Week 16 of the fantasy football season has arrived, and it’s more important than ever to know which players deserve a place in your starting lineup. Considering player talent, recent form, and matchups, we’ve put together our PFSN consensus Week 16 RB rankings.
These rankings were last updated at 7:00 AM ET on Sunday, December 21, 2025.
Week 16 RB Fantasy Rankings
1) Christian McCaffrey | San Francisco 49ers (at IND)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | Detroit Lions (vs. PIT)
3) Bijan Robinson | Atlanta Falcons (at ARI)
4) De’Von Achane | Miami Dolphins (vs. CIN)
5) James Cook | Buffalo Bills (at CLE)
6) Josh Jacobs | Green Bay Packers (at CHI)
7) Saquon Barkley | Philadelphia Eagles (at WAS)
8) Jonathan Taylor | Indianapolis Colts (vs. SF)
9) Chase Brown | Cincinnati Bengals (at MIA)
10) Woody Marks | Houston Texans (vs. LV)
11) Travis Etienne Jr. | Jacksonville Jaguars (at DEN)
12) TreVeyon Henderson | New England Patriots (at BAL)
13) Bucky Irving | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at CAR)
14) Javonte Williams | Dallas Cowboys (vs. LAC)
15) RJ Harvey | Denver Broncos (vs. JAX)
16) Derrick Henry | Baltimore Ravens (vs. NE)
17) D’Andre Swift | Chicago Bears (vs. GB)
18) Kyren Williams | Los Angeles Rams (at SEA)
19) Aaron Jones Sr. | Minnesota Vikings (at NYG)
20) Quinshon Judkins | Cleveland Browns (vs. BUF)
21) Breece Hall | New York Jets (at NO)
22) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | New York Giants (vs. MIN)
23) Omarion Hampton | Los Angeles Chargers (at DAL)
24) Rico Dowdle | Carolina Panthers (vs. TB)
25) Jaylen Warren | Pittsburgh Steelers (at DET)
26) Tony Pollard | Tennessee Titans (vs. KC)
27) Michael Carter | Arizona Cardinals (vs. ATL)
28) Rhamondre Stevenson | New England Patriots (at BAL)
29) Kenneth Gainwell | Pittsburgh Steelers (at DET)
30) Ashton Jeanty | Las Vegas Raiders (at HOU)
31) Zach Charbonnet | Seattle Seahawks (vs. LAR)
32) Kenneth Walker III | Seattle Seahawks (vs. LAR)
33) Kimani Vidal | Los Angeles Chargers (at DAL)
34) David Montgomery | Detroit Lions (vs. PIT)
35) Chuba Hubbard | Carolina Panthers (vs. TB)
36) Kyle Monangai | Chicago Bears (vs. GB)
37) Kareem Hunt | Kansas City Chiefs (at TEN)
38) Blake Corum | Los Angeles Rams (at SEA)
39) Devin Singletary | New York Giants (vs. MIN)
40) Tyjae Spears | Tennessee Titans (vs. KC)
41) Jordan Mason | Minnesota Vikings (at NYG)
42) Audric Estimé | New Orleans Saints (vs. NYJ)
43) Evan Hull | New Orleans Saints (vs. NYJ)
44) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | Washington Commanders (vs. PHI)
45) Tyler Allgeier | Atlanta Falcons (at ARI)
46) Rachaad White | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at CAR)
47) Samaje Perine | Cincinnati Bengals (at MIA)
48) Isiah Pacheco | Kansas City Chiefs (at TEN)
49) Brian Robinson Jr. | San Francisco 49ers (at IND)
50) Jeremy McNichols | Washington Commanders (vs. PHI)
Woody Marks, RB, Houston Texans (vs. LV)
I am trusting that the reporting on Woody Marks’ injury is accurate. Head coach DeMeco Ryans said after the game that Marks could have returned, but with the outcome never in doubt, they played it safe. If this is true, then it stands to reason Marks will be good to go this weekend.
Nick Chubb didn’t play last week with a rib injury, but that really doesn’t matter. Even if he returns, Marks’ role will remain unchanged. This is a true bellcow situation where Marks is playing as much as he possibly can. The backfield belongs to the rookie.
Prior to last week’s injury-shortened contest, Marks was averaging 18.6 carries per game over his previous five. The passing game usage is not where a player with his collegiate receiving profile should be, but the role is fantastic.
