Week 4 Fantasy Football Rankings: Ray Rice and the Top 5 Backs of the Week

There are some juicy matchups for running backs in Week 4. An abundance of games that feature good teams against bad teams means there are some obvious names at the top of the running back leaderboard. Yet in the top five, there are some surprises that are absolute must-starts:

1. Adrian Peterson - Minnesota Vikings

This is an easy one. AP has been one of the best fantasy options this season (would be even better if the Vikings didn’t forget about him in the second half against the Lions!) and is 100 percent healthy.

The best part?

He is playing the Kansas City Chiefs, a team with the 31st ranked run defense.

2. Ray Rice - Baltimore Ravens

Times are changing and it’s suddenly a good idea to start running backs that play the Jets. Right now only five teams are worse against the run than New York and they really struggle with speedy backs like Darren McFadden last week.

Considering Rice is as fast as anybody in the league, he will leave the aging Jets in the dust.

3. Joseph Addai - Indianapolis Colts

I was shocked to see how great Addai ran on Sunday night against the vaunted Steelers run defense. The Colts O-line is quietly one of the best run blocking units in the league.

This week they should be able to open up the holes against the Bucs as the give them plenty of opportunities as they know it’s their only hope of winning.

Expect Addai to get 20-25 touches and at least one TD.

4. Chris Johnson - Tennessee Titans

This is the week.

Against a mediocre Browns defense, finally CJ2K will give you a return on the high pick. Clearly the holdout backfired as far as performance is concerned and it has taken him a few weeks to adjust to getting hit. That’s why you have to spend five weeks in training camp.

It took three weeks of horrible stats...but this is the week Johnson puts up 100 yards and a TD.

5. Steven Jackson - St. Louis Rams

Jackson only had 23 yards in limited action last week, as the Rams were down 27 points in the second quarter.

It’s somewhat of a blessing as he can let his quad injury fully heal after only getting four carries.

Expect him to get the full load against the Redskins, and expect him to make the most of it for a desperate Rams team trying to salvage their season.