Fantasy Football Week 11 Rankings: Top 35 RB

There is a lot of tremendous talent with a chance to be in the top spot this week, isn’t there?  While you can’t go wrong with Adrian Peters, Chris Johnson, or Maurice Jones-Drew, let’s take a look how they fall as well as all the rest:

1. Maurice Jones-Drew - Jacksonville Jaguars - vs. Buffalo
2. Adrian Peterson - Minnesota Vikings - vs. Seattle
3. Chris Johnson - Tennessee Titans - at Houston
4. Cedric Benson - Cincinnati Bengals - at Oakland
5. Rashard Mendenhall - Pittsburgh Steelers - at Kansas City
6. DeAngelo Williams - Carolina Panthers - vs. Miami
7. Ray Rice - Baltimore Ravens - vs. Indianapolis
8. Michael Turner - Atlanta Falcons - at New York Giants
9. Ronnie Brown - Miami Dolphins - at Carolina
10. Frank Gore - San Francisco 49ers - at Green Bay
11. Steve Jackson - St. Louis Rams - vs. Arizona
12. Thomas Jones - New York Jets - at New England
13. Matt Forte - Chicago Bears - vs. Philadelphia
14. Steve Slaton - Houston Texans - vs. Tennessee
15. Kevin Smith - Detroit Lions - vs. Cleveland
16. Ryan Grant - Green Bay Packers - vs. San Francisco
17. Marion Barber - Dallas Cowboys - vs. Washington
18. Brandon Jacobs - New York Giants - vs. Atlanta
19. LaDainian Tomlinson - San Diego Chargers - at Denver
20. Knowshon Moreno - Denver Broncos - vs. San Diego
21. Pierre Thomas - New Orleans Saints - at Tampa Bay
22. Joseph Addai - Indianapolis Colts - at Baltimore
23. Laurence Maroney - New England Patriots - vs. New York Jets
24. Marshawn Lynch - Buffalo Bills - at Jacksonville
25. Ricky Williams - Miami Dolphins - at Carolina
26. Jamaal Charles - Kansas City Chiefs - vs. Pittsburgh
27. LeSean McCoy - Philadelphia Eagles - at Chicago
28. Jamal Lewis - Cleveland Browns - at Detroit
29. Tim Hightower - Arizona Cardinals - at St. Louis
30. Carnell Williams - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - vs. New Orleans
31. Mike Bell - New Orleans Saints - at Tampa Bay
32. Shonn Greene - New York Jets - at New England
33. Correll Buckhalter - Denver Broncos - vs. San Diego
34. Fred Jackson - Buffalo Bills - at Jacksonville
35. Darren Sproles - San Diego Chargers - at Denver

Thoughts

• The Bills are among the worst rushing defenses in the league, getting burnt for seven points time and time again. With that matchup for Maurice Jones-Drew, this is one of the rare weeks where Adrian Peterson is not the top ranked running back in the league.
• Cedric Benson has been among the best running backs in the league this season, something that goes without saying. Getting to face the futile defense of the Oakland Raiders in the upcoming week makes him a Top Five choice. Did anyone think we’d get to say that at any time during the 2009 season? While he was banged up in Week 10, the Bengals have already come out and said he’ll be available for the upcoming week.
• It’s possible that the Giants defense comes back healthy and with a renewed vigor from their bye week, but allowing 12 rushing TDs in their first nine games, you have to like Michael Turner this week.
• Thomas Jones has been a surprise this season, to say the least. Taking on the Patriots, you have to think the Jets are going to try and control the clock, keeping the ball out of the hands of Tom Brady. That means riding the running game, so it could be a good week for both Jones and Shonn Greene.
• If Pierre Thomas was in a one-back system he’d easily be a Top 10 back for the coming week. As it is, can you even say that he’s the top back on the Saints at this point?
• It’s easy to ignore Steve Slaton, thanks to his struggles rushing the ball. However, don’t underestimate his ability in the passing game, where he has 32 catches and three touchdowns.
• The return of Donald Brown and a tough matchup with the Ravens defense certainly hinders Joseph Addai’s potential value.
• With people questioning if he had much left in the tank, LaDainian Tomlinson delivered for 96 yards and 2 TDs on the ground in Week 10 against the Eagles. I wouldn’t expect him to be able to match that type of production, but he’s still a solid RB2 option this week.
• In the second week without Larry Johnson, the Chiefs gave Jamaal Charles the chance to be the main back and he certainly delivered. While it was against the Raiders, he still picked up 103 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. He’s got a much tougher matchup against the Steelers this week, but as a FLEX he is still very usable.
• Michael Turner was knocked out of yesterday’s game and is said to be undergoing an MRI today.  Be ready to quickly remove him from this list all together, but for now we’ll leave him on here.
• With Brian Westbrook suffering another concussion, there’s little chance of him playing in Week 11.  There is even speculation that his season may be over, so make sure you are prepared.

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

Other Week 11 Rankings:

• Quarterbacks
• Wide Receivers

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