Week 6 Fantasy Rankings: Top 25 Running Backs

Earlier this morning we posted our rankings for the quarterbacks in Week Six (click here to view). Next up is this week’s running back rankings. Who could be in store for a big day? Who could be ready to disappoint? Let’s take a look:

1. Adrian Peterson - Minnesota Vikings vs. Baltimore Ravens
2. Maurice Jones-Drew - Jacksonville Jaguars vs. St. Louis Rams
3. Cedric Benson - Cincinnati Bengals vs. Houston Texans
4. Michael Turner - Atlanta Falcons vs. Chicago Bears
5. Chris Johnson - Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots
6. Matt Forte - Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons
7. Clinton Portis - Washington Redskins vs. Kansas City Chiefs
8. Rashard Mendenhall - Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns
9. Ryan Grant - Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions
10. Kevin Smith - Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
11. DeAngelo Williams - Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12. LaDainian Tomlinson - San Diego Chargers vs. Denver Broncos
13. Steven Jackson - St. Louis Rams at Jacksonville Jaguars
14. Steve Slaton - Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals
15. Knowshown Moreno - Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers
16. Brandon Jacobs - New York Giants at New Orleans Saints
17. Ray Rice - Baltimore Ravens at Minnesota Vikings
18. Marshawn Lynch - Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets
19. Thomas Jones - New York Jets at Buffalo Bills
20. Pierre Thomas - New Orleans Saints vs. New York Giants
21. Tim Hightower - Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks
22. Julius Jones - Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals
23. Sammy Morris - New England Patriots vs. Tennessee Titans
24. Ahmad Bradshaw - New York Giants at New Orleans Saints
25. Carnell Williams - Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers

Quick Thoughts:

• I don’t care what the matchup is, Adrian Peterson should be considered the top running back.
• It seems weird to see Cedric Benson among the top three running backs, but he’s averaging more than four yards a carry and gets to take on the team giving up the most yards per carry in the NFL. He has the potential to have a huge week.
• Clinton Portis finally found the end zone last week and he did it not once, but twice. Look for him to continue the good times against the Chiefs.
• Normally, I’d rank Brian Westbrook significantly higher, but his injury troubles as well as the presence of LeSean McCoy significantly decreases his value this week.
• If it wasn’t for the breakout of Ahmad Bradshaw, Brandon Jacobs would easily be a top 10 back this week. As it is, both Bradshaw and Jacobs will likely make an impact.
• Is Pierre Thomas healthy? Will he be the featured back or share carries? Those questions certainly hurt his potential value.
• I’m not big on Thomas Jones, especially with Leon Washington (and maybe even Shonn Greene) sharing carries. Still, after the debacle we saw in Buffalo last week, would it surprise anyone to see the Jets lean on the running game this week? That gives him a ton of potential to perform significantly better than his ranking here.

What are your thoughts? Who was left off the list? Who should be higher? Who should be lower?

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