Backfield Breakdown: RB Usage Report & Week 12 Waivers Preview

This season has been remarkably light on injuries to fantasy-relevant running backs — a trend that seemingly continued Week 11 with no reports of injuries to lineup regulars. That also means it's been a difficult year to find help on waivers, which again looks to be the case for this upcoming week.

There was no shortage of large RB workloads Week 11, highlighted by Chase Brown, Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor playing 90-plus percent of snaps. Five others reached 80 percent (Breece Hall, Saquon Barkley, Kyren Williams, Joe Mixon, Alvin Kamara), and seven landed in the 70s (Josh Jacobs, Rhamondre Stevenson, Kenneth Walker, Travis Etienne, J.K. Dobbins, Kareem Hunt, Bijan Robinson). That means 15 of the 28 teams in action had one RB take more than 70 percent of their snaps, in addition to guys like De'Von Achane and Najee Harris who yielded a bunch of snaps but nonetheless topped 20 touches.

It wasn't all good news from a workload standpoint, however, with NFC North lead backs D'Andre Swift and Aaron Jones notably ceding far more snaps and touches to backups than they had in previous weeks. In Swift's case, the firing of OC Shane Waldron likely was a factor. For Jones, the reduced workload may have been related to a chest/rib injury he suffered the week before... or perhaps it was more about growing confidence in Cam Akers. 

Buffalo's James Cook also ceded more work than usual, despite scoring two TDs within the first 20 minutes of Sunday's win over Kansas City. That one seems more like a one-week blip or gameplan-specific development, but we'll still want to keep an eye on the Bills' injury report and RB usage after their upcoming Week 12 bye.

Injury Report 🚑

New Injuries

Tyjae Spears (concussion)

Alexander Mattison (ankle) & Zamir White (quad)

Spears entered concussion protocol at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Prior to exiting, he'd been surprisingly close to a 50/50 split with Tony Pollard, taking 58% of snaps and six opportunities (compared to 51% and eight opportunities for Pollard, who finished with just 29 yards on 11 touches). Pollard played every snap after Spears' departure but didn't get many more chances to touch the ball with Tennessee trailing by two scores for most of the quarter.

The Raiders' backfield will be discussed in more detail below. White left Sunday's loss to Miami in the third quarter, with Mattison following soon after early in the fourth. Ameer Abdullah was the only active RB remaining but won't necessarily be the lead runner if Mattison and White are out for Week 12 against Denver.

Missed Week 11

Tank Bigsby (ankle / week-to-week)

Jamaal Williams (groin / week-to-week)

Isiah Pacheco (IR - fibula / expected to return Week 12)

Jonathon Brooks (NFI - knee / expected to return Week 12)

MarShawn Lloyd (ankle/appendix / not expected back soon)

Kendre Miller (IR - hamstring / eligible Week 14)

Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco and Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks both are expected to play this week, while Packers RB MarShawn Lloyd had an appendectomy two days before he was set to return (and now will miss at least 2-3 more weeks). Jacksonville's Tank Bigsby and the Saints' Jamaal Williams may both be ready after Week 12 byes.

Stock Report 📊

A lot of what you'll see here is building on my work from Box Score Breakdown, the weekly recap article with stat tables for every team that include snaps, routes, and target/air-yard shares, in addition to all the basic stats like carries, catches, yards and TDs. I also discuss role specifics and make note of various circumstances that could cause numbers to be misleading, so it's worth checking out if you're looking to go into even more detail on running backs before making waiver adds or lineup decisions for the upcoming week.

