Fantasy Football RB Rankings Week 12: Who to start, best sleepers, waiver wire picks at running back

While some of the position groups saw plenty of surprises in Week 11, most of the elite running backs put forth elite performances this week. Saquon Barkley set the tone for the week by leading the Eagles to a massive win over the Commanders on Thursday Night Football. He wore the defense down, and thanks to a dominant fourth quarter, he ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns and also added another 52 yards on two catches in the passing game. Despite having A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith in the passing game, the Eagles have turned into a run-first offense with Barkley's arrival this season. 

Breece Hall was drafted as a top-3 running back, and at many times this season, he has looked like anything but that. However, he lived up to that lofty draft status today against the Colts, and he did it both through the air and on the ground. Hall ran for 78 yards and a score on 16 carries, and he also added 43 yards and another touchdown on seven catches. If Hall continues to see volume like this down the stretch, fantasy managers may not be regretting drafting him at his ADP after all. 

But that wasn't all. Both David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs had big games for the Lions. De'Von Achane didn't disappoint against the Raiders, and Josh Jacobs delivered for the Packers against the Bears. 

Will the running backs be reliable again in Week 12? How will fantasy managers patch their lineup holes with six teams on bye? We have the answers!

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Fantasy RB Rankings Week 12: Who to start, sit at running back

Rankings based on PPR scoring. These rankings will be updated throughout the week, so check back often.

Who are the best fantasy RBs for Week 12?

With Christian McCaffrey finally making his season-debut in Week 10, it was thought that perhaps he'd be eased into his typical workload since Jordan Mason had been pretty productive in his absence. But McCaffrey handled 13 of the 15 RB carries. He also caught 6-of-7 targets in the passing game. With that kind of usage right out of the gates, there isn't any hesitation in putting CMC back at the top of the rankings for their tilt against the Packers this week. 

If you take out TD production, Saquon Barkley is having an MVP season. He's been pacing the Eagles' offense and just wearing down defensive units. The Commanders were containing him fairly effectively in the running game through three quarters, but Barkley would not be denied and ran roughshod over Washington in the 4th quarter, ultimately racking up 146 rushing yards and two touchdowns and two catches for 52 more yards through the air. Look for Saquon to get plenty of opportunities this week as well as the Eagles travel across the country to take on the Rams. 

Joe Mixon has been a true workhorse for the Texans this year, and even with Nico Collins returning, that shouldn't change. If anything, the defense will have to pay even more attention to the passing game with his return, so Mixon could have some wider lanes to run through. With the Titans up next, Mixon could find himself in a positive games script, which should lend itself to plenty of carries. 

Who are the RBs on byes in Week 12? 

Atlanta Falcons: Bijan Robinson has been on a roll lately, so fantasy managers having to sit him this week will likely have a hard time trying to find similar production on their benches or the waiver wire. While Tyler Allgeier continues to see plenty of carries, Robinson is getting most of the high-leverage touches and has been contributing in a major way to the passing game as well. They'll face the Chargers in Week 13. 

Buffalo Bills: James Cook is the primary back to be concerned with during the bye week for Buffalo, but Ray Davis could also be an issue for managers that have been dealing with injury or depth issues. With all of injuries in the WR room, the RBs have been picking up some of the receiving slack.  

Cincinnati Bengals: Chase Brown had already been chipping away at a lead back role, but when Zack Moss was lost to a neck injury, it solidified Brown's case. The Bengals have brought in Khalil Herbert, but it appears as though Brown may have a chance to hold on to bell cow usage for the Bengals. Cincinnati faces the Steelers in a huge AFC North showdown in Week 13.

New Orleans Saints: Alvin Kamara has been seeing a workload like it's 5 years ago. Due to a smorgasbord of injuries, the Saints haven't had much choice but to lean on the versatile running back. Kendre Miller is back on the IR, and Jamaal Williams has missed a couple games in a row. Jordan Mims has been the primary backup, but Taysom Hill has also seen some carries. The Saints will host the Rams coming out of the bye. 

New York Jets: Breece Hall finally broke out again in Week 11 in a losing effort against the Colts, but he'll be on fantasy benches in Week 12 as the Jets have their bye week. Hall was able to score both on the ground and through the air against Indy and will host the Seahawks in Week 13.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Tank Bigsby had to sit with an ankle injury in Week 11, so the bye comes at a good time for him. Travis Etienne has been eating up most of the snaps, with D'Ernest Johnson spelling him when needed while Bigsby is out. It's almost a foregone conclusion that head coach Doug Pederson will make it through the bye week, so it will be interesting to see how this running back situation plays out in the coming weeks.

Who are the best fantasy RB waiver pickups for Week 12?

D'Andrew Swift is clearly the RB1 in Chicago, but Roschon Johnson has been starting to turn this into a 1A and 1B situation rather than an RB1 and RB2 backfield. Swift finished Week 11's loss to the Packers with 14 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown. And he added four catches for 41 yards. But Johnson received 10 carries of his own, converting one of them into a touchdown. With Khalil Herbert now in Cincinnati, Johnson continues to raise his stock. 

Cam Akers is only rostered in 17% of leagues, and while he doesn't carry a ton of standalone value right now, he's the clear backup to bell cow back Aaron Jones. Aaron Jones only out-carred Akers 15-to-10, but Akers could only muster 25 yards. He added two catches for 11 yards, though, and one of those went for a score. At this time of year, it can be slim pickings on the waiver wire, so quality backup running backs can still be very good finds.   

MORE WEEK 12 WAIVER WIRE RECOMMENDATIONS

Who are the best fantasy RB sleepers for Week 12?

This is projected to be where we see the return of Isiah Pacheco. When Pacheco initially suffered his knee injury, Kareem Hunt wasn't even on the Chiefs, but with the starting RB likely ready to make his return, Hunt can carry some sneaky value. As mentioned above, we thought Christian McCaffrey would also be eased back into action upon his return, and he was thrown right into the fire. No offense to Pacheco, but he doesn't hold the key to unlocking the full potential of the passing game like CMC, so we think there's more of a chance that Andy Reid slow plays it with Pacheco. Even if Pacheco sees a voluminous role in terms of carries, perhaps they'll try to save him from the tough goal line carries in his return, which could allow Hunt to vulture a score or two. 

Justice Hill could be another sneaky play this week. When Baltimore is running away with games, Derrick Henry feasts. When the Ravens are trailing or in more competitive game scripts, we typically see more of Justice Hill as he's the preferred weapon in the passing game. After a tough loss to the Steelers, the Ravens are at 7-4 and can't afford another loss. The Chargers have been one of the best defensive units all season, so it's hard to see a situation in which the Ravens run away with this one. Given the likely game script, Hill could see some success in this matchup.

What are the biggest RB injuries for Week 12?

Alexander Mattison went down for the Raiders with an ankle injury and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Zamir White also went down with a quad injury late in the game. We didn't see him after that, but an updated status was never given. With little clarity regarding either running back at this point, we're leaving them both out of the rankings, which would make Ameer Abdullah the lead back. This backfield is a situation to avoid in general, though. 

Tank Bigsby continues to suffer through an ankle injury as well. The Jaguars are on a bye though, so the hope is that he'll make a healthy return in Week 13. 

And as we mentioned with Kareem Hunt, this is expected to be the return week for Isiah Pacheco. The bruising runner is likely to slide right back into his starting role, but it also wouldn't be surprising to see Hunt eat into his typical workload, at least in his first game action since Week 2. The main thing fantasy managers will want to see in this first week back is that he escapes without any health issues.