RB Ranks

Rankings reflect rest-of-season value and were updated on September 14th


1. LeSean McCoy - The Eagles ground game looked great as McCoy hit 100 yards. Don't worry about the fumble, no one will challenge his position or take carries from him. Getting Vick back on track will only help his value.
2. Ray Rice - He saw fewer carries in the uptempo offense, but Rice still did his damage. As displayed on Monday night, he will do his damage each week, its just a matter of it being on the ground or receiving passes. He sat out near the end since it was a blow out, so don't worry about him only getting 10 carries.
3. Arian Foster - Even with the "around the knee" injury scare last week, Foster was still able to score twice and put up decent rushing totals. What was most surprising was the lack of use of Ben Tate. With Foster banged up and the game mostly a blow out, Tate only recorded 5 carries. Lets just hope Foster can stay healthy.
4. Maurice Jones-Drew - So much for sitting out much. MJD got right into the mix with 19 carries. I thought he would for sure take a split load in the first two weeks, but it doesn't look to be the case. MJD is a durable back that catches a lot of passes and will see a lot of carries. Gabbert looked much better (even though it was against the Vikings), so MJD might not face 8 in the box as much this year. He is returned to top 5 status.
5. Darren McFadden - 18 targets in the receiving game? Wow, McFadden is a great pass catcher, but that was a lot. That is more a show of the depleted WR corps for Oakland than a display of the plan for McFadden this year. His rushing yards were down, but don't worry they will come. As long as he can stay healthy he will finish in the top 5 RB's this season.
6. Adrian Peterson - What a freak. He made it look like he never tore his ACL. After questions whether or not he would play, Peterson tore it up for 2 TD's and looked healthy doing so. Stay tuned to reports to see if his knee held up, but it looks like it is smooth sailing from here.
7. Jamaal Charles - Charles looked explosive this weekend, and I think he is ready to have a great season. Peyton Hillis didn't see much work, but Charles still won't see a ton of TD chances this season. Expect him to continue to rack up the yards though, as his 5.6 ypc showed this weekend.
8. DeMarco Murray - He looked great in the opener. Murray is still an unknown commodity, but at this point he has shown that he is the lead back and will get 20 carries a game. Not many RB's can say that in the NFL, so even with his injury concerns he should be considered a RB 1 for a fantasy team.
9. Stephen Jackson - Don't expect Isiah Pead to record 0 carries again. Jackson will be used a little more sparingly in the future, but this should be an expected stat line for him this season.
10. Matt Forte - Lets see how long he is out with his ankle injury before he drops too far in the rankings. If its a high ankle sprain it could linger all season.
11. Chris Johnson - Don't panic yet, but its really getting tough to watch this. The Titans were down early so the run game was going to get abandoned early, but no one expected 4 rushing yards. McFadden couldn't find much running room against the Chargers, so don't expect a big week out of CJ just yet. I'm not sure if we will see the CJ2K ever again, but don't expect anything less than 1,000 yards.
12. Marshawn Lynch - No suspension this year and his back seems healthy enough so far, so I bumped him up a bit this week. He should see plenty of carries as we saw Turbin only had 2 this past week.
13. Frank Gore - His career stats against the Lions are ridiculous. Start him with confidence.
14. BenJarvus Green-Ellis - I really like what I see so far. Nothing flashy, but he gets plenty of carries and should put up consistent numbers all season.
15. Doug Martin - Looked great in his debut. He had almost all of the carries out of the TB backfield and showed a great burst on each carry. He was also involved in the passing game, so expect more good things to come.
16. Ryan Mathews - He might return from his shoulder injury this weekend which would be a welcome sight for Chargers' fans. The O-line is still a mess so I wouldn't expect a huge breakout when he returns.
17. Trent Richardson - The Browns offense looked ugly. Richardson got plenty of touches and wasn't able to do anything with them. Consider him a low end RB 2 this year. I just don't think Brandon Weeden is good enough this year to keep defenses honest with the pass.
18. C.J. Spiller - The injury to Fred Jackson definitely complicates things in the Buffalo backfield. Spiller made some noise with a great effort in week 1 after Jackson went down.
19. Stevan Ridley - Not very often do you see a Patriots RB go for 100+ yards. Ridley looks up to the task of 20 carries a week, so the only concern is if he gets those carries.
20. Willis McGahee - It looks like he will get plenty of opportunity again this year. Things should be looking up for him after his week 3 match-up against Houston.
