Fantasy RB Rankings for Week 7: Run DMC Will Go Nuts, but He Isn't No. 1

Week 7 Running Back Power Rankings 

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20. Jackie Battle (at Oak)

The Chiefs are coming off a bye week that turned out to be needed with Battle coming out of last week’s game with a sore neck. The time off did him well as Jackie will resume his new role as Kansas City’s starting tailback this weekend.

If his 119-yard performance against the Colts two weeks ago was for real, we’ll know it for sure after this game as the Raiders rush D is just as bad, if not worse than Indy’s.

Play him as a RB2 and hope his Week 5 showing wasn’t just a one-hit wonder.

19. Earnest Graham (vs. Chi - in London, England)

Graham is by no means a top-of-the-line running back in this league, but he’ll be called upon to start once again this Sunday with LeGarrette Blount sitting out at least one more week.

The Bucs have been in London for most of the week now so jet-lag shouldn’t be a factor, but since Earnest isn’t used to getting a ton of work, I wouldn’t expect more than 15-20 touches.

Still, the Bears rush defense has only been so-so this season so there are certainly fantasy points to be had for 5’9”, 225-pound fireplug.

18. Mike Tolbert (at NYJ)

Tolbert is definitely taking a backseat to Ryan Mathews these days, but not so much that he’s become insignificant. He’ll continue to see his fair share of third-down work and goal-line carries, which is nice against a Jets defense that has allowed the most rushing TDs in the league this season.

I wouldn’t expect too much in terms of yardage, but there’s a real good shot he’ll sniff the end zone at least once this Sunday.

17. Daniel Thomas (vs. Den)

Daniel Thomas looked awesome last Monday night against the Jets, even if the final box score didn’t show it. Watching him use his 230-pound frame to pick up extra yardage is a joy to see, and with Reggie Bush a bit injured yet again, you know he’ll be getting enough work to do some damage.

He may not have a rushing touchdown yet this season and strange as it sounds, the Broncos defense hasn’t allowed one to an opposing RB either (though they have allowed four to opposing QBs), but I think both those streaks end this Sunday with Miami’s offensive coordinator hinting that Thomas will be used more in the red zone going forward.

16. Jonathan Stewart (vs. Was)

If it's as plain as day to fans, spectators, announcers, cheerleaders and everyone else in between that Jonathan Stewart is running better than DeAngelo Williams, then the Carolina coaching staff has to see it too, right?

After last week's performance from both players, I think they finally get the picture and make a move to getting Stewart more involved.

The Redskins rush D is good, but they're not THAT good, and the Panthers will need to run hard against them if they want to win the game. With that being the case, Stewart will finally have a chance to shine in this offense.

15. Maurice Jones-Drew (vs. Bal)

Playing anybody against this Baltimore Ravens defense usually isn’t a good idea, but then again, this is The Wrecking Ball we’re talking about.

Even though he’s faced some tough defenses like the Jets, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, MJD has rushed for 84 or more yards in every single game this season while putting up less than 10 fantasy points just once (8.7 against New Orleans).

No matter how much teams key in on him, which they absolutely DO with Blaine Gabbert at the helm, Jones-Drew finds a way to run on them as he’s currently averaging 4.8 yards per carry. He won’t have the best game of his career this Sunday, but the kid is special enough to keep in your lineup as a RB2.

14. Shonn Greene (vs. SD)

Shonn Greene is one of those types of backs that needs a bunch of carries to succeed and seems to get better over the course of a game when that happens. The Jets realize this and have gotten him 21 rushes in each of the last two contests because of it. He hasn’t been phenomenal by any means, but you can tell he’s getting better.

The best thing Greene has going for him in this one is the Jets newfound commitment to the run, and considering the Chargers pass D is one of the better ones in the league, you know Rex Ryan is going to stick with it.

13. Steven Jackson (at Dal)

Dallas has a pretty nasty rush D this season but so did the team Jackson faced last weekend; the Green Bay Packers.

Last Sunday, S-Jax ran for 96 yards on 18 carries and caught four more balls for an additional 29 yards against them, totaling a nifty 125 yards.

He's running with as much determination as I've seen out of him in quite some time, so ass-whoopin' defense or not, I think Jackson has himself a nice fantasy day if the Rams can get him the ball around 20 times.

12. Willis McGahee (at Mia)

In the four games since McGahee took over the starting job back in Week 2, he's put up three 100-yard games, and in the one game he didn't, he caught a TD pass to make up for it. He has also averaged close to 22 touches a game during those four games, a number which easily ranks him among the top-ten in the league.

Miami is pretty good against the run, and as a whole, have an underrated defense, but RBs with power can score on them (Green-Ellis and Tolbert both had TDs against them), so look for Willis to at least be able to push one into the end zone.

11. Ryan Torain (at Car)

Torain struggled in his 2011 starting debut last week against the Eagles, but Philly has already come out to say that their main focus was to shut down the Redskins running game, so I believe Coach Shanahan is going to give Ryan one more chance to prove himself this weekend.

Against a Carolina defense that easily allows the most fantasy points to opposing running backs, Torain should be able to make up for his Week 6 flop and provide you with borderline RB1 numbers this Sunday.

Besides, with a new starting QB under center this week (John Beck), Washington will likely run the ball more than normal anyway, so expect good things out of Ryan.

10. Chris Johnson (vs. Hou)

I think it’s time we drop the “2K” from Chris Johnson’s self-imposed nickname "CJ2K."

The guy has averaged a measly three yards per carry in five games thus far and has just one total TD after putting up double-digit TDs in each of the last three seasons. That being said, his fantasy season does seem to be taking a turn for the better as he’s now had two double-digit fantasy weeks in a row.

