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Week 9 Rest of Season Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings: DeAngelo Williams Cracks Top-8

Up to date rankings of NFL RBs for the remainder of the 2015 fantasy football season before Week 9.

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Nothing makes the NFL more fun than fantasy football and few things make fantasy sports more fun than rankings, rankings, and more rankings. RBs are ranked in this post with the ESPN and Yahoo! standard fractional scoring.

Players who receive point-per-reception (PPR) bumps are noted with the asterisk. Consult my weekly Depth Charts and Volatility post, where we analyze all of the timeshares where multiple backs are involved for teams. The top of these ranks generally favor backs involved in the receiving game, as it is, because the bellcow RBs who largely are involved in the passing game are largely unaffected when their respective teams abandon the run.

Rank Player Team Last Week
1 Todd Gurley Rams 3
2 Devonta Freeman* Falcons 2
3 Chris Ivory Jets 4
4 Mark Ingram* Saints 6
5 Adrian Peterson Vikings 5
6 Latavius Murray Raiders 11
7 DeAngelo Williams Steelers ---
8 Doug Martin Buccaneers 9
9 Chris Johnson Cardinals 12
10 Marshawn Lynch Seahawks 8
11 Justin Forsett* Ravens 10
12 Danny Woodhead* Chargers 21
13 Darren McFadden* Cowboys 19
14 DeMarco Murray* Eagles 14
15 Dion Lewis* Patriots 17
16 Matt Forte* Bears 7
17 Eddie Lacy Packers 15
18 Charcandrick West* Chiefs 23
19 LeGarrette Blount Patriots 18
20 Ronnie Hillman Broncos 28
21 Lamar Miller Dolphins 13
22 Giovani Bernard* Bengals 16
23 Jonathan Stewart Falcons 31
24 T.J. Yeldon Jaguars 22
25 LeSean McCoy* Bills 20
26 Frank Gore Colts 25
27 Jeremy Hill Bengals 26
28 Carlos Hyde 49ers 24
29 Jeremy Langford Bears ---
30 Karlos Williams Bills 30
31 Duke Johnson* Browns 27
32 Antonio Andrews Titans 38
33 Matt Jones Washington 32
34 C.J. Anderson Broncos 37
35 Shane Vereen* Giants 45
36 Charles Sims* Buccaneers 29
37 Melvin Gordon* Chargers 39
38 C.J. Spiller* Saints 52
39 David Cobb Titans ---
40 Orleans Darkwa Giants 40
41 Ryan Mathews Eagles 42
42 Rashad Jennings Giants 49
43 James Starks Patriots 34
44 Alfred Blue Texans 44
45 Theo Riddick* Lions 35
46 Ameer Abdullah Lions 36
47 Chris Polk* Texans 33
48 Dexter McCluster* Titans 51
49 Chris Thompson* Washington
50 Joique Bell Lions 53
51 Ahmad Bradshaw* Colts 47
52 Christine Michael Cowboys 43
53 Tevin Coleman Falcons 41
54 Zac Stacy Jets 48
55 Andre Ellington* Cardinals 46
56 Isaiah Crowell Browns 55
57 Bilal Powell Jets 58
58 Jerick McKinnon VIkings 60
59 Pierre Thomas* 49ers ---
60 Robert Turbin Browns 54

Notes:

  • There is a special bump for the RBs who have already had their bye weeks, as they have nine games remaining in their regular seasons against everyone else's eight.

  • How we value Matt Forte is situational, depending on our roster and where we sit in the standings. I ranked Forte as if I am a 4-4 team, meaning I could not afford to trade off anyone above him for him. Where we are 6-2 and 7-1, Forte's value rises greatly because we punt a week or two while he is out and be in good shape to blast through the rest of the season where we trade a Danny Woodhead for him. Where we are 3-5, there is little way that we can afford trading as low as Dion Lewis for him.

  • As we go down the rankings, there is an increase in the weight of strength of schedule. And the better matchups sooner than later because there is sell-high value to come. These are not weekly rankings, but the idea of these rankings is to measure whom we should be owning now over whom. For example, an RB3 with a bad schedule until Week 12 is useless to our rosters compared a below average RB4 with two or three nice matchups in the coming weeks.

  • These rankings devalue the messiest backfield situations noted in the Depth Charts and Volatility post. I don't care how talented a guy is if he doesn't get the ball.

  • Bellcows always get the edge. There aren't many of them, so the value in scarcity increases for those backs with lesser variance. As we go down the rankings, the bad bellcows who we can never trust in our lineup lose value to receiving backups with more upside in whom we can reasonably instill hope. The bad bellcows are not only unstartable, but untradeable, and that is a recipe for a wasted roster spot.

  • Do your research and use rankings cautiously, as they are always a work-in-progress. Rankings are a bad tools to tell us what to do. They are conversation starters, tier setters, value mirrors, and a combination of the scientific explanations of what has happened with the art of predicting what will happen. Feel free to supply contrary evidence to me on Twitter at @AlexSontySBN or in the comments. They will help me help you.