Fantasy Football: Week 12 RB Rankings

Check out Kevin Hanson's top 60 running backs for Week 12 of the 2019 season.

Kevin Hanson joins SI for the 2019 season. His fantasy rankings have placed him in the Top 20 in each of the past two seasons among all the industry experts tracked by FantasyPros.com, and he has been in the Top 25 in six of the past eight years.

Check out more of Kevin’s rankings: QB, WR, TE, DST, flex and kicker.

RB Start of the Week: Jaylen Samuels, Pittsburgh Steelers (at CIN)

With James Conner (shoulder) set to miss Sunday’s game, Jaylen Samuels is an upside-RB2 play in Week 12. 

Samuels hasn’t been efficient—2.6 yards per carry and 5.5 yards per reception—this season, but he has and should be heavily involved as a receiver in Week 12. Despite missing a couple of games and Pittsburgh having its bye, Samuels has 32 catches (seventh-most among RBs) on 38 targets (sixth-most) since Week 4.

The Bengals run defense has allowed 5.0 YPC, the third-highest in the NFL, and the most rushing yards per game (167.0). They have also surrendered the fourth-most fantasy points to the position.

Meanwhile, JuJu Smith-Schuster, who leads the team in targets (60) this season, is not expected to play, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Given his pass-catching role, Conner’s absence and the soft matchup, Samuels has a high floor and ceiling this week.

RB Sit of the Week: Brian Hill, Atlanta Falcons (vs. TB)

Who doesn’t care about your fantasy team? Brian Hill.

Who should be on your bench in Week 12? Brian Hill.

Taking over for an injured Devonta Freeman (foot) in Week 10, Hill carried the ball 20 times for 61 yards and added a 10-yard touchdown reception in relief. With a favorable matchup against the Panthers in Week 11, Hill failed to capitalize. The popular waiver-wire add gained just 38 scoreless scrimmage yards on 16 touches last week.

In Week 12, the matchup is much less favorable. Not only do the Bucs rank second in rushing defense (80.9 YPG allowed) with the third-lowest YPC allowed (3.5), but only the Patriots have allowed fewer fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. Only three running backs—Chris Carson (105), Derrick Henry (75) and Alvin Kamara (twice, 75 and 62)—have rushed for more than 40 yards against the Bucs this season.

Considering the Falcons have the week’s second-highest implied total based on Vegas odds, it’s possible that Hill will become the beneficiary of goal-line carries due to Matt Ryan’s ability to move the ball through the air against the Bucs’ generous pass defense. But given his lack of efficiency (3.0 YPC) and Tampa’s suffocating run defense, Hill is merely just a flex option this week.

Week 12 fantasy football running back rankings (half-PPR scoring):

