Fantasy Football Start/Sit Rankings & Advice: Running Back (Week 14)

Week 14 Player Notes & Start/Sit Advice

James Conner‘s snap shares in his last four games: 71%, 96%, 77%, 97%. He’s had 16 targets and 13 receptions since Week 9 and has been the RB11 in fantasy points per game (half-PPR scoring) over that span. Conner has had more than 20 carries in two of his last three games. This is workhorse usage, and Conner should be ready for a heavy dose of Week 14 touches against the Patriots after being on bye last week and getting some extra rest.

Can we trust D’Andre Swift? The answer, to borrow from an Oasis album title, is “definitely maybe.” Swift turned in a sporty effort in Week 13, with 14-62-1 rushing and 4-49-0 receiving. He played 51% of Detroit’s offensive snaps, marking the first time he’d gotten at least a 50% snap share since Week 8. It was the first time Swift had gotten double-digit carries since Week 1. (He averaged just 5.0 carries per game from Week 2 to Week 12.) Is it that Swift is healthier now after dealing with shoulder and ankle injuries earlier in the year? Or is the division of labor between Williams and Swift just going to depend on the vagaries of weekly game scripts? I’m cautiously optimistic Swift will get another substantial workload Sunday against the Vikings, who have allowed the the 13th-most fantasy points and sixth-most receiving yards to RBs.

Entering Week 13, Jeff Wilson had a 61% snap share in his two previous games. But against the 49ers on Sunday, Wilson’s snap share dropped to 37%, and he had just one carry and no receptions on two targets. Raheem Mostert, meanwhile had a 61% snap share against the 49ers. So … does the shift in usage stick, or was it just a one-game anomaly? I’m taking the coward’s way out and ranking Wilson and Mostert side by side this week. On the bright side, Wilson and Mostert have a sexy Week 14 matchup against the Chargers, so it’s possible neither will need 20 touches to make his weekly fantasy quota. The Chargers are giving up 134.9 rushing yards per game to running backs, and they’ve given up 15 touchdowns to RBs in 12 games.

Latavius Murray is a low-end RB2 for me this week even though he’s clearly the lead back in Denver. The Broncos’ implied Vegas point total against the Chiefs is 17 points. That seems generous considering that the Broncos are averaging 13.8 points per game. Murray has three touchdowns in seven games with the Broncos, and that feels like an overperformance based on how few touchdowns the Denver offense is generating. I’m not crazy about Murray’s odds of getting into the end zone against Kansas City. Murray has had fewer than 50 rushing yards in 5-of-7 games with the Broncos. and he hasn’t had more than 23 receiving yards in a game this season. Hopefully you have better options.

The Buccaneers’ backfield is messy these days. It looked as if rookie Rachaad White was in the process of seizing the backfield from incumbent Leonard Fournette. But Fournette out-snapped White 48-33 in the Bucs’ Monday-night win over the Saints, and although White had the game-winning TD catch with three seconds left on the clock, Fournette was on the field for every other play during Tampa’s game-winning drive. Fournette out-carried White 10-9 in that game, and they both had six catches. The Bucs have a Week 14 date with the 49ers, whose run defense is statistically the best in the league. But with the Buccaneers’ best offensive lineman, Tristan Wirfs, out with a high-ankle sprain, and with QB Tom Brady not eager to take punishment at age 45, Brady is dumping the ball off to his RBs with great frequency. That’s why I think White and Fournette are both playable this week. I have both ranked in low-end RB2/high-end RB3 territory.

James Cook played a season-high 32 snaps against the Patriots in Week 13. That was just one fewer snap than Devin Singletary played, and White out-touched Singletary 20-13, finishing with 14-64-0 rushing and 6-41-0 receiving. I don’t think this was a one-off. I think that Cook keeps sharing work with Singletary the rest of the way, and that Cook is a playable midrange RB3 this week against a Jets defense that has given up the 11th-most receiving yards to RBs.

Pay attention to the injury reports out of Seattle if you have any sort of stake in Seahawks RBs. Kenneth Walker has an ankle injury and wasn’t practicing as of Wednesday. Also held out of practice on Wednesday was DeeJay Dallas, who sustained an ankle injury of his own. Travis Homer missed Week 13 with a knee injury, but he practiced on Wednesday, and it’s possible he’s Seattle’s lead RB by default this Sunday in a pretty decent matchup against the Panthers.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.