Honorable mention starts: Bijan Robinson (ATL), Derrick Henry (BAL), Aaron Jones Sr. (MIN)
Honorable mention sits: Tyrone Tracy Jr. (NYG), D’Andre Swift (CHI), Tony Pollard (TEN)
Start: Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
What a difference a week makes! Long. Audible. Sigh. Unfortunately for the Panthers, prized rookie Jonathon Brooks re-tore the same ACL he had been rehabbing and is done for the year (bummer on several levels). The result – this backfield is allllll Chuba’s now, and we know he knows what to do with it (30 touches, 107 yards, and a touchdown against the Eagles, good for RB9). This week he gets a Dallas defense that just made Chase Brown RB6 on the week in front of a national audience. Bryce Young is looking a lot better this past month, and Adam Thielen is back, both of which can actually open things up even more for Hubbard. With no competition in the backfield for touches, he’s set to eat for the foreseeable future.
Start: Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys have finally realized the weapon they have in Rico Dowdle, and just in time for us to ride him to a fantasy championship. He’s been given 66 touches over the last three weeks (seven of which are of the reception variety), returning 362 total yards (329 rushing) with one touchdown. That one touchdown isn’t necessarily a problem, but we could for sure use more in the fantasy playoffs. I’m expecting him to get it this week against a Panthers rush defense that has been terrible against opposing running backs all season. He’s got a tough matchup in Week 17, but it should be cruise control for us until then.
Sit: James Cook, Buffalo Bills
If you’ve followed this column regularly (you’re much appreciated), you may have noticed a few references to the Bills shifting to a run-first offense, which sounds really good for James Cook. Cook has, in fact, returned great numbers for us in season-long – 927 total yards,12 touchdowns (good for 6th in the league), and nearly 200 points through Week 14, good for RB12 on the season. He’s hit our expectations, right? I’d say that’s fair. But if you shrink that sample size to the past seven games, we see a stat line that is super inconsistent – and that concerns me for the playoffs. In four of the aforementioned seven games, Cook has rushed for less than 50 yards, though he did salvage a few of those days with receptions and touchdowns. Cook may be just fine this week, but a matchup against arguably the toughest defense for RB scoring feels like a bust game, and I just don’t trust it.
Sit: Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bucky Irving has been phenomenal this season, he really has. And just when he really started cooking for us, injury strikes. He suited up last week, but as I feared, he reinjured his back/hip early on (super common with that injury) and never returned to the game. Rachaad White flourished in his absence, though I don’t expect the same results for him this week. But let’s stick to Bucky. There’s no indication at this point that he’s sitting, though my guess would be that he does. Resting him for another week makes too much sense, especially since they’re pushing for the division or at least a playoff berth. Even if he doesn’t sit, the Chargers (save for Bijan and Derrick) have done a fantastic job against opposing running backs, yielding nearly three points below the league average against the position. It’s the playoffs, and we need him, but I don’t think Irving will be there for us. And if he is, he will be limited by workload management and matchup.