Note: Opps. = carries + targets

All stats below are from Week 11 only unless otherwise specified    

Trending Up 📈

Breece Hall - 85% snaps, 72% routes, 23 of 25 RB opps., 121 total yards + 2 TDs

Josh Jacobs - season-high 79% snaps, 72% routes, 23 of 25 RB opps., 134 total yards + TD

Chase Brown - 82% snaps, all 29 RB opps., 143 total yards

Javonte Williams - 53% snaps, 14 of 27 RB opps., 87 total yards + TD

Jaylen Warren - four straight games/ w 25+ snaps, 11+ touches, 59+ total yards, 

Roschon Johnson - 44% snaps, 32% routes, 11 of 27 RB opps., 41 total yards + TD

Cam Akers - 37% snaps, 35% routes, 12 of 28 RB opps., 36 total yards + TD

Ameer Abdullah - White/Mattison injuries

Chase Brown completely dominated Cincinnati's backfield work for a third week running, with his workload in that time being No. 2 in the league (20.7 carries, 7.7 targets, 131.3 yards per game). He's a high-end RB1 so long as he's getting all the touches in a top offense, even if it's one of the more pass-heavy offenses in the league. His usage the past three weeks has been Carolina-era, peak-McCaffrey stuff.

Trending Down 📉

Aaron Jones - 55% snaps, 29% routes, 16 of 28 RB opps., 43 total yards

D'Andre Swift - 54% snaps, 38% routes, 16 of 27 RB opps., 84 total yards + TD

Kyren Williams - 80% snaps, 15 of 21 RB opps., 86 total yards

Nick Chubb - 19% snap share after first quarter, 11 of 22 RB opps., 50 total yards

James Cook - 38% snaps, 38% routes, 15 of 26 RB opps., 27 total yards + 2 TDs

Audric Estime - 22% snaps, nine of 27 RB opps., 25 total yards

Raheem Mostert - 14% snaps, three of 30 RB opps., brief exit with hip injury

Rams RB Kyren Williams still has an RB1-caliber workload, but he ceded a bit more work than usual to Blake Corum this past Sunday, albeit with five of the rookie's six touches coming on a single drive in the second quarter. Corum looked good, gaining 28 yards on those plays, and the other semi-concern for Williams is that the Rams haven't been so run-heavy in the red zone when they've had both Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp healthy. Granted, they're a much better team with those guys healthy, which should mean more overall scoring opportunities, so don't expect Williams' TD drought to last much longer. He's still an RB1 for fantasy, but maybe more in the middle of that group than up at the top. I also can't help but think that Corum is a similar player, and not necessarily an inferior one.

Unsettled Backfields 🎲

These are the backfields that need to be monitored closely, where role changes could be imminent or we aren't sure about the team's depth chart moving forward. Backfield with a clear hierarchy/order won't be included unless there's a long-term injury to the starter and the backup situation is uncertain or confusing. 

Messy Backfields

1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. Las Vegas Raiders

Travis Etienne was the clear lead for Jacksonville in Week 11, taking 74% of snaps and 15 of 17 RB opportunities, but that was with Tank Bigsby sidelined by an ankle injury and only D'Ernest Johnson working in reserve. Furthermore, Etienne gained just 33 yards on 15 touches, leaving the door open for Bigsby to have a big role after the Week 12 bye if his ankle injury has healed. There's also the potential variable of a coaching change, although if it hasn't happened yet it might not happen until January.

The Raiders tried to make Zamir White their lead back again, giving him 83% of snaps and three of four RB opportunities in the first quarter of Sunday's loss to Miami. He gained just five yards on those three carries, and Alexander Mattison then took on more work in the middle part of the game (50% snap share and six touches for 49 yards between the second and third quarters). White missed the fourth quarter with a quad injury, and Mattison promptly suffered an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter. Ameer Abdullah was the only RB remaining and took 88% of snaps in the fourth quarter, with all four of his touches (including a 10-yard receiving TD) coming after both White and Mattison had left the game. 

Abdullah is worth adding in a lot of leagues, but keep in mind that he's 31 years old and hasn't been more than a passing-down guy and special teamer since 2017. The Raiders' other backfield options are rookie sixth-round pick Dylan Laube (who lost a fumble Week 6 on his first NFL carry and hasn't played since) and practice-squadder Sincere McCormick, both of whom are about the same size as Abdullah — around 205 pounds. The Raiders haven't been able to run the ball anyway and may become even more pass-heavy if Mattison and/or White are unavailable Week 12 against the Broncos.

