Week 4 Running Back Rankings- PPR Leagues

Last week we saw several running back surprise fantasy owners as Devonta Freeman, Joseph Randle, and Chris Johnson all had pretty big games. Freeman and Randle each scored three touchdowns and Johnson rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns. To no surprise, some of these backs have moved up in the rankings this week. Let's take a look at this week's top 50 PPR running backs.

Lacy and Bell are the top two backs this week and this shouldn't surprise you. Bell returned from a two game suspension and totaled 172 yards, caught seven passes, and scored a touchdown. He has a tough matchup ahead of him, but with Big Ben sidelined with a knee injury, the Steelers will lean heavily on Bell and feed him the ball. Lacy hasn't played particularly well this season, but has a great matchup this week. The 49ers have struggled immensely against the run this season allowing five rushing touchdowns in the last two games. Lacy should get out of his two game funk and get back on track as one of the league's top backs. Latavius Murray sits at number three, a few spots higher than last week. Much like Week 3, Murray has a favorable matchup against the Bears who have now surrendered over 100 rushing yards to running backs in back to back games. They've also yielded two touchdowns through three weeks. Murray has played in nearly 70 percent of the offensive snaps and remains the Raiders go-to guy. He should be in for another big game. Someone you may not familiar with in the top 10 is rookie Karlos Williams. LeSean McCoy is doubtful for Week 4 and Williams is expected to get the start. Even with McCoy on the field, Williams has scored in each of the first three games. Through three weeks, the Giants have allowed 476 total yards and three touchdowns to opposing backs. So long as McCoy sits, Williams should receive the bulk of the carries. He's been efficient thus far and should remain that way against a subpar defense.

After their big weeks, Freeman and Randle both sneak in to the top 15. Despite averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, Freeman is a solid No. 2 RB this week because of sheer volume and red zone carries. With Coleman on the sidelines, Freeman is the Falcons go-to back in just about every down. At number 16 is Jonathan Stewart. He's been underwhelming so far this season, but will have an opportunity to finally have a big game as he has the best matchup to date. The Panthers take on the Bucs who have surrendered at least on touchdown and 100 rushing yards to running backs in each game this season. In fact they've allowed four rushing touchdowns which is tied for third most in the league. He is good for about 16-18 carries, and in a game against such a below average run defense, we can potentially see him getting 20+ carries. He's played in 67 percent of the offensive snaps. If there's a time to plug Stewart into your lineup, it's this week.

Some backs outside of the top 20 that can be serviceable are Theo Riddick, Lance Dunbar, and Bilal Powell. These are not high volume backs, but in PPR formats receptions counts and these backs receive plenty of targets. Riddick and Dunbar both were targeted 10 times last week. Powell didn't get targeted as many times as he only received eight targets, but he has seen an increase in targets each week. While these backs aren't players I'd bench a high volume back for, I'd certainly consider them in deeper leagues or in spots where you're dealing with injuries and/or byes. It's worth noting the Dolphins and Saints defense have each allowed one receiving touchdown by a back this season. Powell plays the Dolphins and Dunbar plays the Saints.