IND JAC 13 13 28 13
16 Frank Gore SF WAS 14 20 13 21
17 Tre Mason STL @SD 15 23 14 23
18 Alfred Morris WAS @SF 12 15 32 18
19 Shane Vereen NE DET 21 17 23 16
20 Lamar Miller MIA @DEN 20 22 17 20
21 Jerick McKinnon MIN GB 22 21 30 17
22 Joique Bell DET @NE 17 19 34 22
23 Isaiah Crowell CLE @ATL 28 24 18 24
24 Ryan Mathews SD STL 27 25 21 25
25 Steven Jackson ATL CLE 24 27 22 27
26 Giovani Bernard CIN @HOU 19 16 -- 15
27 Fred Jackson BUF NYJ 16 26 38 26
28 Bishop Sankey TEN @PHI 30 29 19 28
29 Charles Sims TAM @CHI 31 30 20 30
30 Jonas Gray NE DET 29 28 26 29
31 Chris Ivory NYJ @BUF 25 31 33 34
32 Darren Sproles PHI TEN 36 32 27 31
33 Bryce Brown BUF NYJ 33 33 29 33
34 Alfred Blue HOU CIN 41 37 25 39
35 Terrance West CLE @ATL 40 34 35 35
36 Roy Helu Jr. WAS @SF 32 38 37 40
37 Reggie Bush DET @NE -- 35 31 32
38 Dan Herron IND JAC 46 46 24 38
39 Darren McFadden OAK KAN 42 39 40 43
40 Bobby Rainey TAM @CHI 37 40 46 42
41 Matt Asiata MIN GB 47 41 44 37
42 Latavius Murray OAK KAN 35 49 42 45
43 Theo Riddick DET @NE 49 36 -- 36
44 Juwan Thompson DEN MIA 34 -- 41 50
45 Branden Oliver SD STL 38 -- 36 --
46 Chris Johnson NYJ @BUF 43 45 39 49
47 Travaris Cadet NO BAL 48 43 48 41
48 Benny Cunningham STL @SD 39 48 -- 44
49 Carlos Hyde SF WAS 44 50 43 48
50 Knile Davis KAN @OAK -- 42 -- 46
-- Lorenzo Taliaferro BAL @NO -- 44 -- --
-- Toby Gerhart JAC @IND 45 -- -- --
-- Andre Williams NYG DAL -- -- 45 --
-- Anthony Dixon BUF NYJ -- 47 49 --
-- Khiry Robinson NO BAL -- -- 47 --
-- Damien Williams MIA @DEN -- -- -- 47
-- Devonta Freeman ATL CLE 50 -- -- --
-- Robert Turbin SEA ARI -- -- 50 --

★★★

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