Fantasy Football Top 25 RB Rankings: Week 6 Has Jahvid Going from Best to Worst

Week 6 Running Back Power Rankings

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25. Jahvid Best (vs. SF)

Best put up his first career 100-yard game last Monday night against the Bears, but the celebration for fantasy owners won’t last long.

From what I’ve seen thus far, I’d have to say the 49ers sport the best rush D in the league, even over teams like Dallas, Baltimore and Minnesota, so I can’t expect much from Jahvid this week.

It will be hard to take him out of lineups after his 163-yard effort last weekend, but if you want to win your league, you’ll have to make a few tough calls like this along the way.

24. DeAngelo Williams (@ Atl)

I don’t want to say that DeAngelo is completely back just yet, but the last couple of weeks have certainly looked promising. He was paid too much money to have played as poorly as he was through the first few weeks, so it was nice to see him put up his first 100-yard game since Week 11 of 2009.

I wouldn’t say he’s someone to be reckoned with in fantasy at this point, but considering his recent resurgence, he could be worth a shot this Sunday.

23. Earnest Graham (vs. NO)

Graham was doing really well in the third-down role this year, but things can change pretty quickly in the NFL; sometimes for the better.

With LeGarrette Blount going down for at least this week and possibly more, Graham will be handed the starting gig and could make an immediate impact for fantasy teams.

Back in 2007, Earnest was called upon to start the Bucs final 10 games when both Michael Pittman and Cadillac Williams went down to injury. Graham responded with three 100-yard games and a string of six straight games with at least one rushing TD.

He’s older now, so I’m not expecting the same output, but at least we know he can handle the job. 

22. Steven Jackson (@ GB)

After a 0-4 start, the Rams and Steven Jackson should be raring to go after a long bye week off. I’m not sure it’ll make much difference against a seemingly unbeatable Packers team, but you know he’ll at least be leaving it all out there on the field.

The last time Jackson faced the Pack, he put up 163 total yards while rushing for 117 on 27 carries. If the Rams want to win this game, they’ll no doubt try to get the ball in S-Jax’s hands as much as possible…which is really the only way Jackson will do anything fantasy-wise against a strong Green Bay front seven.

21. BenJarvus Green-Ellis (vs. Dal)

If the Law Firm is healthy enough to suit up this week, he’ll be a borderline RB2/flex play for your team. He might not get a ton of touches, but Green-Ellis will at least have a chance to put up a TD or two with Brady leading the team down the field.

It’s not the greatest matchup for BJGE as the Dallas rush D ranks among the top defenses in the league, but you could do worse with six teams being on a bye.

20. Darren Sproles (@ TB)

Sproles has been phenomenal for the Saints thus far and is the type of jitterbug everyone hates to face as there is really no way in the world to game-plan against him. He’s completely unpredictable with the ball in his hands and being on the Saints, defenses have no idea when he’ll get the ball due to their spread-it-around offense.

It doesn’t really matter what format your league uses, but if you happen to be in a PPR league, the little guy has been golden and should continue to be so this weekend against a Tampa team that has had trouble against smaller RBs this year.

19. James Starks (vs. StL)

Ryan Grant is back and eating into Starks’ workload, but he should still touch the ball a good 15-plus times this week as the Packers will look to run out the clock after going up by 21 points by the third quarter.

Starks may even get a chance to rush in his second touchdown of the year if Rodgers can lead the team down to the goal-line a bunch like he has been all year long.

18. Daniel Thomas (@ NYJ)

After a much-needed bye week, Thomas will return to the lineup this Monday night as it looks like he might finally be past his hamstring injury…at least for now.

If the Jets defense has been susceptible to one thing this season, it’s the power running game, so I expect Thomas to be involved early and often in this one. He might not get a huge workload in his return, but since the Jets have allowed the most rushing TDs in the league thus far, Thomas might not need a thousand carries to get into the end zone.

17. Maurice Jones-Drew (@ Pit)

Coach Jack Del Rio vowed to get Jones-Drew more touches last weekend and made good on his promise getting the Wrecking Ball 19 carries against the Bengals.

