Fantasy Football: Week 6 Running Back Rankings

Yesterday we updated our fantasy football rankings for Week 6. Here are some notes regarding running backs and run defenses heading into this week.

- The Browns running back Peyton Hillis has scored a touchdown in all five games this season, but he faces the Steelers this week.

- The Steelers have not allowed more than 66 yards rushing in any of their games yet and they have faced elite running backs such as Atlanta's Michael Turner, Tennessee's Chris Johnson and Baltimore's Ray Rice.

- Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall has 22-plus carries in three of his four games. How will that change with Ben Roethlisberger returning from suspension?

- The Colts have allowed opposing teams to rush for more than 100 yards in four of their five games, which should bode well for Washington's Ryan Torain.

- Cowboys running back Felix Jones had his first ever 100-yard rushing game of the regular season although offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was non-committal on the allocation of future carries between he and Marion Barber. Even so, it's more likely that Jones gets much more work than Barber this week and going forward.

- Chicago's Matt Forte has as many games with 30 fantasy points (two) as he has with three or less (two). He has only one game with 4-29 fantasy points and faces the Seahawks this week, who rank second in the NFL in rushing defense (72.8 yards allowed per game).

- Without Darren McFadden—college teammate of Hillis and Jones—Raiders running back Michael Bush staked his claim for plenty of work even when McFadden returns. Bush had 26 carries for 104 yards against the Chargers this week. There is a good chance that McFadden will either miss this week's game or be limited in action.

Here are my top ten running backs for Week 6:

1. Frank Gore, 49ers (vs Raiders)
2. Chris Johnson, Titans (at Jaguars)
3. Adrian Peterson, Vikings (vs Cowboys)
4. Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers (vs Browns)
5. Michael Turner, Falcons (at Eagles)
6. Ahmad Bradshaw, Giants (vs Lions)
7. Ray Rice, Ravens (at Patriots)
8. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars (vs Titans)
9. LeSean McCoy, Eagles (vs Falcons)
10. Steven Jackson, Rams (vs Chargers)

See our full top 40 running back rankings for Week 6.

More rankings for Week 6: Top 25 QBs | Top 50 WRs | Top 20 TEs

Feel free to send start/sit questions to me via Twitter @EDSFootball or post your questions in our free Fantasy Football forum.

Good luck in your Week 6 matchup(s) and in our Week 6 contest.