The fantasy football playoffs are finally here! Congratulations if your team or teams made it into the dance. If you made the playoffs, your team likely has some solid running backs who helped you dominate the regular season. Those players will be more important than ever in a single-elimination playoff format.
The Week 15 slate in the NFL features a few juicy matchups for fantasy football running backs. But there are also a few star players who are set up to have a bad week.
Let's explore which running back you need to start or sit during Week 15 of the 2025 fantasy football season.
Start ‘Em
Christian McCaffrey, SF (vs. TEN)
I don't usually go obvious with these picks, but I want to shout out CMC before the fantasy playoffs.
McCaffrey deserves a ton of respect for bouncing back from his injury-plagued 2024 season. Especially considering that he is one of the few legitimate playmakers on San Francisco's offense.
CMC has been playing out of his mind in 2025 and is back to being a fantasy football monster, particularly in PPR leagues. He has 237 carries for 849 rushing yards and eight touchdowns headed into Week 15. But his receiving stats are even more impressive, with 85 receptions for 806 yards and six touchdowns.
San Francisco's offense truly runs through McCaffrey, which makes him a must-start in fantasy.
He gets the nod as a start in Week 15 because the 49ers are going up against a bad Titans team. Tennessee's defense is not terrible, but overall they do not have the talent to compete with San Fran.
I can see CMC getting a ton of touches, including garbage time work, if this game gets out of hand. Which it probably will.
Start McCaffrey and watch him carry you to the second round of the fantasy playoffs.
Chris Rodriguez, WAS (vs. NYG)
This is Rodriguez's backfield now.
The third-year running back has taken over as the lead back for Washington. It is not a contest between him and Jacory Croskey-Merritt for touches. That would have seemed unthinkable in the fall, but here we are.
Rodriguez's situation alone makes him a viable starting option. But there are other reasons to like him as a start for the fantasy football playoffs.
First, Marcus Mariota is probably the starter this week after Jayden Daniels reaggravated his left elbow injury on Sunday. That could mean a run-heavy game script for Washington, which would obviously be great news for Rodriguez.
There's also the matchup against the Giants to consider.
New York has allowed 154.2 rushing yards per game heading into Week 15. That is 31st in the NFL, with only the Bengals giving up more rushing yards. Yet another reason to take a bet on him.
Rodriguez may not be able to hang with the top dogs this week, but he is the perfect waiver wire addition who could end up providing low-end RB2 production.
Woody Marks, HOU (vs. ARI)
My apologies for calling Woody a sit in Week 14.
Marks played well last week and even hauled in a receiving touchdown to make himself extremely fantasy relevant. He has a chance to one-up that performance in Week 15.
Nick Chubb is currently dealing with a rib injury and his availability for Sunday's game is a complete unknown.
If Chubb does not play, the Texans will use Marks early and often.
Houston is playing for their playoff lives and are much more talented than Arizona. I can easily this this becoming a one-sided game.
If the Texans do dominate, that could be great news for Woody.
A positive game script could mean plenty of running plays to establish a rhythm for Houston's offense. And to melt away the clock once they have a big enough lead.
Just like Rodriguez, Marks may not be the RB1 on the week. But his easily path to a huge workload makes him extremely valuable for the fantasy football playoffs.
Other Starts: Travis Etienne Jr., JAX (vs. NYJ); Derrick Henry, BAL (at CIN)
Sit'Em
Kyren Williams, LAR (vs. DET)
Williams is losing his job to Blake Corum right before our eyes.
Look no further than Week 14, when Corum and Williams had an equal workload. However, Corum made the most of it by going over 125 rushing yards and scoring two touchdowns.
This doesn't mean that Corum is the new lead back, but it does mean plenty of competition for Kyren. We don't like that in fantasy.
LA plays Detroit in Week 15, a team with one of the league's best run defense units. That could make rushing yards hard to come by in general before factoring in splitting the carries.
Meanwhile, the Lions have a wounded secondary that is missing Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. That alone could make this a Matthew Stafford to Puka Nacua game.
Detroit will be running the ball too. If both teams are churning the clock, that will shorten the game and take away additional opportunities to run the football.
It still feels weird saying it, especially for the fantasy football playoffs, but sit Kyren this week.
David Montgomery, DET (at LAR)
It's the Jahmyr Gibbs show in Detroit now. And the disparity between Gibbs and Montgomery is much wider than it was in 2024.
Montgomery has become a touchdown-dependent fantasy asset, which in and of itself is not an issue. But his diminishing opportunities at the goal line certainly do.
Knuckles only has seven touchdowns on the season, compared to 12 in 2024 and 13 in 2023. He's a decent flex play, but nothing more than that.
Don't start Montgomery over a different back with a better chance for more consistent production.
Omarion Hampton, LAC (at KC)
I believe that Hampton has a bright future in LA. But we're talking about Week 15 here.
Hampton is coming off a major injury and is currently sharing the backfield with Kimani Vidal.
Neither player was incredible at running the football against Philly and the pair shared an even workload. While that could certainly change, I wouldn't bet on it when a playoff game is on the line.
Personally, I would stay away from both of them in Week 15.
Other Sits: Tony Pollard, TEN (at SF); Breece Hall, NYJ (vs. JAX)
