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Week 4 Running Back Rankings- PPR Leagues

Here are top 50 PPR backs to help you get through Week 4

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

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.

Rank

Player

Team

Opponent

1

Eddie Lacy

Green Bay Packers

@SF

2

Le'Veon Bell

Pittsburgh Steelers

BAL

3

Latavius Murray

Oakland Raiders

@CHI

4

Matt Forte

Chicago Bears

OAK

5

Adrian Peterson

Minnesota Vikings

@DEN

6

Jamaal Charles

Kansas City Chiefs

@CIN

7

Marshawn Lynch

Seattle Seahawks

DET

8

Frank Gore

Indianapolis Colts

JAC

9

Mark Ingram

New Orleans Saints

DAL

10

Karlos Williams

Buffalo Bills

NYG

11

Melvin Gordon

San Diego Chargers

CLE

12

Jeremy Hill

Cincinnati Bengals

KC

13

Devonta Freeman

Atlanta Falcons

HOU

14

Carlos Hyde

San Francisco 49ers

GB

15

Joseph Randle

Dallas Cowboys

@NO

16

Jonathan Stewart

Carolina Panthers

@TB

17

Danny Woodhead

San Diego Chargers

CLE

18

Ryan Mathews

Philadelphia Eagles

@WAS

19

T.J. Yeldon JAC

Jacksonville Jaguars

@IND

20

Chris Ivory

New York Jets

@MIA

21

Justin Forsett

Baltimore Ravens

@PIT

22

Andre Ellington

Arizona Cardinals

STL

23

Darren Sproles

Philadelphia Eagles

@WAS

24

Matt Jones

Washington Redskins

PHI

25

Giovani Bernard

Cincinnati Bengals

KC

26

Isaiah Crowell

Cleveland Browns

@SD

27

Lamar Miller

Miami Dolphins

NYJ

28

C.J. Anderson

Denver Broncos

MIN

29

Ameer Abdullah

Detroit Lions

@SEA

30

Alfred Morris

Washington Redskins

PHI

31

Todd Gurley

St. Louis Rams

@ARI

32

Shane Vereen

New York Giants

@BUF

33

Chris Johnson

Arizona Cardinals

STL

34

Bilal Powell

New York Jets

@MIA

35

Doug Martin

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

CAR

36

Ronnie Hillman

Denver Broncos

MIN

37

Alfred Blue

Houston Texans

@ATL

38

Lance Dunbar

Dallas Cowboys

@NO

39

Rashad Jennings

New York Giants

@BUF

40

Tre Mason

St. Louis Rams

@ARI

41

Chris Thompson

Washington Redskins

PHI

42

David Johnson

Arizona Cardinals

STL

43

Theo Riddick

Detroit Lions

@SEA

44

Duke Johnson

Cleveland Browns

@SD

45

Charles Sims

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

CAR

46

Thomas Rawls

Seattle Seahawks

DET

47

C.J. Spiller

New Orleans Saints

DAL

48

Javorius Allen

Baltimore Ravens

@PIT

49

Jonathan Grimes

Houston Texans

@ATL

50

Darren McFadden

Dallas Cowboys

@NO

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.