Week 6 Running Back Rankings- PPR Leagues

It hit me this week. I am doing research for Week 6. Week 6!! Last week, some fantasy owners suffered a big blow as Jamaal Charles went down with a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. Charcandrick West and Knile Davis are likely going to split the workload for the Chiefs the rest of the way. Some positive news, Marshawn Lynch is expected to return this week. There are four teams on bye this week and that includes several notable running backs such as: Todd Gurley, Latavius Murray, Doug Martin, and Joseph Randle. Some other news, Karlos Williams who missed last week, could return to action. Now that we are up to speed in the running back department, let's take a look at this week's top 50 PPR backs.

Needless to say, Le'Veon Bell remains the top back in the rankings. Despite missing the first two games of the season, Bell has totaled 409 yards, 18 receptions and three touchdowns. Since Week 3, he's the fourth most targeted back in the league. He's the best back in the game and should continue to provide fantasy owners with plenty of fantasy points on a weekly basis. Freeman lands at the number two spot in the rankings for the first time this season. Truthfully, I was expecting some type of regression last week with Coleman back in the lineup, but Freeman still carried the ball 27 times for 153 yards and a touchdown. He also caught seven of his eight targets for 44 yards. Keep in mind; he was up against the league's best run defense. Freeman has been targeted 31 times this season and five or more times in each of the last four games. Dion Lewis has quickly become one of the best PPR backs in the league.  He's been targeted 30 times and has caught 23 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown. He leads all running backs with 7.5 targets per game. The Patriots are obviously on a mission this season and after extending Lewis through 2017, it's also clear that they want him highly involved in this offense. Even in blowouts, he's been producing quality stat lines. Another bonus is that he faces a Colts defense that's susceptible to the run and has been crushed by the Patriots several times in the past. Another back that could be in for a nice game this week is Mark Ingram. He is averaging 5.4 targets per game and has a great matchup this week. He takes on the Falcons who are allowing nearly 10 catches per game and are yielding 156.6 total yards per game to opposing backs. They've also surrendered nine touchdowns. This is a great spot for Ingram to bounce back from a subpar performance last week.

Danny Woodhead, Theo Riddick, and Duke Johnson are all solid options in the top 25 this week. Woodhead remains a big part of the Chargers offense. He averages 5.4 targets per game and is averaging 4.2 catches per game. He is the Chargers top red zone back with 87.5 percent of the teams red zone rushing attempts. The Packers have been relatively decent against the run this season, but have surrendered five touchdowns to opposing backs. Another thing in Woodhead's favor this week is the potential game flow of this game as they play a high scoring offense on the road. With the Lions season pretty much over, they can start trying out different things. One thing that stands out to me is the fact that Theo Riddick currently leads all backs in targets with 36, averaging 7.2 targets per game. Riddick also leads all backs with 30 receptions and is second with two receiving touchdowns. While he doesn't receive a ton of rushing attempts, he's clearly a big part of this Lions passing attack. He's averaging 8.5 targets in the last four games and has seen double digit targets twice in that span. Since Week 3, Duke Johnson is the second most targeted back with 25 targets. He has caught 84 percent of his targets for 172 yards and a touchdown. The only two running backs with more receiving yards than Duke in the last three games is Danny Woodhead and Devonta Freeman. He's arguably the most talented back in the Browns backfield and should continue to be a big part of their passing game.

Some final notes for Week 6:

-Keep an eye on who the Chiefs are planning to start this week.

-Monitor Marshawn Lynch's status throughout the week as Rawls could move up in the rankings if Lynch can't play.

-Keep an eye on the Bills running back situation with Karlos Williams potentially retuning this week.

Best of luck to all!