What You Need To Know - Top 10 Running Back Rankings Including Ezekiel Elliott, Breece Hall, James Cook, and more

The top ranked running back fantasy football scorers - are these RBs trade targets, risers, and sleepers from Week 14 of 2023? Kyle reacts to the best fantasy RB performances and how to best assess your squads for the rest of the 2023 fantasy season.

Week 14 officially signaled the end of the bye weeks, with only the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders on a bye as well as no more bye weeks after Week 14. As we are nearing the end of the fantasy football regular season and the start of the fantasy football playoffs, maintaining solid depth at running back will be important.

In a strange twist of fate, New England Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott is the RB1 on the week at least for now after his strong performance on TNF against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Breece Hall had himself a day on the Jets as he was used heavily as a receiver by QB Zach Wilson, and James Cook of the Bills had a solid outing as Buffalo went into Kansas City and upset the Chiefs.

We are nearing the end of the 2023 fantasy season and as mentioned earlier, there will be no more bye weeks. Here are the top 10 RBs based on half-PPR fantasy scores in Week 14 (excluding Monday Night Football). If you need some real-time stats, bookmark our live fantasy scoreboard to your browser. You'll get live updates, top performances, and more -- because who doesn't want some nonstop live fantasy action?

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Top 10 Running Backs Of The Week

Here are the top 10 running backs from Week 14 of the 2023 NFL season in half-PPR scoring:

1. Ezekiel Elliott, New England Patriots

It's been a rough year in New England, especially on offense, but with starting RB Rhamondre Stevenson sidelined all of the volume went to Elliott on Thursday Night. It wasn't pretty on the ground as Zeke had 22 carries for just 68 yards, but he shined out of the backfield as a receiver with seven receptions for 72 yards and a score. The Pats have a tough matchup coming up against the Chiefs defense in Week 15, but as long as Elliott has the entire backfield to himself he's still a TD-dependent RB2 in fantasy each week.

2. Breece Hall, New York Jets

It's been an up-and-down season for Hall after QB Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1, but it's easy to see his incredible talent each week despite running behind a suspect offensive line. He only rushed 10 times today for 40 yards but finished with eight receptions for 86 yards and one TD. In fact, Hall has seen a total of 32 targets over the Jets' last four games. Coming up they get the Dolphins in Week 15, but have a very juicy matchup for fantasy against the Commanders' defense in Week 15.

3. James Cook, Buffalo Bills

After sitting at 6-6 heading into their Week 13 bye, many questioned if the Bills could get things right and get back into the AFC Playoff race, but at least for today, their odds have increased. Cook only carried the ball 10 times for 40 yards but excelled as a receiver with five receptions for 83 yards and one TD. Coming up the Bills have a pivotal matchup against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15. Cook is likely still a must-start and is likely due for some positive regression in the rushing TD department as he has just one TD on the ground this year.

4. Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It was another solid outing for Rachaad as he's rushed for 100+ yards in two of his last three games. Today, he saw a career-high with 25 carries to finish with 102 yards on the ground and also had two receptions for 33 yards and one TD. Coming up, Tampa Bay has two favorable matchups against the Packers in Week 15 and the Packers in Week 16. White scored on an impressive 31-yard reception and remains a must-start going forward.

5. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals

No Joe Burrow, no problem. Despite the rest of us thinking the Bengals season was over after their QB suffered a season-ending injury on TNF in Week 11 versus the Ravens, backup QB Jake Browning has rallied the troops and has won their last two games to get back into the thick of the AFC playoff race at 7-6. Mixon has also had his best two weeks for fantasy this season in Weeks 13 and 14. Yesterday in a victory over the Colts, Mixon rushed 21 times for 79 yards and found the end zone. He also had 3 receptions for 46 yards. While RB Chase Brown saw plenty of action, Mixon remains a must-start as he will be relied upon heavily over the final month of the season.

6. Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers

It's been a disappointing season for the Chargers and change looms on the horizon with the future of Head Coach Brandon Staley. Ekeler missed nearly the first month of the season, but hasn't been great for fantasy since returning. He's been an RB1 in only four out of nine games and has gone over 20 fantasy points just once in half-PPR. Yesterday, the Chargers lost after QB Justin Herbert went down and he could be out for the rest of the year. Ekeler had 10 rushes for 51 yards and found the end zone, but he did also have five targets for 49 yards. If Easton Stick is in at quarterback, Ekeler could see plenty of check-down work. You likely still have to play him, but the same upside that was there in seasons past appears to have faded.

7. Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

A player some expected to be more involved in the offense earlier in the season, Brown really wasn't given much opportunity until the last two games. The 6th-round rookie from Illinois rushed eight times for 25 yards yesterday but had three receptions for 80 yards and one TD. He likely might not have starting value as long as incumbent RB Joe Mixon remains healthy, but Brown is a must-stash in all fantasy formats right now and has the type of upside that you want from a handcuff as we enter the fantasy playoffs. Joe Mixon's future in 2024 also remains uncertain as he will turn 28 and the Bengals owe him less than $3 million in guarantees. Brown could have some decent dynasty value for 2024.

8. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

Bijan struggled to get going on the ground yesterday and the Falcons lost a heartbreaker to their division rival Tampa Bay Bucs. Robinson had just 10 rushes for 34 yards but he found the end zone. Where he thrived yet again was as a receiver out of the backfield with five receptions for 54 yards. It's understandable that the fantasy community has been largely frustrated with Falcons Head Coach Arthur Smith this season, but to his credit he's gotten Bijan much more involved in the offense coming off their Week 11 bye. Coming up the Falcons have a very favorable schedule in the fantasy playoffs with the Panthers, Colts, and Bears. Robinson has the upside profile that we want from our running backs in the last month of the season.

9. Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos

One of the most talented backs in the league when fully healthy, Javonte has incredible contact balance and is a versatile rusher and receiver. He hasn't been able to be completely unlocked for fantasy this season, but given his brutal ACL injury that ended his 2022 season early, we should all be thankful he's been able to be on the field at all. On Sunday in a win over the Chargers, Williams rushed 17 times for 66 yards and found the end zone on top of having three receptions for 25 yards. The Broncos offense has really improved under first-year Head Coach Sean Payton. One can only wonder what Javonte (still only 23 years old) might be able to do in 2024 with a bigger workload.

10. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

McCaffrey was dominant again on Sunday with his highest rushing output of the season at 145 yards. Surprisingly, he only finished with one reception for 8 yards. The 49ers now find themselves in the driver's seat to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC and they have a very favorable playoff schedule for fantasy with the Cardinals, Ravens, and Commanders to close out the fantasy playoffs. CMC has easily been the fantasy MVP this season and has finished as an RB10 or better in seven straight weeks. Mercy.

Looking Forward to the Rest of 2023

How did your teams fare in Week 14? If you have any potential questions involving waivers or start/sit, be sure to follow us here at RotoBaller with up-to-date fantasy news and team reports. Best of luck in the fantasy playoffs!

Are there any running backs not on this list who you expect to bounce back in Week 15? If you have any FAAB or waiver questions as well, feel free to get at me on Twitter/X.

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