Running Back Matchups to Target for Thanksgiving Day Slate (2025) - Jahmyr Gibbs, Derrick Henry, Chase Brown, Kareem Hunt

Thunder Dan's favorite RB matchups to exploit for the Thanksgiving Day slate of 2025 - DFS running backs to target on DraftKings and FanDuel. These RB matchups are GPP and cash game opportunities.

Welcome to a special Thanksgiving edition of the running back matchups to target! We have three pretty compelling matchups on Thursday, and your DFS lineups aren't going to get into the green without having the right running backs in them, that's for sure!

The primary focus of this piece is for NFL DFS; however, these are also running backs you should smash into your season-long lineups and great candidates for prop bets, too.

We also have lots of great NFL DFS articles and NFL DFS tools to help you win MORE this season! Without any further ado, here are my top FOUR matchups for the Thanksgiving Day Three-Gamer.

• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) rankings
• Quarterback (QB) rankings
• Tight end (TE) rankings
• Defense (D/ST) rankings
• Kicker (K) rankings
• FLEX rankings
• Dynasty rankings

Thanksgiving Day Running Back Matchups

In my constant search for usable metrics, I crunched the first 12 weeks of data. The first column is the overall offensive rushing attack vs. their opponent, calculated using each team's offensive and defensive DVOA.

The second column is the offensive vs. defensive line matchup, calculated by using the "adjusted line yards" created and allowed by each team. The third column is simply Pro Football Focus's run-blocking grade for each team's offensive line.

Jahmyr Gibbs ($8,800 DK, $9,500 FD)

Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers

The recency bias here is real, but I really can't blame anyone for being terrified to fade Gibbs on a short slate after watching what he did to the Giants last week. I featured Gibbs in last week's article and mentioned that I thought it was a must-roster spot, so I hope you had as many shares as I did last Sunday.

JAHMYR SCORES IMMEDIATELY.

NYGvsDET on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/HzyzjRsr4d

— NFL (@NFL) November 23, 2025

On a full slate, this spot wouldn't stand out nearly as much; however, on this condensed slate, I think it's fair to say that there's really only one other back with a comparable ceiling to Gibbs, and that's Derrick Henry against the Bengals (more on him in a few). The Packers limited Gibbs to just 19 yards on nine carries in their Week 1 meeting, but that Packer run defense has shown some cracks lately, allowing 100+ scrimmage yards to Rico Dowdle, Saquon Barkley, and Tyrone Tracey Jr. in three consecutive weeks before finally clamping down on Minnesota last week.

We usually worry about David Montgomery stealing touches (and touchdowns) from Gibbs, but since Dan Campbell has taken off the play-calling duties in Detroit, Gibbs has 18, 17, and 26 touches the last three weeks to just 15, 7, and 8 for Montgomery. Last week's 75% share of the team's runs was a season-high for Gibbs, and I wouldn't be surprised if Campbell leans hard on his best player again in this one, as this game feels like a must-win for both teams if they want to keep their hopes of winning the division intact.

Gibbs' dual-threat ability as a runner and receiver is unmatched by any back on this slate (sorry Chase Brown), and I'm going to be hunting for value plays that allow me to spend up for Gibbs in my Turkey Day lineups as a result.

Derrick Henry ($7,300 DK, $8,800 FD)

Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals

It's been an up-and-down year for both Henry and the Ravens in 2025, but Henry and this rushing attack appear to be back on the upswing as they head into one of the best possible matchups of the season.

GREAT blocking up front on this Derrick Henry touchdown pic.twitter.com/zxLs6p026T

— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) November 23, 2025

Henry had a modest 21-64 day at the office last week against the Jets, but found paydirt twice and now has nine rushing touchdowns on the season. After cracking the century mark in rushing just once over Baltimore's first five games, he's now done it three times in his last six.

While the Bengals still rank 30th against the run, we should acknowledge that they did a much better job against the Patriots' rushing attack last week than I expected. New England has struggled to run quite often this season, though, and Baltimore (now that they are getting healthy) should pose a much bigger threat.

Henry should be an easy click in cash game contests this week, as you simply can't fade him (and his touchdown equity) in this spot. However, he could be a compelling fade for GPP lineups if you think he ends up with "just" like 75 yards and a score - since he's not particularly cheap on either site.

Chase Brown ($6,500 DK, $7,200 FD)

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens

I had Chase Brown as a full fade last week against a tough Patriots front-seven, and while it didn't necessarily hurt me (he had no touchdowns and didn't do much as a receiver), I was dead wrong about his matchup as a runner. The Bengals' offensive line opened holes all day for Brown, who turned 19 carries into 107 yards on the ground.

Brown now has 100 scrimmage yards in five straight games and should continue to be one of the focal points of this offense this week against the Ravens. The Bengals are getting Samaje Perine back from injury, and it was his absence as Brown's backup that was responsible for Brown's two highest rushing shares of the season over the last two weeks (82% and 83%). However, Brown should still have plenty of touches this week and has the type of burst to break off some big gains either as a runner or a receiver.

The price continues to lag behind the production on both sites, and you could argue that Brown is easily the cheapest player on the slate with a guaranteed 15 touches, creating a very solid floor. We have also seen some of these Bengals-Ravens games turn into barnburners in recent year,s and this one just happens to have a 52-point total as of right now, too. So getting some exposure to both backs in this game should be a priority, with full game stacks on the table for GPP lineups.

Kareem Hunt ($5,300 DK, $6,400 FD)

Kansas City Chiefs at Dallas Cowboys

This blurb is going to be about both Hunt and Isaiah Pacheco, as I think one of them could be the back that helps us win the slate on Thursday. As you can see from the chart, the KC matchup against Dallas's run defense ranks second of the six teams behind only Derrick Henry and the Ravens.

While many still view the Chiefs as a passing offense with Patrick Mahomes out there slinging the ball around and winning games, that's simply not the reality in 2025, and even going back to last season, we saw this offense really start to focus on running the football more.

The Chiefs have had to throw the ball more lately as they've been in some real dogfights against the Broncos and Colts; however, Mahomes' 37 pass attempts per game this year are tied for third among NFL quarterbacks. But I think we see the Chiefs really go with a run-heavy approach this week against Dallas, even while the numbers suggest they could also do damage through the air against the Cowboys' secondary.

Kareem Hunt appreciation post.

130 scrimmage yards and a TD. 11 total first downs. pic.twitter.com/4jbl3D5oAb

— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) November 24, 2025

Hunt logged a season-high 30 carries last week and went for 104 yards and a touchdown as the Chiefs picked up their best win of the season. It's much more likely that the number comes back down to the 14-15 range, but his touchdown equity (five TDs in his last four games) gives him a lot of appeal at this price point.

And if you want to play the angle that Pacheco was held out last week to keep him fresh for this game as the lead runner, they can do that, too, as he's only 5k on DraftKings and has the explosiveness to break off a big play for a score.

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