It’s a tough matchup against the 9th ranked run defense of the Arizona Cardinals, but you better not bet against the run blocking and running of the Indianapolis Colts and Jonathan Taylor, far and away the RB1 this season. 

James Robinson is back as the RB1 in Jacksonville and just in time to face the woeful, last place against the run, New York Jets defense. Robinson has been a top five production back when played and now should continue to get RB1 workloads for a Jaguars team with little else to play for this season, so why expose their franchise QB to additional wear/tear, especially when Robinson is so good on the ground. 

Miles Sanders re-introduced himself with a tremendous Week 15 effort and now gets to face the run-funnel defense of the New York Giants. The G-Men are 12th against the pass, but 28th against the run, putting the game in the hands, or legs, of QB Jalen Hurts and Sanders. 

Austin Ekeler looks like he will miss Week 16, so the next man up for the Chargers is likely Justin Jackson, who has been a solidly efficient runner as a backup this season. Jackson will get the run-funnel matchup of the Houston Texans (10th against the pass, 27th against the run) and a positive game environment (Chargers currently favored by 9.5 as of this writing) to accrue both touches and yardage. 

Leonard Fournette is out, so Tampa turns back to Ronald Jones, who has been a solid backup this season even as Fournette emerged as a bellcow back for Tom Brady’s offense. Jones faces a Carolina Panthers defense that is stout against the pass (9th) but weaker against the run (23rd). With Chris Godwin and Mike Evans likely out, Jones could see a considerable workload on the road this week. 

Tough matchups for runners all over the board this week, and the ranking reflect that. Everybody after the RB18 this week has some serious headwinds in their matchups, playing time, injuries, etc, to deal with. At that dividing line this week, at RB18, is Antonio Gibson, who faces a Dallas defense that is so tough against the pass (#1) and is more vulnerable on the ground (19th). Given Washington is likely to want to control the ball this week and keep Dak Prescott from exploiting the Washington pass defense, Gibson should get plenty of chances to ground and pound. 

Jason Walker