Week 2 Running Back Rankings- PPR Leagues

To no surprise, some backs that were likely on your bench lit up the scoreboard in Week 1. To name a few: Dion Lewis totaled 120 yards and caught four passes, Danny Woodhead (ranked 24^th last week) scored two touchdowns while totaling 62 yards, and Bishop Sankey also scored twice while totaling 86 yards. That's behind us now and it's time to focus our energy on Week 2. Below I'll break down the top 50 backs in PPR formats for this week.

Lynch is the top back this week. He takes on the Packers who he has played well against in the past. In his last two meeting against Green Bay, he has rushed for 98+ yards in each game and last season scored two touchdowns against them. In Week 1, the Packers struggled to stop the run against the Bears. Lynch had a tough matchup against the Rams in Week 1, but managed to rush for 73 yards (averaging 4.1 ypc). He should continue to run well against the Packers this upcoming week. Forte looked good in the season opener and is taking on an Arizona team who struggles against pass catching backs. While they held down the fort against the run, they surrendered 15 catches for 154 yards to the Saints running backs in Week 1. It's clear that the Bears are going to feed Forte and involve him in the pass (five receptions in game one). It appears he will be just fine without Marc Trestman. There is a Chris Ivory siting in the top 10 and it's a well-deserved one. To start off the season, Ivory rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns against the Browns defense. In Week 2, he faces off against one of the worst run defenses in the league, the Colts. The Colts surrendered two touchdowns to the Bills in Week 1. I'm anticipating another productive week for Ivory. Carlos Hyde showed up on Monday night against the Vikings. In fact, he leads the league in rushing yards after Week 1 with 168. He also found the end zone twice. He has a good matchup this week against the Steelers and should continue to produce quality numbers.

Outside the top 10 are Eddie Lacy and LeSean McCoy. Lacy has a tough matchup against the Seahawks, but remains one of the better backs in the game. McCoy disappointed in Week 1 and saw his red zone carries go to other backs on his team. The Brightside for McCoy is that he will be a high volume back and should see plenty of carries. The Patriots struggled to contain DeAngelo Williams in Week 1, so this could be a good week for McCoy to break one for a big play. Another back that I like this week is Ameer Abdullah. As I've said before, he doesn't need a ton of carries to get you fantasy points. In just seven carries he rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown. He's a homerun hitter than can break a big one on any given Sunday. Not to mention, this is a juicy matchup against the Vikings who surrendered the most rushing yards in Week 1. Woodhead is once again in the top 24 and in PPR formats he will likely remain this valuable as he's a big part of the Chargers offense. As I mentioned above, he scored two touchdowns in the season opener. He is facing a Bengals defense in Week 2 that surrendered 14 catches, 94 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns to the Raiders backs in Week 1.  Woodhead can be in for another big day on Sunday.

Outside the top 24, T.J. Yeldon and Bishop Sankey can be solid flex play options. The Jags will feed Yeldon and based on volume alone he could be a serviceable option. The Dolphins struggled in Week 1 against the run, but I wouldn't consider them an easy matchup by any means. Sankey looked good to start the season as he got in the end zone twice. He faces a Browns defense that allowed 155 yards and two touchdowns to the Jets backs in Week 1.

Best of luck to all!