Week 15 Fantasy Football AFC Backfield Update: Najee Harris vs. Jaylen Warren, Raheem Mostert vs. De'Von Achane, Keaton Mitchell vs. Gus Edwards and More

As the NFL regular season winds down and fantasy playoffs get going, fantasy owners are always wondering which running backs are safe to play and which ones should be benched.

Let’s take a look at the backfield situations for AFC teams and then predict how things might look in week 15.

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including predictive waiver analytics to help prioritize waiver pickups, projections, auction values, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. Use our fantasy football trade analyzer to break down trade scenarios.

Patriots Backfield Fantasy Outlook

New England’s backfield is pretty simple right now because of the injury to Rhamondre Stevenson. Ezekiel Elliott will serve as the lead back until Stevenson returns.

Stevenson was serving as the No. 1 back this season before his injury, but Elliott was still getting a decent amount of work. Without Stevenson around, Elliott had 29 touches, 140 yards and a touchdown in week 14.

Stevenson was expected to miss multiple weeks, so Elliott is likely at least starting in week 15, which means he should be in your starting lineup if you picked him up. 

Jets Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Breece Hall has been the Jets’ workhorse all season, and there’s no reason to believe that will stop now. Dalvin Cook has served as Hall’s backup, but hasn’t done much all season.

Cook does have 18 touches over the past two weeks, but Hall is at least 18 touches those weeks. After going for 126 total yards and a touchdown in week 14, Hall should be confidently started in week 15.

Bills Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Buffalo looked to be trending toward a committee between James Cook, Ty Johnson and Latavius Murray, but Cook tallied four more touches than the other two backs combined last week.

Cook was efficient with his touches too, gaining 141 yards and scoring once in week 14. Johnson was held to 21 yards on seven touches and Murray had 30 yards on four touches.

Cook is the best starting option going into week 15. Johnson and Murray are both guys I’d avoid in standard leagues, and probably deeper leagues too seeing the Bills matching up with the Dallas Cowboys.

Dolphins Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Raheem Mostert led Miami’s backfield in touches in week 14. He went for 100 total yards and two scores. De’Von Achane got 12 touches and tallied 71 total yards.

Achane got 20 touches to just 12 for Mostert in week 13, so this is a trickier backfield to predict. Miami plays a Jets’ defense that allows 24 fantasy points to opposing RB, so most fantasy owners are going to start Mostert and Achane this coming week. That’s how I’d approach things until a better pattern is shown.

Ravens Backfield Fantasy Outlook

As many FantasySP experts have predicted, Keaton Mitchell appears to be taking over as Baltimore’s No. 1 back. He got 10 touches and tallied 62 total yards in week 14. Gus Edwards tallied just 15 yards on six touches.

Mitchell has at least nine touches in each of the team’s past three games. Edwards has gone from 14 touches to nine and then six over the past three weeks.

Mitchell is the guy you’d want to start in week 15. Playing a tougher Jaguars’ defense, I’d try to avoid Edwards unless it’s a deeper league.

Steelers Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren have split the workload this season in Pittsburgh. Harris has gotten more touches than Warren in three of the past four games.

Harris had 15 touches and went for 48 total yards in week 14. Warren had 40 total yards on 11 touches.

Against a weak Colts’ run defense, I’d feel pretty good about starting Harris or Warren in week 15.

Bengals Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Joe Mixon has dominated the backfield this season in Cincinnati, but Chase Brown has also played his way into a larger role over the past few weeks.

Mixon went for 125 total yards and a touchdown in week 14 and should be confidently started in week 15. 

Brown has 20 touches over the past two weeks, and exploded for 105 total yards and a touchdown on 11 touches this past week. He’s a hot name on the waiver wire this week, but is probably someone you should avoid starting this week as the Vikings’ defense only allows 18 fantasy points to opposing RBs per week.

Browns Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt have carried the Cleveland backfield after the early-season injury to Nick Chubb.

Last week, Ford went for 82 total yards on 17 touches, while Hunt had 30 total yards and a touchdown on 11 touches. 