21. Reggie Bush - He was the only life in the Dolphins offense this week, and it doesn't look like help is going to come from anyone else. I don't think he will stay healthy this year because defenses are going to load the box each week against him.
22. Darren Sproles - I never know what to rate Sproles because he isn't a traditional RB. I am worried that he didn't get a single carry. I would like to see Sproles' role in the game plan when they aren't trailing before he moves in the rankings.
23. Michael Turner - That first game was brutal for Turner. He has not looked good early on so hopefully he can pick it up. The passing game will take plenty of pressure on him so he has no excuse not to produce.
24. Ahmad Bradshaw - He stayed healthy in week 1, and seemed to further differentiate himself from David Wilson after Wilson fumbled. Health will be a huge concern all season, and I still expect David Wilson to make it a 50-50 split in the backfield by season's end.
25. Michael Bush - Should get a boost in value depending on how long Matt Forte is out. He looked good in relief on Thursday night and there isn't another RB to take carries from him.
26. Shonn Greene - Not sure how the Jets' offense scored so many points, but I bet it doesn't continue. Greene should be considered a flex player only.
27. Donald Brown - Looked like the only option out of the Indy backfield and was able to sneak in a TD before the Colts got behind. He should continue to see plenty of opportunity and has the upside to become a low end RB #2 on a team.
28. Alfred Morris - His value is not going to be higher than this. Don't be fooled by the first week, Mike Shanahan cycles RB's more than anyone else in the NFL. Trade him now if you own him.
29. Kevin Smith - Stayed healthy enough to make it through Week 1. He is like a time bomb waiting to explode: he will get injured. My advice is to pick up Leshoure who finishes serving his suspension this weekend.
30. Ben Tate - It was concerning to see him get so few carries in a game against a bad team (Dolphins) and Foster being banged up. He still remains one of the best handcuffs in the league, and he should not be considered flex material until we see if his low usage rate continues.
31. Peyton Hillis - It was strange to see him miss out on the goal line carry opportunity. He also managed only 16 yards on 7 carries so his stock is dropping a bit.
32. Fred Jackson - Its tough to rank him since we don't know when he will be back, but he will miss 3 weeks minimum. This also opens up the door for this to be more of a timeshare with C.J. Spiller when he returns.
33. Cedric Benson - After seeing how the Packers seem committed to getting Benson some carries, its time to believe in him a little more. I think he is fully capable of a 1,000 yard 6 TD season. The TD's will be hard to come by, but an average of 70 yards a game seems to be a reasonable projection from here forward.
34. Jonathan Stewart - The Panthers running game looked terrible last week, so even when he gets healthy don't expect much.
35. David Wilson - A fumble isn't the greatest way to start out your NFL career. Don't worry, that fumble will be old news in no time. He should see more carries each week.
36. DeAngello Williams - As I said before, the Panthers running game looked brutal. Stewart's return only makes opportunities more scarce for Williams.
37. Ryan Williams - Not a great debut for Williams. He fumbled, but one bright spot was his involvement in the passing game. He has upside on Beanie Wells in that facet of the game, and the fact that the team seems to be losing faith in Wells.
38. Mikel Leshoure - I expect him to be the starter once he returns from his suspension. Kevin Smith and Jahvid Best just aren't built to hold up to NFL hits. A great option for a waiver wire pickup.
39. Beanie Wells - A lingering knee injury, a bad offensive line, an up-and-coming RB, and bad QB's. This isn't a great player to invest in. Nothing points to an increase in his stock pasts a flex player this year.
40. Mark Ingram - Falling behind early caused him to be used for less than 10 plays last week. Don't expect the Saints to fall behind early very often this year, so be prepared for a heavier workload for Ingram. Expect 10-12 carries with first crack at the goal line.
41. Jonathan Dwyer - His stock is the highest in the Pittsburgh backfield. Isaac Redman can't stay healthy, and Rashard Mendenhall is still a few weeks away from being effective.
42. Roy Helu - His role has puzzled me so far. Helu seemed to be the most talented player at RB for the Redskins, but its Alfred Morris's job for now. Shanahan changes his mind very often so Helu is a risky pickup.
43. Rashard Mendenhall - Look for his return to fantasy relevancy to come in early October. Stash him on your bench.
44. Kendall Hunter - A great handcuff option. Consider him as having Ben Tate's role from last year.
45. Toby Gerhart - Nothing more than a handcuff for AP from this point forward.