What’s amazing about MJD this year is that even though not a single team in the league is afraid of the Jaguars passing game, Maurice has still been able to put up at least 84 rushing yards every week of the season.

That said, I think the streak ends this Sunday against the Steelers, though he should still get at least 20 touches or so to maybe break off a long one.

16. Rashard Mendenhall (vs. Jax)

It looks like Mendenhall will be on the field this weekend after sitting out a game to heal up that bum hamstring of his. How much of a workload he’ll be able to take on is up in the air, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be held back too much after practicing in full this week.

The Jaguars have been surprisingly stingy against the run this season, but I expect a pretty decent game for Mendy anyway with Pittsburgh likely looking to milk the clock after getting off to a sizable early lead.

15. Felix Jones (@ NE)

When Dallas is opening holes for Felix, he’s a great play for your fantasy team, but those instances don’t happen often enough to start him on a weekly basis.

This week against the Patriots, however, should be one of those weeks you can plug him into your lineup as New England has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing RBs this season.

In a game that looks like it could be the highest scoring contest of the week, Jones may even be able to score his second TD of the year as well.

14. Shonn Greene (vs. Mia)

I don’t want to say that Shonn Greene is back as a top-tier RB possibility, but last week’s performance sure was a relief for fantasy owners to see.

With Coach Ryan re-instilling the “ground-and-pound” approach last weekend, Greene put up 83 yards on 21 carries and added his second touchdown of the season. We’ll see if Rex decides to stay with it or not, but I’m guessing that he does will and if so, it might be the one thing that could turn Shonn’s season around and make him that “breakout candidate” after all.

Start him as a RB2 and hope the upside that comes with 20-plus carries plays out.

13. Cedric Benson (vs. Ind)

The Colts rush D is one of the worst in the league, if not the worst, so Benson is a good candidate to get 25-plus carries this weekend. The guy is a workhorse and shouldn’t have trouble with the load, so get him in your lineup for what might be his best fantasy output of the season.

12. Frank Gore (@ Det)

Gore has been running with some serious grit and determination lately putting up 125 or more yards and a touchdown in each of the last two games. He’s also had 15 or more carries in each of the ‘Niners five games this season, so Coach Jim Harbaugh obviously wasn’t kidding when he said Gore would be his workhorse throughout the year.

The Lions rush D has been pretty darn good so far, but if Frank can get another 15 or so carries, he should be able to inflict some damage indoors up in Detroit.

11. Arian Foster (@ Bal)

Without Andre Johnson in the lineup, Houston will likely try to get Foster the ball a good 25-plus times this week which should set him up to at least do something against this Ravens rush defense.

However, Baltimore is playing with a rejuvenated vigor out there on D lately, so I wouldn’t expect too much from the 2010 fantasy scoring champ on Sunday despite that he was able to put up 100 yards on 20 carries against them last season.

10. Ryan Torain (vs. Phi)

Torain looked like a man on a mission back in Week 4 when he finally got a chance to prove himself to Shanahan once again...and prove himself he did.

If Hightower's shoulder is bothering him even the slightest bit, which it is, you can bet Ryan will be starting for the ‘Skins and getting the lion's share of the carries against one of the worst rush D's in the league this Sunday.

It wouldn’t shock me to see his fantasy numbers end up in the top-5 this week by the end of all the games this weekend.

9. Matt Forte (vs. Min)

Normally I don’t like to rank running backs this high going up against the Vikings front seven, but since I have no doubt they’ll be going after Cutler hard in this one, the Bears will need to use Forte in a big way if they want to move the ball.

Whether that’s running a bunch of draw-plays or RB screens or whatever, it doesn’t matter. Cutler will simply need to get the ball out of his hands if he wants to survive another week.

For as few yards as the Vikings have allowed on the ground this year, they have given up a combined six rushing/receiving TDs to opposing RBs, so Forte might be able to punch one in as well.

8. Peyton Hillis (@ Oak)

Hillis has gotten off to a sluggish start to open the 2011 season, though I’m not going to blame the Madden Cover Curse just yet.

