Fantasy Football Week 15 Rankings: Top 40 Running Backs

There’s a somewhat surprising name atop the rankings, while one of the fixtures of the Top 5 falls due to struggles and matchups.  Let’s take a look at how things currently stand:

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

Thoughts:

• Darren McFadden is coming off a monster day (123 yards and two TD rushing and 86 yards and one TD receiving) and draws the second-worst rushing defense by yards (150.3 yards per game) and worst by touchdowns (19).  Look to ride him towards your fantasy championship.
• Talk about a complete 180, Jonathan Stewart posted his third straight strong day, picking up 133 yards and 18 carries.  Granted, we would love to see him finding the end zone a bit more, but he has 323 yards over his last three games.  It certainly is hard to argue against using him.
• While Cedric Benson has a solid matchup based on yards (Cleveland’s defense is allowing 124.7 rushing yards per game), the Browns are tied with the Steelers for the fewest rushing touchdowns allowed (four).  It’s hard to project him out for a score, meaning he’s more of an RB2 this week.
• The last time Knowshon Moreno faced the Raiders he had 90 total yards and two touchdowns.  Coming off a game where he posted 175 total yards, he has to be considered a low-end RB1.
• The Chargers appear committed to get Ryan Mathews going, which certainly hurts both his and Mike Tolbert’s potential value going forward.  Keep that in mind before depending on either of them.
• It’s easy to look at the Chiefs performance and downgrade Jamaal Charles for the upcoming week, but realize that they went down early and had to try and get back in it.
• Ronnie Brown has scored three touchdowns on the season.  Over his last four games he’s averaging just 50 yards per game on the ground.  Positive matchup or not, do you really want to put a lot of faith in him?  Facing the Bills helps to make him a low-end RB2, but with fantasy titles on the line it certainly is tough to put too much faith in him.
• The word was that Beanie Wells was under the weather, which led to Tim Hightower getting the opportunity for a huge Week 14 (148 yards and two touchdowns).  After that type of day, you would have to think that he’ll get plenty of opportunities again, this time against a weak Panthers defense. 
• Not only did Tashard Choice not have a very impressive day in Week 14 (16 rushing yards), but he may have put himself in hot water after asking for Michael Vick’s autograph after the game.  That certainly puts Felix Jones in position to have a solid day.
• The glut of rushing options the Saints possess helps to bring all options down to FLEX options, at best.  Pierre Thomas, who the Saints should clearly try to get going prior to the playoffs, may be the best bet to use.
• What happened to the Packers rushing attack?  Only seven carries for Brandon Jackson and six carries for James Starks?  If you want to gamble, go for it, but there’s not clear-cut choice of the two.
• After back-to-back dominating performances, you certainly have to like both Brandon Jacobs & Ahmad Bradshaw for the upcoming week.  The Eagles are a good rushing defense, but both are certainly viable.  Bradshaw’s ability in the passing game gives him a little bit more potential upside, however.

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

Make sure to check out the rest of our Week 15 rankings:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 20 Tight Ends
• Top 60 Wide Receivers
• Waiver Worthy

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