Fantasy Football Week 14 Running Back Start Decision: Zach Charbonnet, Braelon Allen, Isaac Guerendo, Rico Dowdle, Isiah Pacheco and More

As the Sunday round of week 14 NFL games are about to kick in, we need to discuss some trending fantasy football players in start/sit conversations.

Here, we’ll focus on two backups getting starts today, Braelon Allen and Zach Charbonnet. We’ll compare them against Isiah Pacheco, Najee Harris, Nick Chubb, Chuba Hubbard, Isaac Guerendo, Rico Dowdle, Aaron Jones and Tyrone Tracy.

Looking for start/sit help? Be sure to check out the FantasySP Who Should I Start tool.

Fantasy Outlooks

It doesn’t make sense to compare season stats because the backups numbers will pale in comparison to some of these season-long starters.

Allen should be in line for the start and be the No. 1 back for the Jets with Breece Hall now ruled out for Sunday. I wrote about him in depth here.

Charbonnet will be the starter for the Seahawks with Kenneth Walker III being downgraded to out as well. Charbonnet got a couple starts earlier in the season with Walker banged up and delivered some solid results.

Pacheco returned to the field last week and had 49 total yards on just eight touches. After a couple extra days off, I expect Pacheco to be even more involved in week 14.

Harris has enjoyed a pretty good season, scoring in double figures as a fantasy performer in all but three times - he’s only missed that mark once in the past 10 games.

Chubb hasn’t had a very consistent offensive role since returning to the field, but he’s scored three total touchdowns over the past two weeks and has tallied 32 fantasy points over that span.

Hubbard had been a good weekly fantasy option most of the season, but only scored two fantasy points last week. Jonathon Brooks got a bit more involved last week, and fantasy owners are wondering if that will continue, or if both backs might be fantasy relevant.

Guerendo is the new starter for the Niners after Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason were placed on the injured reserve list. He’s shown flashes of being a good fantasy back in his backup role this season.

Dowdle is coming off one of his better fantasy showings of the season, and got a little extra time off, so he should be ready to go for week 14.

Meanwhile, Jones’ fantasy outlook is really murky after only getting eight touches last week. He’s had a fumbling problem of late, and fantasy owners are wondering if Jones is still going to the Vikings lead back.

Tracy is the lead back for the Giants, but has barely gotten over 10 touches in the past two games, making him a tough fantasy back to trust.

Week 14 Matchups

Allen will take on the Dolphins this week. Miami is pretty average when it comes to allowing fantasy points to opposing running backs, but they do allow nearly a rushing touchdown per game.

Jones will go up against the Falcons. Atlanta is one of the better defenses in slowing opposing backs, but are a bit vulnerable in the pass game, so Jones might be a bit better option in PPR formats.

Tracy will face the Saints, who are bottom-10 in terms of most fantasy points allowed to running backs. New Orleans is allowing over a rushing score per game.

Hubbard will take on the Eagles this week. Philly is one of the toughest run defenses in the league. They give up a decent amount in the passing game to backs, but Hubbard isn’t really known for that.

Chubb and Harris are part of the same game. Cleveland’s defense is a borderline top-five defense when it comes to slowing opposing fantasy backs, while Pittsburgh just falls outside the top 10.

Charbonnet will face the Cardinals to kick off the afternoon slate of games. It’s a pretty average fantasy matchup, but something to note is that the Cardinals don’t allow many rushing touchdowns.

Guerendo will take on the Bears this week. That’s a slightly above-average matchup for him, with Chicago most struggling to stop the running game.

Pacheco is part of the Sunday night game against the Chargers. LA is another tough matchup, with most of them fantasy damage against them from backs coming in the passing game.

Dowdle plays on Monday night against the Bengals. It’s another average fantasy matchup - despite not a ton of total yards against that defense, Cincy is allowing a rushing score per game.

Week 14 Projections and Starting Recommendations

In the weekly PPR fantasy projections, Guerendo and Dowdle are the top backs in this group at 15 points each. Harris sits at 14 points.

Jones and Allen are projected for 13 points each, while Hubbard, Tracy and Pacheco are all at 12. Chubb is projected for 11 points. Charbonnet is at just eight.

I see why so many people are wondering what to do with these backs, because they are all really close in my book. There’s a lot of speculation involved with some of these players, and it makes it tough to rank them. My rankings come down to the back’s situation, the matchup and simply how much I trust them right now.

I’m usually pretty in line with the projections, but this week, I actually like the player with the lowest projection most. We’ve seen Charbonnet shine in the starting role in the past, and his matchup is favorable enough for me to expect a pretty good fantasy showing out of him. 

I’m more in line with the projections here and want Guerendo second. There’s definitely risk involved with this choice, but in a pretty good matchup, I want a piece of a running back in a good offense like this.

Give me Dowdle after that. He’s coming off a good game and is going up against a defense that can’t seem to stop anybody this season. The Dallas offense isn’t great, but I think on volume usage alone, Dowdle can put up a pretty good fantasy score.

I’ll take a chance on Harris here. The matchup is tough, but we’ve seen Harris be involved a good amount all year, and I’d want that starting over a back who might struggle to even reach double-digit touches.

I’d then want Pacheco. His matchup is tougher, but I expect him to be utilized more this week, and I trust his offense a lot more than some of the other remaining backs we have to choose from.

Give me Allen next. There’s more risk involved with this choice, but after serving as the clear top backup all season, I expect Allen to handle a good majority of the backfield work. In a slightly above-average matchup, I’d be fine starting Allen.

I’d take Jones here. I like his upside more than anyone remaining - now we just hope he gets enough work to rack up enough stats to deliver a good fantasy score.

Give me Chubb here. He’s been pretty touchdown dependent this season, and while a matchup against the Steelers isn’t super favorable, there’s also a decent chance he finds the end zone to bail out fantasy owners.

I’d take Tracy over Hubbard to round things out.

Hubbard is definitely the better fantasy back this season, but it’s all about the matchups here. I think Tracy could make a big play or two, while I feel Carolina will fall behind big early on and be forced to pass a lot - I see Brooks benefitting from that most, not Hubbard.

Best of luck in week 14!