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Matt's running back (RB) fantasy football start 'em, sit 'em picks for Week 12 of 2025. His RB lineups advice for Week 12 fantasy football start/sit decisions.
With every Christian McCaffrey and James Cook, there's always going to be a Kenneth Gainwell and Sean Tucker among the top-12 fantasy running backs any given week.
Last week, Breece Hall, RJ Harvey, Jaylen Warren, Quinshon Judkins, and Josh Jacobs put fantasy managers in enviable positions, positions fantasy managers are looking to avoid this week.
With that said, here are your RotoBaller starts and sits at the running back position for Week 12 of the fantasy football season.
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Week 12 - Fantasy Football Booms
TreVeyon Henderson - RB, New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals
Since Week 9, only Jonathan Taylor, De'Von Achane, and McCaffrey have averaged more fantasy points per game than TreVeyon Henderson's 24.3, with 60.3 of his last 73 fantasy points coming over the course of the previous two weeks.
Four TDs in the last two weeks for TreVeyon Henderson!
NYJvsNE on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/Gcgm6QXxjQ— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2025
With Rhamondre Stevenson out of the lineup and Terrell Jennings in and out of the lineup, the only competition as of late has come courtesy of D'Ernest Johnson. In the last two games, Henderson has shown that explosiveness we all remember from his Ohio State days, producing 104.5 yards rushing per game while averaging 6.33 yards per carry and totaling five touchdowns.
Let's see Stevenson top that. With Stevenson returning to practice this week, Henderson is likely going to see some regression, but he has carved out a much larger role moving forward.
Against the Bengals this week, Henderson won't need a lot of touches to be a fantasy factor. Over the last five games for the Bengals, they have allowed 6.26 yards per rushing attempt as well as 6.97 yards per target. Since Week 6, Cincinnati has allowed 36 fantasy points per game and has conceded 1,009 total yards of offense on 121 carries and 31 receptions. That's 6.63 yards per touch along with seven touchdowns.
Alvin Kamara - RB, New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons
The last time we saw Alvin Kamara on the field, he was having himself a lovely afternoon against the Carolina Panthers. In that Week 10 contest, Kamara owned the Saints backfield, carrying the ball 22 times for 82 yards while adding 32 more yards in the passing game on three receptions.
By most accounts, it hasn't been a great fantasy season for the Saints running back. Kamara has been a staple among fantasy backs, finishing in the top 12 routinely. This season, he resides as the RB21, averaging 9.7 fantasy points per game. Still, fantasy is all about hope, and coming off one of his best performances in recent memory with an excellent matchup lined up for this week creates hope among fantasy enthusiasts.
This is the first of two meetings between Kamara and the Falcons, but looking at the Falcons' recent struggles against running backs, the early advantage goes to Kamara.
In the last three Falcons contests, Atlanta has allowed 406 rushing yards as well as 153 receiving yards on 15 receptions. When you do the math, it works out to 4.95 yards per carry and 8.85 yards per target, or 31.6 fantasy points per game, the fifth most since Week 9.
Kareem Hunt - RB, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Indianapolis Colts
Against a stout Denver Broncos defense last week, Kareem Hunt had a respectable performance, churning out 59 yards on 13 carries (4.5 yards per attempt), scoring a touchdown, and finishing with 13.2 fantasy points. Since Week 8, Hunt has been a solid RB2, averaging 14.3 fantasy points, which is equal to that of Jacobs and better than D'Andre Swift and Kenneth Walker III.
From the strange but true file, Hunt has not lost a fumble since 2017, his rookie season. Over his 1,316 carries and 259 career receptions, Hunt has fumbled the ball on just six occasions and lost the ball just once. I can't even eat a hamburger without dropping a few toppings on my shirt.
