Fantasy Football Week 10 Rankings: Top 40 Running Backs

There are certainly some interesting storylines when you look at the matchups for running backs this week.  How will Kansas City split the carries with a favorable matchup?  Will Jahvid Best be able to put up a big day against the Bills?  How will the presence of Randy Moss help Chris Johnson?

Let’s try to answer these questions and all the rest as we look at our early Week 10 rankings for running backs (as always, these will be updated later in the week if necessary):

1. Arian Foster – Houston Texans – at Jacksonville
2. Chris Johnson – Tennessee Titans – at Miami
3. Adrian Peterson – Minnesota Vikings – at Chicago
4. Frank Gore – San Francisco 49ers – vs. St. Louis
5. Ahmad Bradshaw – New York Giants – vs. Dallas
6. LeSean McCoy – Philadelphia Eagles – at Washington
7. Ray Rice – Baltimore Ravens – at Atlanta
8. Rashard Mendenhall – Pittsburgh Steelers – vs. New England
9. Steven Jackson – St. Louis Rams – at San Francisco
10. Michael Turner – Atlanta Falcons – vs. Baltimore
11. Jahvid Best – Detroit Lions – at Buffalo
12. Jamaal Charles – Kansas City Chiefs – at Denver
13. LeGarrette Blount – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – vs. Carolina
14. Maurice Jones-Drew – Jacksonville Jaguars – vs. Houston
15. LaDainian Tomlinson – New York Jets – at Cleveland
16. Peyton Hillis – Cleveland Browns – vs. New York Jets
17. Cedric Benson – Cincinnati Bengals – at Indianapolis
18. Matt Forte – Chicago Bears – vs. Minnesota
19. Thomas Jones – Kansas City Chiefs – at Denver
20. DeAngelo Williams – Carolina Panthers – at Tampa Bay
21. Knowshon Moreno – Denver Broncos – vs. Kansas City
22. Fred Jackson – Buffalo Bills – vs. Detroit
23. Marshawn Lynch – Seattle Seahawks – at Arizona
24. Ryan Torain – Washington Redskins – vs. Philadelphia
25. Ronnie Brown – Miami Dolphins – vs. Tennessee
26. Danny Woodhead – New England Patriots – at Pittsburgh
27. Beanie Wells – Arizona Cardinals – at San Francisco
28. BenJarvus Green-Ellis – New England Patriots – at Pittsburgh
29. Shonn Greene – New York Jets – at Cleveland
30. Donald Brown – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Cincinnati
31. Ricky Williams – Miami Dolphins – vs. Tennessee
32. Felix Jones – Dallas Cowboys – at New York Giants
33. Brandon Jacobs – New York Giants – vs. Dallas
34. Justin Forsett – Seattle Seahawks – at Arizona
35. C.J. Spiller – Buffalo Bills – vs. Detroit
36. Carnell Williams – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – vs. Carolina
37. Jason Snelling – Atlanta Falcons – vs. Baltimore
38. Clinton Portis – Washington Redskins – vs. Philadelphia
39. Tim Hightower – Arizona Cardinals – vs. Seattle
40. Marion Barber – Dallas Cowboys – at New York Giants

• We will get our first look at the Tennessee offense with Randy Moss on the outside.  You have to think that his presence will help to stop the Miami defense from stacking the box, giving Chris Johnson a little bit more room to operate.  Considering how good he has been when defenses could put eight or nine upfront, owners have to like the prospects of this.
• Maurice Jones-Drew is coming off just his second 100-yard game of the season, yet still has just one touchdown and has not been a force in the passing game (just one game with more then 17 receiving yards).  Until he proves he can continually produce, he has to drop down our rankings.
• Will DeAngelo Williams be healthy enough to return?  If he is, he has a very good matchup, but we’ll just have to wait until later in the week to find out.  He’s a low-end option until how healthy he is becomes clear.
• While Jamaal Charles is sharing time with Thomas Jones, they get a Denver defense that has allowed 14 rushing touchdowns on the season (only one of two teams to allow more then nine touchdowns).  They are also allowing 154.6 rushing yards per game (second worst), you have to like the prospects of both putting up strong days.
• Jahvid Best gets a Bills defense allowing a league-worst 178.2 rushing yards per game.  He could be in store for a big afternoon.
• While Ray Rice may have a tough matchup (Atlanta is allowing under 100 rushing yards per game), how dynamic he can be in the passing game helps keep him among the best running backs in the game.  Last week he added seven receptions for 97 yards.  Now, all he needs to do is find the end zone (he hasn’t scored in his last three games).
• LaDainian Tomlinson hasn’t rushed for more then 55 yards in his last three games.  While he is an asset in the passing game, his value is clearly starting to deteriorate.  I’d consider him a high-end RB2 as the team could try to utilize Mark Sanchez and the passing game, while also mixing Shonn Greene in.
• Despite Peyton Hillis’ big day, he has an extremely tough matchup with the New York Jets.  It’s hard to consider him more then a RB2 this week.
• The weakness in the Patriots defense is its defense against the pass.  That has to make you a little worried about Rashard Mendenhall’s potential this week, as the Steelers could go pass-heavy with Ben Roethlisberger.
• The Lions are a bad rushing defense, but do you really put much faith in Fred Jackson or C.J. Spiller?  At best, I would consider Jackson a low-end RB2 until he proves otherwise.
• After Beanie Wells had just one carry in Week 9, I would think long and hard before depending on him.  The news during the week will help us ultimately determine his value, but right now I’d consider him a FLEX option.
• Clinton Portis may be primed to return this week, which certainly could cut into Ryan Torain’s potential.  Of course, Torain is also battling a hamstring injury.  We’ll just have to check back in on him later in the week to see how valuable he may be.
• Who knows if Mike Hart or Joseph Addai will be able to play in Week 10, but for now it appears Donald Brown will get the bulk of the carries.  Of course, having lost goal line touches to Javarris James in Week 9 hurts his potential value.

What are your thoughts on these rankings?  Whose too high?  Whose too low?

Make sure to check out Rotoprofessor’s Week 10 Rankings:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Waiver Worthy
• Top 60 Wide Receivers (coming soon)
• Top 20 Tight Ends (coming soon)
• Top 15 Kickers (coming soon)
• Top 15 Defenses (coming soon)
• Start ‘Em or Sit ‘Em (coming soon)
• Sunday Sleepers (coming soon)

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