Happy Thanksgiving folks, and welcome back to another edition of the running back start and sit article! As you know by now, in this analysis, we have reviewed the adjusted line yards of the offensive and defensive lines to identify the top matchups for Week 12. Below you will see the matchup rank for each player. The matchup rank represents the rank of the defense based on our adjusted line yards metric.
To see the full analysis and where each offense, defense, and matchup ranks, go check out our new adjusted line yards metric here on Razzball.com.
If you want to see the original data, you can find it on FTN!
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Top Running Back Starts
- Player: Derrick Henry
- Opponent: Carolina Panthers
- Matchup Rank: 4th
It’s been a lost season for the Titans as King Henry looks less like a King and more like a high-level General. I know that doesn’t sound that bad, and a lot of Generals get some serious love in history, but he’s still an RB2 plus. Just in case he reads this, I don’t want to call him a court jester or something. Anyway, this matchup vs. the Panthers is exactly what Derrick Henry was made for. The Panthers are the 4th best matchup in our metric and allow the 5th most rushing yards to running backs this season.
- Player: Isiah Pacheco
- Opponent: Las Vegas Raiders
- Matchup Rank: 3rd
If we were to make a poster child for an RB2, it would probably be Isiah Pacheco. This season, he’s only produced one elite game over 16 PPR points. The rest of the time, he’s floated between 9-15 PPR points per game. Now, these numbers won’t win you your week, but they certainly won’t kill you, either. This week, he faces a Raiders DST that he dominated, rushing for 64 yards and scoring on just eight carries. His success, on top of the fact that the Raiders have allowed the 4th most rushing yards this season, makes him a locked-in RB2 this week.
- Player: Jerome Ford
- Opponent: Denver Broncos
- Matchup Rank: 1st
Yes, the Broncos have turned it around defensively over the past 4-6 weeks, but that turnaround hasn’t been against the ground game. Over the past five weeks, the Broncos have allowed the most rushing yards per game over that stretch to running backs. Meanwhile, Jerome Ford continues to operate as the lead back for the Browns, averaging over 16 carries a game over the past three weeks. More encouraging for Ford is that he started splitting goal line work with Hunt converting one of his two carries inside of the five for a TD. Now, with better TD upside, Ford should be locked in as an RB2 this week.
Top Running Back Sits
- Player: Saquon Barkley
- Opponent: New England Patriots
- Matchup Rank: 23rd
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice…. wait, I think I used that line last week. Saquon Barkley got me really good last week, but it has more to do with the undoing of the Washington Commanders’ defense than Barkley himself. Barkley had two receiving TDs in the same game, that more than he had in 4 of his first 5 seasons total. Hey, touché Barkley, but Billy isn’t going to let that happen. Notorious for taking away the team’s top options, we should expect the Patriots to focus on Barkley, forcing Tommy D and his mom’s meatloaf to beat them.
- Player: Javonte Williams
- Opponent: Cleveland Browns
- Matchup Rank: 32nd
The more I watch the Denver Broncos, the more I think Javonte Williams is becoming the Mark Ingram for Sean Payton, while Jaleel McLaughlin profiles more like an Alvin Kamara long-term. Anyway, Williams has produced some in the passing game, but he’s made his chops on the ground so far in 2023. That’s not a recipe for success vs. the Cleveland Browns. The Browns do get beat by speed backs, but the early-down grinders haven’t beaten them much. Red-hot running backs Gus Edwards (11-24-1) and Najee Harris (12-35) both got shut down by this defense over the past two weeks.
Honorable mention Start: Kyren Williams vs. the Cardinals
Week 11 Recap
Start Tony Pollard vs. the Panthers – It’s been a rough go of it for Tony, but he finally found the end zone and finished as an RB1. HIT
Start Devin Singletary vs. the Cardinals – I think Dameon Pierce might have lost his starting job to Devin Singletary, who backed up his 30-150-1 performance with another top-four fantasy finish. HIT
Start Ty Chandler vs. the Broncos – Alexander Mattison was cleared before the game. Unfortunately, we couldn’t use Ty Chandler as a spot start. VOID!
Sit Najee Harris vs. the Browns – Najee Harris didn’t find any running room vs. the Browns, while his counterpart Jaylen Warren broke through for a monster game. HIT
Sit Saquon Barkley vs. the Commanders – I did not have two TD receptions for Saquon Barkley on my bingo card. MISS!
Start Jerome Ford vs. the Steelers – It was a down week in RB scoring, but Ford found the end zone, which allowed him to finish as the RB17 on the week. HIT
Score – 4 out of 5
If you have lineup questions or want more information on starts and sits, don’t forget to join us LIVE every Sunday for our Sunday Live Start and Sit Show on the Razzball Fantasy YouTube Channel!
For more from Bobby and his Razzball content, find him on Twitter @bobbylamarco.
Sources: Razzball.com, PFF.com, FantasyPros, FFToday, Pro Football Reference and Football Outsiders