Kareem Hunt and the @Chiefs tie the game right back up
KCvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/3WJIVDsz0I
— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025
While the Colts defense is good, so is the Chiefs offense, and Hunt is currently getting 83.5% of the work inside the 5-yard line over the last three games. Over that same period, the 9.1% touchdown rate for which Hunt is responsible leads all running backs with at least 25 rushing attempts.
Only Chris Rodriguez Jr. of the Commanders has a better success rate since Week 8 than Hunt's 69.7%: three games, three rushing touchdowns. If the Chiefs can get inside the five, expect Hunt to punch it in from there. Since Week 9, the Colts have allowed 26.4 fantasy points per game to opposing backs, the ninth most.
Week 12 - Fantasy Football Busts
Chase Brown - RB, Cincinnati Bengals vs. New England Patriots
As good as Chase Brown has been since the arrival of Joe Flacco, sometimes the matchup is too much to ignore. Since Week 6, Brown is averaging 12.7 fantasy points per game, thanks to 359 rushing yards (5.89 per attempt), while forcing 15 missed tackles on 61 attempts.
However, the New England Patriots' run defense doesn't miss tackles. New England sits atop the NFL in rushing yards allowed, containing opposing rushing attacks to 84.7 yards per game. In the Patriots' last five contests, they have allowed just 428 yards of total offense to the running back position, conceding a mere 3.76 yards per carry.
Since Week 7, only the Detroit Lions are allowing fewer fantasy points per game to the position than the 15.4 the Patriots have allowed.
With Achane, RJ Harvey, and Kimani Vidal unavailable this week, Brown becomes an attractive option in a difficult matchup. Ultimately, Brown will be one of those players fantasy managers either stick with or buy low on who will aid in their fantasy championship aspirations, but this isn't the week.
Breece Hall - RB, New York Jets at Baltimore Ravens
The good news for Hall is that Tyrod Taylor is back under center for the New York Jets. The bad news is that he and his Jets teammates still have to play the Baltimore Ravens this week.
At this time of the year, it's all about limiting risk. Much like the inclusion of Brown before, Hall faces uncertainty. While most managers are likely to trust Flacco over Taylor, I'm not sleeping well if either quarterback holds my fantasy fate in their right arm.
At least Flacco has options in the passing game to help take pressure off Brown; what does Hall have going for him? Allen Lazard, Adonai Mitchell, Isaiah Williams, and John Metchie III expect the box to be loaded once again this week as the Ravens zero in on the only real threat the Jets can throw at them.
Since Week 8, Hall has been good; he's RB6 in fantasy over those four weeks, averaging 20.3 fantasy points, just behind Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs. But, you know who else has been good? It's rhetorical; it's the Baltimore Ravens, who have allowed the fewest fantasy points per game to opposing running backs (16.0) since Week 7.
You can chance it with Hall that he can bust off a big play, but the probability of that occurring against a defense that has only surrendered 390 total yards of offense to opposing backs in the last four games is not great, at best.
Tony Pollard - RB, Tennessee Titans vs. Seattle Seahawks
Kyren Williams had an impressive game against the Seattle Seahawks last week. Let's give credit where it is due. Seattle does not allow rushing touchdowns; it doesn't allow 7.6 yards per carry, and it certainly doesn't allow 16.6 fantasy points to a running back.
When it comes to production, Williams and Tony Pollard are on opposite ends of the production spectrum. Williams is the RB10 in fantasy, averaging 16.6 fantasy points per game, whereas Pollard is the RB25, averaging 9.5 fantasy points.
From Week 6 through Week 10, Seattle was the sixth-most-difficult matchup for opposing backs, allowing 16.7 fantasy points per game, yielding just 273 rushing yards on 72 rushing attempts.
Unlike Williams, who owns the Rams backfield, Pollard will need to share opportunities with Tyjae Spears after Spears was the far more efficient back last week. I use that term loosely. Against the Texans, Spears converted his nine opportunities into 34 yards while Pollard produced 26 total yards of offense on his 13 opportunities.
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