Fantasy Football Week 4: Peyton Hillis, Darren McFadden and 5 Must-Start RBs

While it’s never easy to figure out who to start and who to sit on your fantasy team, I have compiled a ranking of the five best starts at running back this week.

These backs are either on incredible hot streaks, facing a weak opponent or, in the fantastic case that they are doing both, they are putting an ear-to-ear smile on your face.

If you have any of these backs or have the power to trade for them or select them in a pool, go ahead with these stars in your lineup and expect a big day from each.

Darren McFadden—There is no better running back in the NFL so far than Darren McFadden of the Oakland Raiders, and that includes the great Adrian Peterson.

With almost 500 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns, he is a fantasy juggernaut and a matchup against the porous New England Patriots defense will yield more of the same results.

Peyton Hillis—While Peyton Hillis was held out of last week’s game because of strep throat, the power back looks to use his fresh legs to punish the mediocre run defense of the Tennessee Titans.

Hillis may not have the best numbers in the league, he showed in Week 2 that he needed to knock some of the rust off, and it’s a shame he missed Week 3 or the Miami Dolphins would have gotten run over.

Darren Sproles—The New Orleans Saints thought they were getting a replacement for Reggie Bush when they signed Darren Sproles, but what they got was much better.

Sproles is one of the most dangerous players in the pass game for the potent Drew Brees, and his ability and willingness to run the ball between the tackles is something Reggie Bush just didn’t have.

Frank Gore—Another back that has had a rough go through the first three games of the season, it seems that all Frank Gore will need to break out of his slump is a game against the terrible run defense of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The San Francisco 49ers need to get Gore more involved in the passing game, and then he will be able to run between the tackles when defenses stop stacking eight in the box. He should be able to beat the slower linebackers of the Eagles and have a huge day.

Ryan Mathews—After mediocre showings in the first two weeks of the 2011 NFL season, young San Diego Chargers back Ryan Mathews showed why people around the NFL were so high on him.

With his ability to catch passes and run the ball effectively, the only thing you have to worry about when starting Mathews is veteran Mike Tolbert stealing goal-line touches and third-down opportunities.

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