Fantasy Football Week 13 Rankings: Top 35 Running Backs

A week where Adrian Peterson is not only not the top running back, but outside the top three?  Let’s take a look at who assumes the top few spots, as well as all the rankings, for Week 13:

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

Thoughts:

DeAngelo Williams gets the top spot this week thanks to being one of the top running backs in the game, who gets to face off with the worst rushing defense.  What more can you ask for?

Adrian Peterson has a tough matchup and is playing in a passing offense that is firing on all cylinders.  I know, it looks weird seeing him at No. Four, but that doesn’t mean much.  It’s just one week.

While Michael Turner may have a tough matchup, if he’s healthy is there any way you wouldn’t want to go with him?

After seeing Larry Johnson step in and have a huge game for the Bengals, you have to worry about Cedric Benson.  Will he be healthy enough to play?  If he is, he should be the main back, so just monitor the news for the upcoming week.  If he’s playing, he’s a top five option for sure.

Matt Forte in the Top 10?!  Many figured that would be a given every week for 2009, but it has far from been the case, hasn’t it?  It’s a special week, getting to take on the Rams, making him a great play.

The Titans are a terrible passing defense and a halfway decent rushing defense.  That certainly doesn’t seem to stack up well for Joseph Addai, does it?

Justin Forsett does have a tough matchup against the 49ers defense, so while he definitely is usable (even if Julius Jones makes his return), I wouldn’t consider him more than a low-end RB2.

It feels like Brandon Jacobs is on the sideline every three or four players, checking himself over to make sure he’s not injured.  That doesn’t even mention that he just doesn’t seem to be the same type of back that he was last season.  He’s turning himself into a tough play.

Speaking of tough plays, Pierre Thomas has seemed like a good matchup at times the past few weeks, only not to get the bulk of the carries.  How can we trust him outside of FLEX formats?

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

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