Peyton should be able to get it going this weekend against a Raiders defense that ranks near the bottom of the league in every statistical category. The distraction of his agent telling him to sit out with strep throat a couple of weeks ago shouldn’t be a factor here as I expect Hillis to get at least 20 touches and put up a good 100-plus yards and a TD this week.

7. LeSean McCoy (@ Was)

McCoy hasn’t fared too well running the ball against the Redskins throughout his career, but he has been a machine catching the ball out of the backfield.

With Washington stepping up their game on defense this season, McCoy may not put up the same numbers you’re used to seeing out of him, but that doesn’t mean he won’t do anything for your team.

In 2010, McCoy averaged 134 yards of total offense in their two matchups while grabbing a combined 17 balls out of the backfield. I could see around 130 total yards and six-plus catches coming again on Sunday.

6. Ahmad Bradshaw (vs. Buf)

Without Brandon Jacobs in the lineup, Bradshaw will do some heavy lifting again this weekend against the Bills. He didn’t do much with his 19 touches last Sunday against the Seahawks, but Buffalo and Seattle have two very different defenses…with Buffalo’s simply being a lot worse.

Ahmad hasn’t shown me anything special so far, but I have a feeling it’s coming this week at home in a game the Giants really need to win to stay in the hunt for the NFC East crown.

5. Ray Rice (vs. Hou)

Rice is one of the top duel-threat running backs in the game today and will need to put his many talents on display this weekend against a much improved Houston Texans defense. He'll be well rested coming off the bye, so I expect the little jitterbug to be used often in this one whether he’s running the ball or catching it out of the backfield.

Against the Texans in 2010, Ray Ray put up 120 total yards with eight receptions, but I expect him to fare even better in this one with FB Vonta Leach paving the way for him.

4. Darren McFadden (vs. Cle)

Run DMC has slowed down after his torrid start to the 2011 season, but I expect him to pick it back up this weekend against the Browns. The guy is still on pace for 1,661 rushing yards and 2,138 total yards, so it’s not like he’s fallen in the gutter or anything.

Against a Cleveland rush D that allows quite a bit of yardage to opposing RBs, I could easily see Darren going over the century mark in rushing and up over 150 in total yards.

3. Fred Jackson (@ NYG)

I’m still not totally convinced that Fred Jackson is really this good. However, what I do know is that C.J. Spiller really is that bad.

Basically, the Bills have no choice but to feed F-Jax all game long no matter who the opponent is, which alone makes him a very valuable fantasy commodity as it’s rare to see a running back nowadays get as many touches as he has been (currently third in the league in touches behind AP28 and Forte).

With the Giants rush D being down near the bottom of the league, you have to like Fred’s chances of having yet another nice fantasy week for your team.

2. Adrian Peterson (@ Chi)

"Just give this damn guy the ball 30-plus times and see what happens already, will ya?!"

That’s what I wrote to Coach Frazier last week before the Arizona game and look what happened; he goes off for 122 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. Peterson is only 26 years old so it’s not like he’s going to be run into the ground or anything; I just hope they continue to use him this way.

Fantasy owners will be happy to know that AP28 has averaged 112 rushing yards a game against the Bears while putting up 11 touchdowns in seven games. Those are easily the best stats of his career versus any one team and with the way Chicago is playing on D this season, 130-150 yards rushing with a touchdown or two is definitely a possibility. 

1. Michael Turner (vs. Car)

Turner has looked slower this year than in the past, but there’s something about playing the Panthers that brings out the best in him.

Since becoming a Falcon back in 2008, The Centaur has gone up against Carolina six times and averaged 94.7 yards a game while putting up a total of nine touchdowns. He actually had three TDs against them in one of those games and a fantasy-week-making four TDs in another.

Basically, with the Panthers rush D being at the bottom of the pack once again and WR Julio Jones sitting out, I’m expecting The Centaur to turn in his best game of the season this weekend.

Complete Week 6 Rankings for QBs, WRs  and TEs

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