Wild Card Round Fantasy Football Running Back Tiers

Fantasy football in the playoffs is … weird, for lack of a better word. Even though this is technically a “Start/Sit” article, I imagine the vast majority of people playing fantasy in the playoffs (and reading this article) are playing some kind of DFS instead of a traditional fantasy format where you have to set a lineup. 

With that in mind, instead of designating individual players as “starts” and “sits,” I'll be breaking the Wild Card running back options into tiers based on how confident I would feel relying on them in any fantasy format. This will make more sense with some examples, so let's get right into it. 

For more help with your toughest playoff fantasy football start/sit decisions, check out FantasySP's NFL Start/Sit tool!

Wild Card Round Running Back Tiers

Tier 1: Christian McCaffrey 

• Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

I considered making a first tier that included McCaffrey and a couple of the most exciting names from the next tier. But at the end of the day, I just feel so much better about CMC than any other running back who will be suiting up this weekend. 

McCaffrey scored 21.5 half-PPR points per game this season. James Cook, the next-best RB on a playoff team, was at just 16.8. That's really all there is to this. 

Tier 2: Other Bell Cows

• James Cook, Buffalo Bills

• Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

• Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

• Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams

• Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars

All of these backs are excellent options that you should be very happy to get in your lineup. Each of their profiles has at least one red flag (which is why they can't be with CMC in the tier above), but those issues are easily addressed.

Cook doesn't see truly elite usage, but that's far less true this year than in previous years. Jacobs has been dealing with a knee injury but is actually off the injury report and seems good to go this week. Barkley has been mediocre all season, but the 49ers' defense is terrible. 

Williams is splitting with Blake Corum, but the Rams are by far the biggest favorite of the week. Etienne does feel like the riskiest option of this bunch, but the Bills' run defense is weak, and the Jaguars' offense is humming. At the end of the day, all of these backs are excellent options in the context of a six-game slate.

Tier 3: Elite Committee Backs and Uninspiring RB1s

• Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots

• D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears

• Woody Marks, Houston Texans

• TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots

• Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers

• Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers

• Rico Dowdle, Carolina Panthers

• Kenneth Gainwell, Pittsburgh Steelers

Now is when we get into players with massive upside, but also very real downsides. Some backs have been productive but are just in legitimate committees — looking at you, Pittsburgh and New England. Others should dominate their teams' backfields, but are in uninspiring offenses with low totals (Dowdle and Marks). 

The player I'm probably closest to moving up a tier is Swift. He cedes non-negligible work to Kyle Monangai, but the Bears' offense is run-heavy enough that he still usually gets his. Still, this NFC North matchup is a pick ‘em with a relatively low total, and Swift isn't a true bell-cow — he would stick out like a sore thumb in the tier above. 

Finally, we have Hampton, who is one of the only backs on this slate with a genuine injury concern heading into the playoffs. The rookie didn't practice on Wednesday while dealing with an ankle issue. Even if he plays, he's not likely to see a full workload. If anything, he might slide down a tier (or be removed entirely) if we don't get positive news about his health soon. 

Tier 4: Lower Committee Backs and Heavily-Involved Backups

• Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams

• Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears

• Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers

• Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers

Of the backs in this group, Hubbard is closest to being his team's RB1 — he played 43% of Carolina's snaps and saw only two fewer opportunities than Dowdle (seven to nine) in Week 18. But the Panthers are 10.5-point underdogs despite being at home this week, so it's hard to get too excited about him.

Conversely, Corum is in by far the most tempting environment this week, but his share of the Rams' offense is the lowest of these four backs. Monangai is a legit 1B to Swift's 1A, but (as mentioned) the Bears' situation this week is mediocre. 

Vidal is a wild card — his reasonable expectation depends entirely on how much (if at all) we expect Hampton to play. If the rookie is out, Vidal will easily jump into Tier 3. Even if Hampton plays, this was a 1A/1B situation the last time we saw both backs healthy, so I wouldn't move Vidal out of this tier. 

Tier 5: Dart Throws

• Jawhar Jordan, Houston Texans

• Ty Johnson, Buffalo Bills

• Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars

• Emanuel Wilson, Green Bay Packers

• Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco 49ers

• Brian Robinson Jr., San Francisco 49ers

• LeQuint Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars

• Everyone Else

Every other running back on this slate is nothing more than a pure dart throw. Still, some dart throws have more hope than others. The names I have listed are good bets to see at least a few touches … but that doesn't mean you should be putting them in any kind of lineup unless you have a very specific reason or no other options. 

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasySP. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.