Week 18 is here, and many backup running backs will be in featured roles this weekend as several teams are resting starters. That said, let's get to crucial start-or-sit decisions with help from our updated Week 18 fantasy football running back rankings for 2024. Let's see where key players such as Rico Dowdle, Zach Charbonnet, Ray Davis, Blake Corum, Isaac Guerendo, and more stand for the closing week of the regular season.
Our running back fantasy football rankings for Week 18 are put together by Nick Mariano, Brandon Murchinson, Scott Engel, and Andersen Pickard. In addition to our staff rankings, below you will also find a summary of the important fantasy football injury news for this week. There are always key injuries to keep track of, so be sure to check back until kickoff.
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Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Week 18 Running Backs Fantasy Football News and Injuries
- Chase Brown Won't Play In Week 18
- Michael Carter Headed For Lead Role Again In Week 18
- Alexander Mattison Headed For Major Role In Week 18
- Miles Sanders Questionable To Return In Week 18
- Ameer Abdullah Downgraded To Out
- Gus Edwards Ruled Out For Season Finale
- David Montgomery Out, Craig Reynolds Questionable For Week 18
- Austin Ekeler Questionable For Week 18
- Josh Jacobs Off The Injury Report, Maintains RB1 Status For Week 18
- Aaron Jones Good To Go, A Fringe RB1 Option In Week 18
- Isiah Pacheco Ruled Out, Kareem Hunt Doubtful For Week 18
- Bears Rule Out Travis Homer
- Kendre Miller Ruled Out For Week 18
- Alvin Kamara Doubtful To Play In Season Finale
- Kyren Williams To Be Rested In Week 18
- Tyjae Spears Ruled Out For Week 18
- Tony Pollard Expected To Play In Week 18
- Jerome Ford, David Njoku, Pierre Strong Jr. Placed On Injured Reserve
Week 18 Running Back Rankings for Fantasy Football
Be sure to bookmark our weekly PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, Standard rankings.
RB Tier |
RB Rank |
Player Name |
Pos. | Overall Rank |
1 | 1 | Bijan Robinson | RB | 1 |
1 | 2 | Jahmyr Gibbs | RB | 2 |
1 | 3 | Bucky Irving | RB | 6 |
1 | 4 | De'Von Achane | RB | 7 |
1 | 5 | Zach Charbonnet | RB | 12 |
1 | 6 | Jonathan Taylor | RB | 13 |
2 | 7 | Derrick Henry | RB | 15 |
2 | 8 | Breece Hall | RB | 16 |
2 | 9 | Isaac Guerendo | RB | 18 |
3 | 10 | Brian Robinson Jr. | RB | 19 |
3 | 11 | Aaron Jones | RB | 23 |
3 | 12 | Jaylen Warren | RB | 25 |
3 | 13 | Tyrone Tracy Jr. | RB | 27 |
3 | 14 | Blake Corum | RB | 29 |
3 | 15 | D'Andre Swift | RB | 31 |
3 | 16 | Rico Dowdle | RB | 33 |
3 | 17 | Joe Mixon | RB | 35 |
4 | 18 | Najee Harris | RB | 42 |
4 | 19 | Ray Davis | RB | 44 |
4 | 20 | Tony Pollard | RB | 45 |
4 | 21 | Kenneth Gainwell | RB | 55 |
4 | 22 | Khalil Herbert | RB | 56 |
5 | 23 | Michael Carter | RB | 57 |
5 | 24 | Jaleel McLaughlin | RB | 63 |
5 | 25 | J.K. Dobbins | RB | 65 |
5 | 26 | Josh Jacobs | RB | 66 |
5 | 27 | Antonio Gibson | RB | 71 |
5 | 28 | Rachaad White | RB | 75 |
5 | 29 | D'Onta Foreman | RB | 79 |
5 | 30 | Travis Etienne Jr. | RB | 81 |
6 | 31 | Alexander Mattison | RB | 82 |
6 | 32 | Tank Bigsby | RB | 85 |
6 | 33 | Raheem Blackshear | RB | 96 |
6 | 34 | Carson Steele | RB | 100 |
7 | 35 | Rhamondre Stevenson | RB | 115 |
7 | 36 | Ty Johnson | RB | 117 |
8 | 37 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire | RB | 118 |
8 | 38 | Javonte Williams | RB | 119 |
8 | 39 | Samaje Perine | RB | 124 |
8 | 40 | Audric Estime | RB | 125 |
8 | 41 | Austin Ekeler | RB | 126 |
8 | 42 | Kimani Vidal | RB | 129 |
8 | 43 | Tyler Allgeier | RB | 131 |
9 | 44 | Dameon Pierce | RB | 143 |
9 | 45 | Cam Akers | RB | 144 |
9 | 46 | Jeremy McNichols | RB | 145 |
9 | 47 | Kenny McIntosh | RB | 146 |
9 | 48 | Will Shipley | RB | 156 |
9 | 49 | Braelon Allen | RB | 160 |
10 | 50 | Devin Singletary | RB | 161 |
10 | 51 | Mike Boone | RB | 167 |
10 | 52 | Raheem Mostert | RB | 172 |
10 | 53 | Miles Sanders | RB | 173 |
11 | 54 | Julius Chestnut | RB | 178 |
11 | 55 | Craig Reynolds | RB | 184 |
11 | 56 | Chris Rodriguez Jr. | RB | 186 |
11 | 57 | Keaton Mitchell | RB | 188 |
11 | 58 | Emanuel Wilson | RB | 191 |
11 | 59 | Cordarrelle Patterson | RB | 193 |
12 | 60 | Tyrion Davis-Price | RB | 204 |
12 | 61 | Dare Ogunbowale | RB | 207 |
