Fantasy Football Week 11 Rankings: Top 40 Running Backs

Some of the top running backs in the league have difficult matchups, like Darren McFadden taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Others, like Peyton Hillis, have a favorable matchup.  Let’s take a look at how everything shakes out for Week 11 (as always, these will be updated later in the week if necessary):

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

• Even with a positive matchup, with how pass-oriented the Cincinnati Bengals have been, it is tough to value Cedric Benson as anything more than a low-end RB1, though I’d consider him more of a high-end RB2.  He’s now rushed for under 100 yards in four straight games and is coming off a 14-carry, 24-yard performance.
• Ray Rice has not been running well (only one 100-yard game on the season), but he also makes a major impact in the passing game.  He needs to find the end zone more, having scored just twice on the season (and both coming in the same game).  I’d still consider him a low-end RB1, however.
• Cleveland has allowed just two rushing touchdowns on the season, which certainly hurts the potential value of Maurice Jones-Drew (who has only scored once on the ground and twice through the air).  That certainly helps to downgrade him to a high-end RB2 this week.  However, don’t be mistaken and opt to bench him.  We saw in his Week 9 outburst against the Cowboys that he is always a threat to post a huge week.
• For as good as Darren McFadden has been this season, stepping in against a rushing defense who is, far and away, the best against the run this season in the Pittsburgh Steelers has to downgrade him significantly.  I would certainly consider other options if you have them.  While BenJarvus Green-Ellis’ performance may give you hope, don’t get too excited.
• The idea of the Jets giving more carries to Shonn Greene showed up in Week 10, with LaDainian Tomlinson getting 18 carries (for 57 yards) and Greene getting 20 carries (for 72 yards).  Tomlinson’s ability in the passing game (he had six receptions for 53 yards) makes him the better option, but the gap between them is getting much smaller.
• I’d love to be able to rank Ryan Mathews as a great option this week, given an extremely favorable matchup (the Denver Broncos have allowed 14 rushing touchdowns on the season).  Still, with Mathews being unproductive, for the most part, he has to be considered a RB2.
• With both Chad Henne and Chad Pennington potentially out for the season, you have to think the Dolphins will focus even more strongly on the run and the Wildcat offense.  The problem is that neither Ronnie Brown nor Ricky Williams have been incredibly productive thus far.  In fact, Brown is coming off a game with 11 yards on 12 carries.  Consider them RB2/FLEX options until they prove otherwise.
• Who is going to get the bulk of the carries for New Orleans, especially with Reggie Bush expected back?  It’s enough of a question to make all of their running backs FLEX options, at best.
• Will DeAngelo Williams return for Week 11?  With Mike Goodson’s Week 10 performance, you have to think the Panthers are not going to rush him back.

What are your thoughts on these rankings? Who's too high? Who's too low?

Make sure to check out Rotoprofessor’s Week 11 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)

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM/FOOTBALL