Week 18 Fantasy Football RBs to Start in Place of Resting Players: Khalil Herbert, Blake Corum, Michael Carter and More
There are a handful of running backs who are resting this week or are a little banged up. These are the direct replacements you should start in their absence.
Khalil Herbert, Cincinnati Bengals
Chase Brown hasn't been ruled out at the time of writing this, however, reports are that it's unlikely he's able to suit up. If he is unable to play, then Herbert becomes a potential bell-cow back on an elite offense in a must-win game.
This makes him a very interesting fantasy option and the clear pivot for Brown. The matchup isn't great against the Pittsburgh Steelers, nevertheless, this role on this offense holds a ton of potential fantasy value, especially in a game that the Bengals need a whole lot more than their opponent does.
Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills
It looks like the Bills will be resting their starters this weekend, which means James Cook is not expected to play or at most be extremely limited. This leaves Ray Davis and Ty Johnson as the backs we have left to choose from. We are opting for the rookie, who has a much higher ceiling than Johnson.
Johnson will give you a nice floor if that's what you're looking for because he'll probably catch a handful of passes. Davis is the back who is more likely to have his coming-out party. Twenty-plus carries and goal-line work against a bad New England Patriots rush defense is a real possibility in this one.
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Even without some of their starters in, the Pats aren't a lock to beat up on the Bills and we expect a whole lot of ground attack from Buffalo without their starting quarterback playing.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
All year fantasy owners were waiting for the big Corum opportunity and it never came. This is the closest we are going to get to it. Kyren Williams managed to stay healthy all season, but is not expected to play in Week 18.
This will allow us to see what the rookie can bring to the table. I believe this is a case of a very average back in a very fruitful system. With that said, we have seen lesser backs have monster games in this offense quite a few times over the past few seasons. With a bell-cow workload against the Seattle Seahawks defense, he could have a breakout week.
Michael Carter, Arizona Cardinals
James Conner had never played a full season in the past and he's not going to accomplish that feat this year either. After ruining the lives of fantasy managers everywhere last week, he will not be suiting up for Week 18 due to the knee injury that should have left him inactive last week.
The next man up is Michael Carter, who saw 13 carries last week after Conner left in the first quarter and was the only running back to handle a carry for the remainder of the game. He should be in line for a heavy workload this week at home against a 49ers team that is resting any player with a bruise on their body and already has their bags packed for Cancun. We really like Carter this week.
Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles
Gainwell is a significant drop-off from Saquon Barkley, no one is debating that. However, this is still a strong offensive line that can pave the way for any back they put back there to be productive, especially when you consider they don't have a quarterback and none of their top pass-catchers are playing.
There is a chance Will Shipley ends up being the back to start, but we would bet against that in a major way. We've seen in the past in situations like this that the Eagles love to turn to Gainwell and he often times shines when given these opportunities.
D'Onta Foreman, Cleveland Browns
There is simply no one left on this offense. Nick Chubb, Jerome Ford, and Pierre Strong all have season-ending injuries and they are down to their fourth-string quarterback Bailey Zappe. The matchup is horrible in Baltimore, but this is purely a volume play. It's hard to imagine Foreman not seeing at least 20 opportunities in this game out of pure necessity.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, New Orleans Saints
No one saw this coming a few weeks ago, but CEH will be the lead back for the Saints in their season finale. Alvin Kamara's season is over due to a groin injury and Kendre Miller has been ruled out with a concussion. That leaves just CEH and Jamaal Williams, who is completely washed.
Last week once Miller went down, Edwards-Helaire stepped into the starting role and should see a much higher percentage of the snaps this week after having more time to learn the system and get starters reps. If the Saints are able to move the ball at all, it will be courtesy of CEH.
Carson Steele, Kansas City Chiefs
Isiah Pacheco has been ruled out with an ankle injury for Week 18 and Kareem Hunt is listed as doubtful because they want to keep him healthy for the playoffs. That leaves Steele and Samaje Perine.
We don't expect Perine's role to change too much from what it usually is as the third-down and pass-catching back. There is also a chance they rest Perine a bit more than usual to keep him healthy as well. This is a bit of a gut feeling, but we expect Steele to see the vast majority of the carries in this one.