12 | 62 | Jamaal Williams | RB | 208 |
12 | 63 | Sean Tucker | RB | 214 |
13 | 64 | Isaiah Davis | RB | 216 |
13 | 65 | Roschon Johnson | RB | 219 |
13 | 66 | Patrick Taylor Jr. | RB | 220 |
13 | 67 | Chris Brooks | RB | 221 |
13 | 68 | John Kelly | RB | 226 |
13 | 69 | Hassan Haskins | RB | 227 |
13 | 70 | Rasheen Ali | RB | 228 |
13 | 71 | Jermar Jefferson | RB | 229 |
13 | 72 | Jaylen Wright | RB | 231 |
13 | 73 | Jordan Mims | RB | 233 |
13 | 74 | Cody Schrader | RB | 238 |
13 | 75 | Trey Sermon | RB | 239 |
13 | 76 | DeeJay Dallas | RB | 240 |
13 | 77 | Kyle Juszczyk | RB | 241 |
13 | 78 | Keaontay Ingram | RB | 245 |
13 | 79 | Alec Ingold | RB | 246 |
14 | 80 | Michael Burton | RB | 249 |
14 | 81 | Deuce Vaughn | RB | 250 |
14 | 82 | Chris Collier | RB | 252 |
14 | 83 | Frank Gore Jr. | RB | 253 |
14 | 84 | Tyler Goodson | RB | 254 |
14 | 85 | Eric Gray | RB | 263 |
14 | 86 | Ty Chandler | RB | 267 |
14 | 87 | Ronnie Rivers | RB | 273 |
14 | 88 | Dylan Laube | RB | 294 |
14 | 89 | Sione Vaki | RB | 295 |
14 | 90 | C.J. Ham | RB | 296 |
14 | 91 | Hunter Luepke | RB | 297 |
14 | 92 | Ke'Shawn Vaughn | RB | 298 |
15 | 93 | Trayveon Williams | RB | 299 |
15 | 94 | Patrick Ricard | RB | 300 |
15 | 95 | Joshua Kelley | RB | 301 |
15 | 96 | Jeff Wilson Jr. | RB | 302 |
15 | 97 | D'Ernest Johnson | RB | 303 |
Week 18 Running Back Outlooks for Fantasy Football
Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills - Fantasy Football Outlook
Remember the 23-touch coming-out party for Buffalo Bills rookie running back Ray Davis in Week 6? A similar opportunity could await the rookie in Week 18. The Bills can't move out of the second seed in the AFC, meaning starters won't play their full allotment of snaps. Head coach Sean McDermott confirmed earlier in the week that both starters and reserves will play.
Davis should be in line for at least 12 touches against a bottom-10 run defense in the New England Patriots. Third-down back Ty Johnson should also be heavily involved in the gameplan. Davis can be counted on as an RB2 for fantasy football lineups.
- Andrew Ball, RotoBaller
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams - Fantasy Football Outlook
Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum has shown flashes of potential in limited work this season, and in Week 18, he could be lined up for a sizable workload since the Rams are resting starting RB Kyren Williams with a playoff spot secure. The Rams have been running the ball effectively with Williams, but Corum has only totaled 197 yards on his 56 carries (3.5 yards per carry).
The third-round pick from Michigan brings an element of explosiveness and upside but also represents a very unproven option that has yet to do much on the NFL stage. His upside has him as RotoBaller's RB28 this week, making him a solid RB3 or FLEX option. He also is a DFS option since he should get plenty of work against the Seahawks, who have allowed three touchdowns to running backs in the last five weeks.
- Zach Thompson, RotoBaller
Isaac Guerendo, San Francisco 49ers - Fantasy Football Outlook
San Francisco 49ers rookie running back Isaac Guerendo (foot, hamstring) is off the injury report and ready to roll for a Week 18 matchup with the Cardinals in Arizona. Last week at home versus Detroit, Guerendo took just nine carries for 34 yards but snagged all four targets in the passing game for 65 yards. Arizona's defense represents a favorable opportunity for Guerendo to finish his first NFL campaign on a high note -- they have allowed the 10th-most half-PPR points per game (21.9).
Last week, they allowed 14.7 points to Kyren Williams of the Los Angeles Rams. With the 49ers having been eliminated from playoff contention weeks ago and playing their final game of 2024, head coach Kyle Shanahan should give Guerendo his classic heavy lead-back usage while assessing Guerendo's role in 2025. This could be especially true with the 49ers injury issues -- backup Joshua Dobbs is starting for an injured Brock Purdy (right elbow), wideout Deebo Samuel Sr. (rib, wrist) is out, and tight end George Kittle (ankle, hamstring) is questionable. Guerendo is a back-end RB1 in Week 18.
- Brad Beltz, RotoBaller
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