Fantasy Football Week Nine Rankings: Running Backs

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Dating back to the early days of fantasy football , running backs have always been considered the most important position. Sure, there are always fantasy owners who like to think outside the box and will give more value to either the quarterback or wide receiver positions, but for the most part fantasy football revolves around the running backs, and with some of the performances that we saw from the running backs in Week Eight, it’s hard to argue their value. You had Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew and Tennessee’s Chris Johnson going head-to-head and both backs posted monster games. Between them, they totaled 405 rushing yards with four touchdowns of 50-yards or longer. Not to be outdone San Francisco’s Frank Gore also had a touchdown run of more than 60 yards.

With big performances coming from the running back position each week, it’s extremely important to find the right running backs to input into your starting line-up. So, as you search for the right combination to bring you to a big victory this week, please enjoy the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Week Nine Running Back Rankings .

1. Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville Jaguars) vs. Kansas City

On just eight carries, Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 177 rushing yards in Week Eight against the Tennessee Titans for an amazing 22.1 yards per carry. With touchdown runs of 80 and 79-yards respectively, he was the lone bright spot for a Jacksonville team that gave the Titans their first win of the season. It was the third time this season that he scored more than 30 fantasy points in a game, and he has 10 rushing touchdowns in seven games. He is averaging 5.5 yards per carry this season and is a must start option this week against a Kansas City team that is ranked No. 26 against the run this year. In two career games against the Chiefs, MJD is averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
Point Projection: 22 points

2. Michael Turner (Atlanta Falcons) vs. Washington

Michael Turner has scored a touchdown in six straight games, and he topped 100 yards rushing for the second time this season last week as he had 20 carries for 150 yards with one touchdown in a NFC South division battle against the New Orleans Saints . With eight TDs over his last six games, Turner has once again emerged as a touchdown machine again this season. He has a good match-up this week against a Redskins’ team that is ranked No. 22 against the run this season, and he should be used as a starting fantasy running back in all formats.
Point Projection: 20 points

3. Cedric Benson (Cincinnati Bengals) vs. Baltimore

Heading into the Bengals’ bye week, Cedric Benson was leading the NFL with 720 rushing yards in seven games and had added five touchdowns to his yardage. He has found new life in Cincinnati this season after being released by the Chicago Bears , who considered him a bust after taking him as their No. 1 pick in 2005. In Week Seven, Benson was able to exact some revenge against the Bears when he carried the ball 37 times for 189 yards with one touchdown. He had 120 yards rushing with one touchdown in Week 5 during his first meeting with Baltimore, which means he should be used as a must-start RB1 in this one.
Point Projection: 19 points

4. Ryan Grant (Green Bay Packers) @ Tampa Bay

In the Packers’ big game last week against Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings , Ryan Grant had just 10 carries for 30 yards. He also added three receptions for 21 yards, but he did not find the end zone. Grant, though, has scored double digit fantasy points in every game this season but two. He should be used as a RB1 this week against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that is giving up over 162 rushing yards per game and has allowed seven rushing touchdowns in seven games.
Point Projection: 19 points

5. Frank Gore (San Francisco) vs. Tennessee

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