Week 11 55 & 5: The RB Rankings

1. Marshawn Lynch
2. Jamaal Charles
3. LeSean McCoy
4. Adrian Peterson
5. Alfred Morris
6. Frank Gore
7. Matt Forte
8. Knowshon Moreno
9. Reggie Bush
10. Giovani Bernard
11. Eddie Lacy
12. Andre Brown
13. Le'Veon Bell
14. Fred Jackson
15. Chris Ivory
16. Ben Tate
17. Ryan Mathews
18. Danny Woodhead
19. Stevan Ridley
20. Pierre Thomas
21. Andre Ellington
22. CJ Spiller
23. Darren Sproles
24. Ray Rice
25. Rashad Jennings
26. Maurice Jones-Drew
27. Shane Vereen*
28. Lamar Miller
29. Steven Jackson
30. Bobby Rainey
31. Rashard Mendenhall
32. Brian Leonard
33. Jacquizz Rodgers
34. DeAngelo Williams
35. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
36. Mike Tolbert
37. Chris Ogbonnaya
38. Roy Helu
39. Jonathan Stewart
40. Bernard Pierce
41. Willis McGahee
42. Shonn Greene
43. Kendall Hunter
44. Joique Bell
45. James Starks
46. Montee Ball
47. Bilal Powell
48. Dennis Johnson
49. Peyton Hillis
50. Daniel Thomas
51. Christine Michael
52. Bryce Brown
53. Brandon Jacobs

#5 Alfred Morris - (#9 on Fantasy Pros Consensus Rankings)

Alfred Morris has at least 13 points in four of his last five games. On the other hand, the Eagles have been surprisingly tough against running backs after a bad start to the season, allowing just 13.8 fantasy points to running backs per game. Thats as a whole, so it includes the 2-3 points a backup would get as well. Its pretty good. I'm just not really buying into them as a good defense. They stopped Eddie Lacy last week as the QB was a third stringer. Not impressed. Morris will perform very well.

#9 Giovani Bernard - (#15 on Fantasy Pros)

I suppose this ranking is pretty aggressive for a guy that doesn't average 18+ touches a game, but Gio is that good. It appears the Bernard is trending upwards in touches, overtaking BJGE as the main ball carrier. Further, the Browns defense just isn't what it was early on in the season. Bernard is an explosive talent, and I guess while I'm down on CJ Spiller, I need someone else to take that explosive talent role!

#10 Reggie Bush - (#5 on Fantasy Pros)

This is definitely a risky call by me, but I don't see Bush playing very well this week. Pittsburgh is a bad matchup for pass catching RBs. The Steelers allow the fewest receptions and receiving yards to opposing running backs with just one touchdown reception. Bush can run on them which is why he is still in the top 10, but its hard to see this as a great game.

#13 Fred Jackson - (#22 on Fantasy Pros)

I was surprised I was so far away from the consensus on Fred Jackson. Then again, the Jets have a fantastic defense. They haven't allowed 100 total rushing yards to running backs yet this season, the only team to do so. (The Lions are next best, having allowed exactly 100 rushing yards once) Why so high on Fred Jackson? To be honest I'm probably a bit too high here, and this may come down later on in the week. However, the Jets have allowed 5 rushing touchdowns, which is the tied for the most of any team of those allowing 15 points or less a week to RBs. I do feel like Fjax finds the endzone here.

#16 Chris Ivory - (#24 on Fantasy Pros)

I might be very high on Ivory, but this is one I feel good about. The only worry here is whether Bilal Powell is more involved this week. Its certainly a possible, but Ivory is clearly the better back. The Bills don't allow a ton of yardage, but much like the Steelers last week, the Jets should run the ball 30+ times in this game. If Ivory can get 20 of those, it almost definitely justifies the ranking.

Deeper League Thoughts...My ranking of Stevan Ridley has nothing to do with me expecting Shane Vereen to take a big role, its more respect for a great Panthers defense. As much as I love CJ Spiller, its hard to have any confidence in him this week. It is worth noting that his top three yardages this year have come against Carolina, KC, and Baltimore which are all in the bottom six for fantasy points allowed to running backs. I am low on Ray Rice compared to the consensus, so even in a pretty good matchup against the bears I have no confidence at all. The Browns claim they want to get Chris Ogbonnaya more involved. It makes sense with the way Willis McGahee has been playing. Worth a flier if you're desperate.