Ezekiel Elliott will miss the first game of his career due to injury, making Tony Pollard a clear Week 15 play against the 49ers in Dallas as a flex or even RB2 with upside.

Ronald Jones will miss Week 15 after having surgery to have a pin inserted into his pinky earlier in the week, plus he was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Wednesday.  

Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians said Leonard Fournette would start for the Buccaneers withJones out. If he's on your bench, or on your waiver wire, the solution is pretty simple: I project Fournette as a top-30 back without Jones. His team is implied to scored four touchdowns by Vegas, so he has decent touchdown odds. 

If you need to go to the waiver wire and Fournette isn't there, things gets complicated. Jeff Wilson, Benny Snell and Lynn Bowden could all be legitimate starters but they're all dependent on the status of the starter on their team. Wilson is a good flex even with Raheem Mostert active, so that makes him the top priority. 

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More Week 15: Start 'Em & Sit 'Em | Starts & Sits, Sleepers & Risks | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: QB | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: QB | Start 'Em & Sit 'Em: RB | Waiver Wire | QB Preview | RB Preview | WR Preview | TE Preview | Trade Values | Cut List | Winners | Losers

Week 15 RB Preview

Who's Out
Numbers to Know
Matchups That Matter
Waiver Wire Targets
DFS Plays
Projections
RB Preview
Who's Out

The following players are being projected as out for Week 15:

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Who's Out
Projections powered by Sportsline
Christian McCaffrey RB
SF San Francisco • #23
Age: 27 • Experience: 8 yrs.
Myles Gaskin RB
MIN Minnesota • #33
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.
Ronald Jones RB
DAL Dallas • #32
Age: 26 • Experience: 6 yrs.
Ezekiel Elliott RB
DAL Dallas • #15
Age: 28 • Experience: 9 yrs.
RB Preview
Numbers to know
  • 4 -- Miles Sanders had four catches in Jalen Hurts' first start to tie his season high.
  • 10 -- Alvin Kamara saw 10 targets in Week 14, more than he saw in Taysom Hill's first three starts combined.
  • 7.1 -- David Montgomery has broken a tackle once every 7.1 rush attempts, the best mark in the league.
  • 34 -- Austin Ekeler is tied for the league lead with 34 targets since he returned in Week 12.
  • 19 -- Ezekiel Elliott leads the NFL with 19 rush attempts inside the 5-yard line. He has gained 2 yards on those carries.
RB Preview
Matchups that matter
Matchups that Matter
Projections powered by Sportsline
Jonathan Taylor RB
IND Indianapolis • #28
Age: 25 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs HOU IND -7 O/U 52.5

OPP VS RB

31st

PROJ PTS

14.1

RB RNK

10th
Nyheim Hines RB
CLE Cleveland
Age: 27 • Experience: 6 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs HOU IND -7 O/U 52.5

OPP VS RB

31st

PROJ PTS

13.3

RB RNK

18th
J.K. Dobbins RB
LAC L.A. Chargers • #27
Age: 25 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs JAC BAL -13.5 O/U 46.5

OPP VS RB

29th

PROJ PTS

13.3

RB RNK

26th
Clyde Edwards-Helaire RB
KC Kansas City • #25
Age: 25 • Experience: 5 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ NO KC -3.5 O/U 51.5

OPP VS RB

2nd

PROJ PTS

9.1

RB RNK

25th
RB Preview
Waiver Wire Targets
Week 14 Adds
Jeff Wilson RB
MIA Miami • #23
Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

@ DAL SF -2.5 O/U 45.5

OPP VS RB

26th

RB RNK

28th

ROSTERED

55%
Wilson has double-digit touches in three of the 49ers past four games and he has the Cowboys on the schedule. He and Raheem Mostert could both be good starts.
Lynn Bowden Jr. WR
NO New Orleans • #84
Age: 26 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs NE MIA -2.5 O/U 41.5

OPP VS RB

15th

RB RNK

30th

ROSTERED

28%
Bowden is behind Wilson in non-PPR and half-PPR, but in full PPR he could be the top add regardless of position. Make sure you look to see where he's eligible in your league. In standard CBS leagues he's both a running back and a wide receiver. In non-PPR, DeAndre Washington is a decent flex play as well if Ahmed remains out.
Stashes
Ito Smith RB
DAL Dallas • #43
Age: 28 • Experience: 4 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs TB TB -5.5 O/U 50.5

OPP VS RB

10th

RB RNK

38th
Ito Smith is the only Falcons back showing any burst at all. That probably doesn't matter in Week 15 against arguably the best run defense in the NFL but the Falcons get the Chiefs in Week 16. There's at least some chance Gurley goes the way of Mark Ingram and Smith is a top-24 running back for championship week.
RB Preview
DFS Plays
Top Play
Projections powered by Sportsline
Cam Akers RB
MIN Minnesota • #31
Age: 24 • Experience: 3 yrs.

Weekly Breakdown

vs NYJ LAR -17 O/U 44

OPP VS RB

23rd

PROJ PTS

14.9

RB RNK

5th

FANDUEL

$6,700

DRAFTKINGS

$6,600
This is a classic case of the price not catching up to the performance fast enough. I fully expect Akers to be chalk this week, and I could not care less.
RB Preview
Heath's Projections

So who should you start and sit this week? And which surprising quarterback could lead you to victory? Visit SportsLine now to get Week 15 rankings for every position, plus see which QB is going to come out of nowhere to crack the top 10, all from the model that out-performed experts big-time last season.