Ford is the guy you’ll want to start in week 15 against the Bears, but Hunt also might be a flex option seeing as Chicago allows 24 points to opposing RBs per week.

Texans Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Houston’s backfield has been tricky to assess lately. Devin Singletary led the team with Dameon Pierce out, and then Pierce looked like he regained the lead role in week 13, only to get eight less touches than Singletary in week 14.

Singletary had 65 total yards on 13 touches last week, while Pierce had 7 yards on five touches.

The backs have an average matchup ahead in week 15 against the Titans. Singletary is my guess to be the lead back, but I wouldn’t feel great about playing him. Both backs are good starting options in deeper leagues.

Titans Backfield Fantasy Outlook

For as good as Tyjae Spears has played, the Tennessee backfield is still led by Derrick Henry.

Henry went for 51 total yards and two touchdowns on 18 touches in week 14. Spears had 118 total yards on 13 touches.

Their week 15 matchup with the Texans is an average one, so it’s a bit harder to justify starting both guys, but that’s what I’d try to do. Henry should make his mark as a ball carrier, while Spears has the chance to earn a good amount of fantasy points as a pass catcher.

Colts Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Zack Moss has served as Indianapolis’ lead back the past couple weeks with Jonathan Taylor out. Taylor is expected to return this season, but the uncertain return clouds the team’’s backfield as a whole.

Moss had 56 total yards on 17 touches in week 14. No other backs on the team had over three touches.

Even after a down showing, Moss is still a fantasy starter for week 15 against the Steelers. If Taylor ends up playing, that’s a breakdown we’ll probably cover later in the week, so check back for that.

Jaguars Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Jacksonville’s backfield almost entirely belongs to Travis Etienne. D’Ernest Johnson has gotten between 5-8 touches the past four games, but hasn’t done much with his looks.

Etienne went for 72 yards and a touchdown in week 14. Johnson tallied 28 yards on five touches.

Etienne is a must start as a workhorse back, even when the team faces a tough defense, like it is in week 15 against the Ravens. I’d avoid Johnson in all formats seeing the matchup.

Broncos Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Javonte Williams won the Denver backfield several weeks back and has at least 13 touches over the past four weeks. Samaje Perine and Jaleel McLaughlin also get several touches a week.

Williams went for 91 total yards and a score in week 14. Perine had 44 total yards on seven touches, while McLaughlin had 32 total yards on six touches.

The Broncos have the Lions in week 15, which is a tough matchup for backs. I’d only feel comfortable starting Williams, and even he might not put up average numbers if Perine and McLaughlin get as much work as this past week.

Chiefs Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Isiah Pacheco owned the Kansas City backfield all season, but he’s injured now. If he’s forced to miss additional games, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon will split the workload.

Edwards-Helaire had 68 total yards on 13 touches in week 14, while McKinnon had 37 yards and a touchdown on seven touches.

The Chiefs play the Patriots this week, which is a bit tougher matchup for backs. I’d lean toward starting McKinnon over Edwards-Helaire given the former’s pass-catching ability. If Pacheco plays, then you can start him and avoid the other two.

Raiders Backfield Fantasy Outlook

Josh Jacobs dominates the Las Vegas backfield, but now he’s injured. The Raiders play Thursday against the Chargers, so it seems unlikely that Jacobs would play, meaning Ameer Abdullah and Zamir White are likely going to split the workload.

Abdullah is the guy you’d want to play after playing 15 snaps and tallying 19 total yards on three touches. White had 8 yards on two touches across five snaps last week.

I’d try to avoid starting both unless you have no other options, even with a favorable matchup ahead.

Chargers Backfield Fantasy Outlook

There was a report that Austin Ekeler would lose snaps and touches to Isaiah Spiller and Joshua Kelley in week 14. 

Ekeler responded with 100 total yards and a touchdown on 15 touches. Spiller tallied 19 yards on six touches, while Kelley had 6 yards on three touches. 

In a pretty favorable matchup against the Raiders, and now without quarterback Justin Herbert, I’d roll with Ekeler as the top starting option. Spiller and Kelley should also get more touches, but unless they score, it likely won’t result in a strong enough fantasy outing.