Every week Committee Meetings breaks down some top storylines from the league's most head-scratching backfield committees in hopes of gaining some clarity for fantasy owners. If you're wondering about a backfield that's not discussed below, feel free to Tweet @MattFranchise for some additional advice.
Your top fantasy running backs for Week 15 are David Johnson (kaboom!), Danny Woodhead (more on him later), Matt Forte (been there, done that), Joique Bell (whaaa!?), Devonta Freeman (welcome back, kiddo), Rashad Jennings (seriously!?)), Jerrick McKinnon (AP? Anyone?), Charcandrick West (clutch) and Mike Gillislee (WHOM?).
Week 15 might have been the craziest all season in terms of running back output for fantasy owners. Guys like Chris Ivory, Lamar Miller and LeSean McCoy were letdowns in a crucial week and the reason many fantasy owners fell out of the playoffs. But hey, this is fantasy football and those are the breaks.
A few things we've learned include Bilal Powell > Chris Ivory, don't start any Eagles running back, ever (you already knew that, I hope), and Zach Lineis definitely my pal. (Check the favs.) Nice work on that diving touchdown, by the way. That score really justified me ranking him as my RB50 last week. Both Line and Jerick McKinnon scored receiving touchdowns and finished with more fantasy points than Adrian Peterson in Week 15 because All Day suffered a sprained ankle in the second quarter and wasn't as effective when he was on the field. Reports are positive early in the week though for Peterson's status on Sunday against the Giants, but it's something worth monitoring.
All right, I've been salty enough here I reckon, talking up Zach Line and all. (It's Week 16, what do you want from me?)
Oh, so you just want rankings I guess? Cool, you can find those here.
Let's get to the committee storylines.
Giants RBs produce vs Panthers
Rashad Jennings | Shane Vereen | Andre Williams // Giants
"Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen will both put up double digit fantasy points against the Panthers."
If we told you that ahead of Sunday's game, you probably would have replied with something along the lines of "You get paid to do this? How did you even get your job!?"
Well it sure seems like the Giants have wised up when it comes to the ground game with Jennings and Vereen basically splitting snaps and have shifted away from the four-man committee we saw earlier in the season.
Jennings scored his touchdown on a 38-yard run early in the fourth quarter, registering 66 percent of his fantasy points on that single play. Vereen got his on an 8-yard reception with about five minutes left to play. The Panthers' defense forgot about him and he found some room over the middle for the short score. Both were surprising considering that the Panthers had allowed the fewest fantasy points to running backs over the last month. Go figure.
We're not relying on this backfield in Week 16, that's for sure. Although it may be tempting with Jennings seemingly taking over this committee has been too volatile and too unproductive to hang your championship hopes on. Maybe next season, Giants.
Danny Woodhead goes kaboom!
Melvin Gordon* | Danny Woodhead | Donald Brown // Chargers
All right, it's finally Danny Woodhead's time to shine! The pass-catching specialist accounted for 24 of the Chargers' 30 points on Sunday against Miami on his way to a four-touchdown day. We're not sure why the Chargers didn't use him more this season, especially in recent weeks as their offensive production came to a screeching halt. But now, things are looking bright for fantasy championship week for the scrappy runner.
Melvin Gordon injured his knee on Sunday and was placed on IR, ending his lackluster (to be gracious) rookie season. In his stead, Donald Brown came in to average 7.5 yards per carry on just 12 attempts - that's more than Gordon averaged in a game the entire season. But obviously, Woodhead was the go-to guy in the red zone scoring on three of his six red zone touches in the game. With the attrition at running back position, Woodhead is a must start in Week 16 against the Raiders on Thursday night. Donald Brown is also an interesting waiver wire target if you're in need of some low-end flex value. Brown will likely see the early down work and has fresh legs, which is an advantage at this point in the season.