On the Brink

1. Denver Broncos
2. Chicago Bears

Javonte Williams returned to the lead role in Sunday's 38-6 win over Atlanta, taking 59% of snaps and 10 of 13 RB opportunities in the first half. He played less in the second half, including just two snaps in the fourth quarter of a blowout, finishing with 13 touches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Audric Estime ultimately got just four fewer touches (nine), but two of those came on the final drive after starters had been pulled, and he gained only 27 yards on his chances. McLaughlin's role being minimal was the one similarity to Week 10, with the second-year pro getting just 13% of snaps and four touches (including two carries on the penultimate drive). It looks like Williams is still the lead guy here, but with weekly risk to get usurped by the "hot hand" if he struggles early on and Estime (or even McLaughlin?) fares better with his first few chances. This past Sunday, however, Estime got just one touch over the first 37 minutes of game time.

Chicago's backfield is less of a mystery, with D'Andre Swift having a decent track record in general and seemingly playing too well to lose his starting job. It was nonetheless curious to see Roschon Johnson take on a larger role in the first game post-Shane Waldron. Whatever Swift's shortcoming, he's probably much better than Johnson as a pure runner and possibly also superior as a pass catcher. Johnson's advantages would seem to be size and pass blocking, with the latter more of a theoretical than something that's actually been tested and proven over a meaningful sample. In any case, the Chicago offense probably isn't good enough to support a strong fantasy starter at RB if the workload split is 60/40 rather than the 75/25 or 80/20 type split we've seen most of the season. 

Waivers Look-Ahead ±

If you're looking for a more comprehensive waivers article, RW's Kevin Payne has you covered. Here we're just taking a quick look at some RBs to target based on the work contained in this article and Monday's Box Score Breakdown. 

In order to qualify, the RB needs to be rostered in no more than 60 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Potential Short-Term Starters

1. Jaylen Warren - 53%
2. Ameer Abdullah - 0%
3. Jerome Ford - 39%
4. Justice Hill - 18%
5. Alexander Mattison - 58% (ankle)
6. Dylan Laube - 0%
7. Cam Akers - 17%
8. Zamir White - 26% (quad)
9. Raiders practice-squadder Sincere McCormick - 0%
10. Roschon Johnson - 7%
11. Jaylen Wright - 6%

As has been the case for most of the season, there's not much to work with here. Any one of five different players could be the Raiders' lead back Week 12, with fantasy value then depending on one player getting most of the snaps and catching some passes. The Raiders haven't been able to run at all with either White or Mattison, but the latter has at least provided some useful fantasy scores thanks to receiving production and/or goal-line TDs.

Bench Stashes

1. Blake Corum - 15%
2. Trey Benson - 21%
3. Zach Charbonnet - 42%
4. Tyler Allgeier - 40%
5. Ray Davis - 23%
6. Braelon Allen - 33%
7. Cam Akers - 17% 
8. Jordan Mason - 55% 
9. Jaylen Wright - 6%
10. Gus Edwards - 28%
11. Roschon Johnson - 7% 
12. Audric Estime - 51%
13. Devin Singletary - 49%
14. Dameon Pierce - 3%
15. Tank Bigsby - 47% (ankle, bye)
16. Tyjae Spears - 48% (concussion)
17. Jerome Ford - 39%
18. Khalil Herbert - 16%
19. Trey Sermon - 5%

Drop Candidates

1. Raheem Mostert - 77% (shallow leagues)
2. Jordan Mason - 55% (shallow leagues)
3. Audric Estime - 51% (shallow leagues)
4. Ezekiel Elliott - 16%
5. Antonio Gibson - 16%
6. Jaleel McLaughlin - 13%
7. Ty Chandler - 11%
8. MarShawn Lloyd - 6%