Devin Neal Climbs Week 15 Running Back Projections, Updated Rankings

Devin Neal surges up the Week 15 fantasy football running back projections as updated rankings highlight key risers, busts, and matchup-driven opportunities.

New Orleans Saints running back Devin Neal (24) carries the ball as Miami Dolphins linebacker K.J. Britt (3) defends during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Finding winning running backs in Week 14 was a challenge. Only five players scored over 20.00 fantasy points in PPR formats, with Jahmyr Gibbs (37.00 fantasy points) being the only stud play to show up. 

Tony Pollard broke an early 65-yard touchdown against the Browns, setting up his best game (25/161/2) of the year by a wide margin. Over his previous nine games, he had fewer than 15 rushing attempts in each matchup. Cleveland came into the week with the top-five rushing defense, which makes his success even more impressive.

The fantasy market may gravitate to Blake Corum as a start this week after a career game (12/128/2 with one catch for three yards), but he was only on the field for 31% of the Rams' plays (31%, 34%, and 33% over his previous three matchups). His success (26.10 fantasy points) was driven by three long runs (18, 17, and 48 yards).

• RJ Harvey (22.00 fantasy points)
• Travis Etienne (21.20 fantasy points)

Best 2025 Fantasy Football Running Backs

Here are the top 12 running backs ranked by scoring average in PPR leagues after 14 weeks:

• Christian McCaffrey (25.27)
• Jonathan Taylor (23.85)
• Jahmyr Gibbs (22.66)
• De’Von Achane (20.92)
• Bijan Robinson (20.48)
• James Cook (18.27)
• Javonte Williams (16.31)
• Josh Jacobs (16.06)
• Kyren Williams (15.76)
• Derrick Henry (14.65)
• Travis Etienne (14.60)
• Saquon Barkley (14.48)

Week 14 Running Back Bust

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7) carries the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the first half of a game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

Consistency has been an issue for Robinson over the past five weeks, leading to him having success in every other game (10.80, 30.30, 14.70, 30.30, and 10.40 fantasy points). The Falcons gave him 20 carries last week, but he could only muster 86 yards vs. the stout Seahawks run defense while chipping in with two catches for eight yards. 

Runner Up: Breece Hall (4.30 fantasy points) gained only 43 rushing yards on 14 carries last week. The Jets continue to fade his role in the passing game (no catches on one target), which is a mystery considering his receiving talent. Hall only has four touchdowns on the year and nine games with two catches or fewer.

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Each week, I’ll release my depth charts and projections on Wednesday, with a neutral eye informed by hints from previous results or in-season injuries. These statistics represent baseline outlooks, with their potential already factored in. Touchdowns create impact scores and winning fantasy days, especially in non-PPR formats. Who scores them each week is the Holy Grail that the fantasy market searches for weekly.

My projections will be ranked, and they won’t resemble the weekly consensus in any way. My man, Matt Brandon, is in charge of finding a balance between my player outlooks and the public view of each week's rankings.

Week 15 Fantasy Football Running Back Projections Preview

Here’s a look at our opening Week 15 top 12 running back projections:

Shawn Childs

Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

The theme for 2025 has been star players bouncing back from bust games with impact showings. Robinson draws the number running back seed in Week 15 in a road matchup with the Buccaneers. His play has been better at home (22.97 fantasy points in PPR formats), partly due to scoring five of his seven touchdowns in Atlanta. Robinson gained 885 combined yards with two touchdowns and 31 catches on the road over seven contests, giving him a high floor that needs touchdowns to reach impact status.

Tampa Bay fell to 20th in running back defense (308.70 fantasy points). They allow short rushing attempts per game (20.5) but show downside covering running backs in the passing game (59/701/4 – 11.9 yards per catch), which is why Robinson gets bonus points for this matchup.

• Bijan Robinson (12/24 with six catches for 100 yards and one touchdown)
• Jahmyr Gibbs (17/136/2 with three catches for 82 yards)
• TreVeyon Henderson (14/147/2 with one catch for three yards)
• James Cook (114 combined yards with one touchdown and three catches)
• Bam Knight (98 combined yards with one touchdown and three catches)

Robinson must pick up scoring down the stretch to make a run at his final 2024 rushing stats (304/1,456/14). He’s well on his way to 2,000 combined yards with career-highs in receiving production.

Devin Neal, New Orleans Saints

The Saints had Neal on the field for 74%, 82%, and 71% of their plays over the past three weeks. He comes off his best NFL game (19/70/1 with one catch for 14 yards) with an uptick in play in Week 13 (69 combined yards with three catches on 17 touches). Over his previous three matchups, Neal had a reasonable floor in catches (3/9, 5/43, and 3/22). He has two favorable matchups at home (CAR and NYJ) over the next two weeks.

Carolina comes into this week ranked 23rd vs. running backs (296/1,411/13 – 4.8 yards per carry with 62 catches for 380 yards and two touchdowns on eighty targets). The Jets have the fourth-worst defense against running backs (354/1,569/16 with 44 catches for 356 yards and four touchdowns).

• Travis Etienne (156 combined yards with three catches)
• Bijan Robinson (111 combined yards with five catches)
• James Cook (19/216/2)
• Josh Jacobs (100 combined yards with one touchdown and four catches)
• Bijan Robinson (143 combined yards with two touchdowns and four catches)
• Christian McCaffrey (142 combined yards with one touchdown and seven catches)
• Rams running backs (20/153/2)

In my early projections. I have Neal ranked as an RB2 option on a path to 71 combined yards with three catches and a 75% chance of scoring. 

Click HERE to view our full Week 15 Fantasy Football Running Back Projections!