He also seems to really enjoy playing Houston, especially at home where he’s averaged 134 yards and a touchdown against them over his career.

The Texans rush defense has been pretty bad on the road letting opposing lead runners average 14.1 fantasy points against them, so Johnson definitely has a shot to continue his recent success.

9. Adrian Peterson (vs. GB)

There are a few reasons why Peterson is ranked all the way down at No. 9  this week.

First of all, Green Bay has a real nasty rush D. One of the best in the league for sure as they’ve allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points and just one TD to opposing RBs this season.

Second, the Packers usually get up in the game so quickly (as they will again this week) that their opponents need to turn to the passing game much sooner than they would like.

Third, the Pack CAN be passed on, so teams usually go that route anyway...and fourth, the Vikings will be starting a rookie QB, so you can bet the farm Green Bay will be focusing most of their attention on AP28.

There are still reasons to believe he’ll be OK, however, as Purple Jesus has averaged over 100 yards a game against them throughout his career and rushed for a TD in five of their last six matchups, so he must know something the rest of the league doesn’t know. Either that or he’s just that good.

8. Michael Turner (at Det)

The 2011 Lions defense is much better than in years past, especially their run defense, but teams have been able to exploit a few holes along their front line recently which I’m sure Atlanta has been paying attention to.

Matt Forte and Frank Gore just put up back-to-back 100-yard games against them, with both games being played in Detroit, so obviously coordinators found some sort of weakness after going through their game tapes.

Atlanta will be no different, and even though it looks like Turner has slowed down a bit this season, he still has six rushing TDs with five of them coming in the last three weeks.

7. Beanie Wells (vs. Pit)

In just four games played this season, Beanie Wells is just 16 yards behind his rushing total from 2010 and already has four more rushing TDs than the measly two he put up in 13 games last season.

Pittsburgh’s pass D is the best in the league right now, so you can be sure that Arizona will be running the ball as much as possible this Sunday.

The only way I don’t see Wells racking up a good 20-25 carries for around 100 yards or so is if the Cardinals go down early and have to turn to the passing game to get back in it. With this being a distinct possibility, I can’t rank Beanie any higher than seventh here.

6. Arian Foster (at Ten)

In his first of two games against Tennessee last season, the Titans had absolutely no answer for Mr. Foster as the young stud put up 218 total yards along with nine receptions in the game. However, the second game was a different story as Arian could muster up just 61 total yards on the day to go with his six receptions.

Both teams are a bit different this year, especially Houston right now with Andre Johnson being out, but I expect somewhere right in the middle of those two stat lines. Foster should be able to put up around 130 total yards and catch a good six to seven balls out of the backfield but don’t expect a rushing TD as Tennessee is one of the more stingy teams in the league when it comes to those.

5. Ryan Mathews (at NYJ)

Strangely enough, for as good as the New York Jets defense is, they’ve actually allowed the fourth most fantasy points, third-most rushing yards and most rushing TDs (tied w/two other teams) to opposing running backs so far this season.

Another stat you might not believe is that Mathews currently sits at fourth in the NFL in total yards per game (134.8; behind Matt Forte, Fred Jackson and Ray Rice).

With the Jets pass D as good as it is, you can bet the Chargers will try to run the ball more than they normally do in this one while getting Mathews a good 20-25 touches in the process.

4. Rashard Mendenhall (at Ari)

Mendenhall had a monster game against much improved Jaguars defense last weekend, so after his sluggish start to the 2011 season, it looks like the big guy might have righted the ship.

The Cardinals rush D isn’t as good as Jacksonville’s as they not only give up more fantasy points per game to opposing running backs, but they’ve also allowed twice as many touchdowns on the ground (eight to four; eight is also the most allowed in the NFL) in one less game!

Rashard has a touchdown in two straight games now, and if the Steelers get him the ball around 20 times this Sunday, I guarantee his TD streak stays alive.

3. Matt Forte (at TB - in London, England)

Who’s the leader in total yards this season? Matt Forte, that’s who. It should also come as no surprise that he currently leads the league in touches as well with 135 through six games (22.5 per game).

I mention these stats because three RBs were given the chance to touch the ball 20-plus times against the Buccaneers this season, and all three of them put up at least 114 total yards because of it (Gore and Peterson put up over 140).

The Bears will get the ball in Forte’s hands at least 20 times this game, as they have all season (the one time they didn’t, he had 16 touches), so I’m expecting a pretty large game out the under-valued Chicago RB overseas in London.

2. Darren McFadden (vs. KC)

The Kansas City defense has allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season while letting three different RBs go off for 130-plus total yards in just five games (Ahmad Bradshaw also went for 104 while splitting carries with Jacobs).

McFadden may have slowed off his 2,000-yard pace as of late, but with Kyle Boller now likely under center this week, I expect the Raiders to run the hell out of the ball and get Run DMC right back on track.

If he touches the ball around 25 times, McFadden will have a huge game.

1. Ray Rice (at Jax)

I have a feeling this is the type of week Ray Rice is just going to go off.

Jacksonville had a little trouble containing another little jitterbug named Darren Sproles when they paid him a visit…and Sproles is no Ray Rice. Actually, it wouldn’t surprise me to see R2 lead the team in both rushing and receiving this week.

Baltimore is going to have the ball a ton in this game with their defense being able to hold the Jaguars to three-and-outs all game, so I expect Rice to be fed the ball at least 20 times out of the backfield and have six to eight catches in this one.

With that kind of work, there’s no way he doesn’t go nuts for your fantasy team.

Click here to see Other Positional Rankings plus RBs 21-50

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