2012 Fantasy Football: PPR Week 6 Running Back Rankings

It is now Week 6 of the fantasy football season, which means we are almost at the midway point of the regular season in most fantasy football leagues.

Therefore, it also means that some fantasy owners are currently experiencing something dreadfully referred to as Bye-week Hell in fantasy circles.

This occurs when you have so many players on your roster on a bye that it is literally hard to field a lineup with enough playable guys. Hopefully, many of you are not in this predicament, but if you are, the Week 6 edition of Fantasy PPR Running Back Rankings will advise you on who you can find to plug in and play this week.

Below are the rankings which are based on a standard scoring system with a point per reception.

1. Arian Foster vs GB

2. Ray Rice vs DAL

3. LeSean McCoy vs DET

4. Jamal Charles vs TB

5. Darren McFadden vs ATL

6. Ryan Mathews vs DEN

7. Marshawn Lynch vs NE

8. Adrian Peterson vs WAS

9. Trent Richardson vs CIN

10. Reggie Bush vs STL

11. Frank Gore vs NYG

12. Michael Turner vs OAK

13. Stevan Ridley vs SEA

14. Alfred Morris vs MIN

15. Willis McGahee vs SD

16. Rashard Mendenhall vs TEN

17. DeMarco Murray vs BAL

18. Benjarvus Green-Ellis vs CLE

19. Doug Martin vs KC

20. Ahmad Bradshaw vs SF

21. Steven Jackson vs MIA

22. Donald Brown vs NYJ

23. C.J. Spiller vs ARI

24. Mikel Leshoure vs PHI

25. Shonn Greene vs IND

26. Chris Johnson vs PIT

27. Alex Green vs HOU

28. Jaquizz Rodgers vs OAK

29. Larod Stephens-Howling vs BUF

30. Kendall Hunter vs NYG

31. Daniel Thomas vs STL

32. Brandon Bolden vs SEA

33. Ben Tate vs GB

34. Shaun Draughn vs TB

35. Jackie Battle vs DEN

36. James Starks vs HOU

37. Danny Woodhead vs SEA

38. David Wilson vs SF

39. Joique Bell vs PHI

40. William Powell vs BUF

Breaking Down The Ranks:

As you can see, there are not as many options this week at running back as there normally are with the Saints, Bears, Jaguars and Panthers all on bye weeks.

That means that Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram, Matt Forte, Michael Bush, Maurice Jones-Drew, Jonathan Stewart, DeAngelo Williams and Mike Tolbert are all on the bench for this week.

If you count them all, that leaves fantasy owners with nine normally playable running-back options that are unavailable, including three high-caliber starters in Sproles, Jones-Drew and Forte.

Therefore, you will need to be a little more diligent this week on the waiver wire if you are in need of help at running back. 

Some targets may include Alex Green of the Packers, who should be getting the starting nod this week in place of Cedric Benson, or Arizona's Larod Stephens-Howling, who despite his diminutive stature should be a solid flex play in point-per-reception leagues.

One player I am really high on this week is Chargers running back Ryan Mathews, who looks to have turned the corner in San Diego after his breakout 25-point performance on Sunday night against the Saints, prompting head coach Norv Turner to say he expects Matthews to get more of a workload this week.

Matthews is elite, and even though he has been a disappointment so far this season, he is about to breakout and be a top-five back for the rest of the season—so leave him on your bench no more! The patience you exhibited in him to this point is finally going to pay off in a big way. 

Another running back I really like this week is Pittsburgh’s Rashard Mendenhall, who missed the first three games of the season due to injury, then made a big impression in his 2012 debut last week against the Eagles.

Mendenhall carried the ball 16 times for 81 yards and a touchdown, to go along with two receptions for 20 yards, for a total of 18 fantasy points. This week, he faces a Titans defense that ranks 28th in the league in stopping the run, so expect another solid performance this week.

That’s all for now, but if you have any fantasy football questions, particularly about PPR leagues, hit us up on twitter @ThePPRExperts for any lineup, trade or waiver questions.

All fantasy stats are courtesy of four-downs.com