Fantasy Football Trade Value Chart Week 12: Running Backs

RSJ’s Jackson Barrett created a value-based drafting Excel tool to create the preseason values for this Fantasy Football Trade Value Chart. The tool uses the FantasyPros consensus projections to assign values based on a 12-team, full PPR league.

Each week throughout the season, these values will be altered to reflect the player’s value for the rest of the season. Changes made to player’s value will be based on FantasyPros Rest of Season ECR, results from the season thus far, and The Wolf’s Rest of Season Rankings. But for the most part, the below values should generally reflect consensus rankings. The values provided also allow for comparing player values across positions, not just within one positional group.

For more information on how to make successful deals, check out our strategies for negotiating trades.

Be sure to tune back each week throughout the season. We’ll be adjusting the chart, discussing risers & fallers, and pinpointing trade targets.

The trade value chart for each position is linked below.

Fantasy Football Week 12 Trade Value Chart: Running Backs

Running Back Riser

Chase Brown continues to operate in a bell cow role in Cincinnati. In the last three weeks, Brown has played 85 percent and handled 100 percent of the backfield opportunities.

This is arguably the most valuable role in all of fantasy. Combined with Brown’s explosivity and the overall quality of the Bengals’ offense, you’re looking at one of fantasy’s most valuable running backs. Fantasy Points’ expected fantasy points model agrees with them and they have him slated at 27.2 expected fantasy points per game across the last week.

It’s clear that the Bengals don’t fully trust Brown in pass protection as tight end Drew Sample was getting backfield snaps on passing plays. Even still, Brown faces little resistance to maintaining a workhorse role for the rest of the year.

Running Back Faller

Anyone with two eyes and some knowledge of fantasy football could have told you that Kareem Hunt’s fantasy value has almost exclusively been driven by his workload. Hunt has lacked the explosivity and general playmaking ability to be a difference-maker in the Kansas City offense.

In seven games with the Chiefs, Hunt has averaged 17.9 weighted opportunities per game which ranked 5th among all running backs. Hunt has ridden that workload to 15.2 PPR points per game and five games as an RB2 or better.

Well, Hunt’s free ride is soon coming to a close. Isaiah Pacheco returned to practice last week and could be back in action as soon as Week 12. As soon as Pacheco is back on the field, Hunt is virtually unstartable in fantasy. Even if Pacheco is eased back into things, Hunt simply doesn’t have the talent to overcome a committee.

Running Back Trade Target

Bijan Robinson can be the focal point of fantasy rosters that make a run to the fantasy championship. If you have the pieces to go out and trade for an elite running back, that running back should be Robinson.

Robinson has been feasting over the last month and a half and has finally had the fantasy production to match his elite talent. Prior to Week 11, Robinson had at least 100 yards from scrimmage in five straight games, clearing 21 PPR points in all five games.

He was the RB1 overall during this stretch and it’s not a stretch to think he could be the RB1 during the fantasy playoffs. Atlanta will square off with the Raiders, Giants, and Commanders during this three-game stretch. Las Vegas and Washington are top-10 fantasy matchups for running backs while New York ranks at the bottom of the barrel in nearly every rushing efficiency metric. Robinson could quite easily run buck-wild for three weeks and carry teams to glory.

Tier 1: The Elites

Tier 2: RB1 Options

Tier 3: RB2 Options

Tier 4: Matchup-Based Starters

Tier 5: Bench Assets and Handcuffs