Jeremy Hill manages two TDs
Giovani Bernard | Jeremy Hill // Bengals
I'm not sure we could've imagined a worse stat line for the Bengals running backs than what they produced against the 49ers on Sunday. The duo of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard combined for a 2.0 yards per carry average, totaling just 64 rush yards on 33 attempts. Hill had nine red zone rush attempts and since the odds were in his favor, he managed to fall forward as Marcas Grant noted, for two touchdowns. Those scores salvaged his day for any fantasy owners who started him.
Bernard, who had been a legitimate flex play for the first half of the season, has really fallen off a statistical cliff in recent weeks. Since Week 11, Bernard hasn't notched more than 6.7 fantasy points in standard leagues and hasn't seen the end zone since Week 6. Welp, that's frustrating. The Bengals run game hasn't been the juggernaut we thought it'd be back in August, with Bernard stalling out and Hill only being a viable fantasy option the weeks he's scored touchdowns, which have come in few-and-far-between clusters. Hill's end of season stats are going to dupe a lot of fantasy managers in next summer's drafts. He has 11 total scores on the season but just 697 total yards (3.4 ypc). Don't be tricked into starting him against Denver this week in your fantasy championship.
Christine Michael emerges
Christine Michael | Bryce Brown | Fred Jackson // Seahawks
Perhaps one of the biggest question mark backfields heading into Week 15, we saw the injury plagued Seahawks roll out Christine Michael, Bryce Brown and a touch of Fred Jackson against the Browns on Sunday. Michael was the winner of the bunch receiving 16 carries and out-snapping Brown by a count of 24 to 22. Brown got his work in too, but Michael was the clear leader and fantasy diehards who praised Michael's talent for what feels like ages finally got to see him in a feature-ish role.
As for Week 16, fantasy owners playing for a championship will be clamoring for any tidbits of information pointing to how this committee will shape up when the Seahawks take on the Rams. Coach Pete Carroll confirmed on Monday that the Michael/Brown duo will again share carries on Sunday afternoon leaving us with little to no clarity on the situation. For what it's worth, we'd lean towards Michael since he saw nearly double the carries that Brown did and looked like the better runner against Cleveland last week. Still, we can't promise anything and the way Russell Wilson and Seattle's passing attack has been firing in recent weeks, the Seahawks may not need much production from the backfield. It's a fantasy situation to avoid for the championship but if you must, roll with Michael.
Cameron Artis-Payne leads the way
Cameron Artis-Payne | Fozzy Whittaker // Panthers
As was the case with Seattle, Carolina's depleted backfield was all the rage on Sunday morning. Would Fozzy Whittaker start over rookie Cameron Artis-Payne? Would Mike Tolbert vulture all of the touchdowns? Welp, joke was on us apparently. Cam Newton ended up being the Panthers lead rusher with 100 yards. He also threw five touchdown passes which not many leading rushers can say they've done. On a serious note, Artis-Payne ended up being the most productive running back for the Panthers and notched double-digit fantasy points in PPR formats with just shy of 100 yards from scrimmage on 16 touches. If he's available on your waiver-wire, and you need some running back value, the rookie is worth a pickup. Carolina heads into Atlanta in Week 16, and has had a tough time stopping the run all year. But don't start him over guys who might have gotten you this far. If you have an injury or are in a deeper league and need a desperation flex play then you might consider it. It's the same kind of deal with Seattle's backfield: A situation we're trying to avoid, but if you must roll with Artis-Payne over Whittaker or Tolbert.
In the latest episode of the NFL Fantasy LIVE podcast, the gang discuss the top waiver wire pickups of Week 16 and profile the matchups they don't trust in the Fantasy Championships. Don't forget to subscribe to the show or download each episode HERE!
Matt Franciscovich is an associate fantasy editor at NFL.com. He can't get Alabama Shakes' "Sound and Color" out of his head. Hit Matt up on Twitter **@MattFranchise** for music recommendations and fantasy advice.