RB1: Christian McCaffrey, CAR @ NO

RB2: Alvin Kamara, NO vs CAR

RB3: Nick Chubb, CLE vs MIA

RB4: Saquon Barkley, NYG @ CHI

RB5: Derrick Henry, TEN vs JAC

RB6: Josh Jacobs, OAK @ NYJ

RB7: Leonard Fournette, JAC @ TEN

RB8: Ezekiel Elliott, DAL @ NE

RB9: Aaron Jones, GB @ SF

RB10: Le'Veon Bell, NYJ vs OAK

RB11: Chris Carson, SEA @ PHI

RB12: Todd Gurley, LAR vs BAL

RB13: Tevin Coleman, SF vs GB

RB14: Mark Ingram, BAL @ LAR

RB15: Jaylen Samuels, PIT @ CIN

RB16: Phillip Lindsay, DEN @ BUF

RB17: Joe Mixon, CIN vs PIT

RB18: Devin Singletary, BUF vs DEN

RB19: David Montgomery, CHI vs NYG

RB20: Miles Sanders, PHI vs SEA

RB21: James White, NE vs DAL

RB22: Carlos Hyde, HOU vs IND

RB23: Kareem Hunt, CLE vs MIA

RB24: Ronald Jones II, TB @ ATL

RB25: Sony Michel, NE vs DAL

RB26: Tarik Cohen, CHI vs NYG

RB27: Brian Hill, ATL vs TB

RB28: Bo Scarbrough, DET @ WAS

RB29: Latavius Murray, NO vs CAR

RB30: Duke Johnson, HOU vs IND

RB31: Jonathan Williams, IND @ HOU

RB32: Jordan Wilkins, IND @ HOU

RB33: Jamaal Williams, GB @ SF

RB34: Derrius Guice, WAS vs DET

RB35: Kalen Ballage, MIA @ CLE

RB36: Adrian Peterson, WAS vs DET

RB37: Royce Freeman, DEN @ BUF

RB38: Nyheim Hines, IND @ HOU

RB39: Raheem Mostert, SF vs GB

RB40: Jordan Howard, PHI vs SEA

RB41: Benny Snell Jr., PIT @ CIN

RB42: Peyton Barber, TB @ ATL

RB43: Rex Burkhead, NE vs DAL

RB44: J.D. McKissic, DET @ WAS

RB45: Frank Gore, BUF vs DEN

RB46: Ty Johnson, DET @ WAS

RB47: Jalen Richard, OAK @ NYJ

RB48: Giovani Bernard, CIN vs PIT

RB49: Dion Lewis, TEN vs JAC

RB50: Qadree Ollison, ATL vs TB

RB51: Patrick Laird, MIA @ CLE

RB52: Gus Edwards, BAL @ LAR

RB53: Trey Edmunds, PIT @ CIN

RB54: Jeff Wilson, SF vs GB

RB55: Bilal Powell, NYJ vs OAK

RB56: Tony Pollard, DAL @ NE

RB57: Boston Scott, PHI vs SEA

RB58: Jay Ajayi, PHI vs SEA

RB59: DeAndre Washington, OAK @ NYJ

RB60: Rashaad Penny, SEA @ PHI

Week 12 fantasy football running back rankings (non-PPR scoring):

RB1: Christian McCaffrey, CAR @ NO

RB2: Alvin Kamara, NO vs CAR

RB3: Nick Chubb, CLE vs MIA

RB4: Saquon Barkley, NYG @ CHI

RB5: Derrick Henry, TEN vs JAC

RB6: Josh Jacobs, OAK @ NYJ

RB7: Leonard Fournette, JAC @ TEN

RB8: Aaron Jones, GB @ SF

RB9: Ezekiel Elliott, DAL @ NE

RB10: Chris Carson, SEA @ PHI

RB11: Le'Veon Bell, NYJ vs OAK

RB12: Todd Gurley, LAR vs BAL

RB13: Mark Ingram, BAL @ LAR

RB14: Tevin Coleman, SF vs GB

RB15: Phillip Lindsay, DEN @ BUF

RB16: Joe Mixon, CIN vs PIT

RB17: David Montgomery, CHI vs NYG

RB18: Devin Singletary, BUF vs DEN

RB19: Jaylen Samuels, PIT @ CIN

RB20: Miles Sanders, PHI vs SEA

RB21: Sony Michel, NE vs DAL

RB22: Carlos Hyde, HOU vs IND

RB23: Ronald Jones II, TB @ ATL

RB24: Bo Scarbrough, DET @ WAS

RB25: Kareem Hunt, CLE vs MIA

RB26: James White, NE vs DAL

RB27: Latavius Murray, NO vs CAR

RB28: Brian Hill, ATL vs TB

RB29: Jordan Wilkins, IND @ HOU

RB30: Tarik Cohen, CHI vs NYG

RB31: Duke Johnson, HOU vs IND

RB32: Derrius Guice, WAS vs DET

RB33: Jamaal Williams, GB @ SF

RB34: Kalen Ballage, MIA @ CLE

RB35: Jonathan Williams, IND @ HOU

RB36: Adrian Peterson, WAS vs DET

RB37: Royce Freeman, DEN @ BUF

RB38: Jordan Howard, PHI vs SEA

RB39: Raheem Mostert, SF vs GB

RB40: Peyton Barber, TB @ ATL

RB41: Frank Gore, BUF vs DEN

RB42: Benny Snell Jr., PIT @ CIN

RB43: Nyheim Hines, IND @ HOU

RB44: Rex Burkhead, NE vs DAL

RB45: Gus Edwards, BAL @ LAR

RB46: J.D. McKissic, DET @ WAS

RB47: Qadree Ollison, ATL vs TB

RB48: Trey Edmunds, PIT @ CIN

RB49: Jeff Wilson, SF vs GB

RB50: Boston Scott, PHI vs SEA

RB51: Ty Johnson, DET @ WAS

RB52: Patrick Laird, MIA @ CLE

RB53: Jay Ajayi, PHI vs SEA

RB54: Giovani Bernard, CIN vs PIT

RB55: Dion Lewis, TEN vs JAC

RB56: Jalen Richard, OAK @ NYJ

RB57: Bilal Powell, NYJ vs OAK

RB58: Tony Pollard, DAL @ NE

RB59: Rashaad Penny, SEA @ PHI

RB60: DeAndre Washington, OAK @ NYJ

More Advice From SI Fantasy

—Dr. Roto’s Week 12 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em to help with your toughest lineup decisions

—Frankie Taddeo’s top streaming options for the final week of byes

—Jaime Eisner’s stock watch tells you who’s trending up and down as the playoffs approach

—Jaime Eisner’s waiver wire pickups: Randall Cobb, Jonathan Williams, Jacob Hollister and more

—Frankie Taddeo’s droppables, with some big-name players you shouldn’t feel bad about cutting

—Bill Enright’s injury report takes a look at who is out how long

—Mark Deming’s target and snap report dives into the data to make some fantasy conclusions