Marks won’t need receiving work to dominate a Raiders defense allowing the seventh-most fantasy points per game to running backs.
The Texans should be able to do exactly what they want to this week: control the game with running and defense. A healthy Marks is in line for 20+ opportunities and a good bet to find the end zone. He is an RB1 as long as his ankle checks out okay. In the unlikely event Marks cannot go, Jawhar Jordan would firmly be on the RB2 radar.
Aaron Jones Sr. | MIN (at NYG)
Aaron Jones has one year left on his deal, and it’s becoming evident that Kevin O’Connell believes he adds enough stability to this backfield to give J.J. McCarthy a chance at developing.
Jones has 29 touches over the past two weeks and is running roughly four routes for every one from Jordan Mason. My expectations are low for this offense, but if you’re reading into them scoring 65 points over the past two weeks with McCarthy playing better, then Jones deserves a top-15 ranking against the worst run defense in the NFL by EPA.
I’ve got him ranked well ahead of Mason, more in the low-end RB2, high-end flex tier due to my concerns about his scoring equity (two TDs on 116 touches this season).
Alvin Kamara | NO (vs NYJ)
Alvin Kamara missed a third straight game with this knee/ankle injury, and there’s little reason to think that the 30-year-old is going to return in a meaningful way (if at all) for fantasy managers.
The veteran back is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry this season and hasn’t earned more than three targets in a game since the first half of October. The one-time fantasy difference maker has been unable to return any value for the majority of the season, and a potentially compromised version of him is unlikely to reverse that trend.
New Orleans has shown some fight down the stretch with a young nucleus: I’m anticipating that they lean into that over the final few weeks of the season, and that means that Kamara, even if deemed healthy enough to play, won’t project for enough work as part of a well-below-average offense to crack lineups.
Ashton Jeanty | LV (at HOU)
How crazy is it that I’m looking at Ashton Jeanty’s nine-carry 35-yard performance in Philadelphia on Sunday as a win?
Man, this season hasn’t gone as planned.
In the shutout loss, Jeanty gained yardage on every carry he got. The game script worked away from him, and averaging a tick over one yard per target is a problem, but there was a glimmer of league-average blocking, and it made me smile.
If you spent up on Jeanty, you’re either not reading this, not reading this about that league, or just in it for my witty banter.
I appreciate you all the same, regardless, so let’s try to appeal to all three of those situations.
If Jeanty costs you this season, do not use that as an excuse to make an error in 2026. We don’t yet know what this situation looks like for next season, obviously, and I don’t think we have enough data to say that Jeanty isn’t the generational runner we thought he was.
Of the bottom-5 teams in RB yards per carry before contact last season, four of them rank 16th or better in 2025 (Miami, Tennessee, New England, and Pittsburgh). Run blocking is a skill, but the difference between historically bad and league-average is reasonably small, and a tweak here and there can change things significantly.
Jeanty has been better than the traditional RB average before contact on just 44.5% of his carries this season, ranking him 42nd of 43 running backs. But stick with me here.
If we get him to league average in this regard, that’d be roughly an 11 percentage point bump. It may sound simplistic, but when Jeanty picks up 2+ yards before contact this season, he’s averaging 6.4 yards per carry (under two yards before contact: 2.3 yards per carry).
You’re not here to watch me spin numbers, so I’ll cut to the chase. An 11 percentage-point increase works out to an extra 6-7 rush yards per game, with an uptick in scoring trajectory. That may not sound like much, but I promise you that it is.
That figure is based solely on his current volume, but if each carry is worth a little more, each drive has a little more hope of extending, and extended drives mean more touches. More touches mean more points.
It’s a complicated statistical argument that is simple in practice: a slight improvement can have a significant result. Think of it like cinnamon: a pinch more and the product changes.
After a slow start, Jeanty’s 17-game pace is for 90 targets. Everything you dreamed possible for 2025 is still on the table for 2026 if this offensive line trends toward league-average.
As for Week 16, he’s a flex at best. The Texans haven’t allowed an RB to hit a dozen PPR points in six of their past 12 games, a run that includes offenses in Jacksonville, Baltimore, and Kansas City that carry more ways to threaten this elite defense than what Vegas is trotting out there weekly.
TLDR: Consider benching Jeanty this week and consider reinvesting in 2026. Fantasy football can be complicated.
