ClutchPoints
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.
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.
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.
My...
