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Saquon Barkley and David Johnson are primed to feed on each other’s production, en route to the top running back finishes. Leonard Fournette marches to Cincinnati with an albatross of a ceiling. Aaron Jones nearly falls out of the Top 12 after an embarrassing Monday Night Football performance and the RB2 ranks are dominated by a Hydra of two-headed backfields.
Byes: Panthers, Browns, Steelers, Buccaneers
Week 7 Running Back Rankings
Rank | Running Back | Team | Opponent | High Floor/ High Ceiling RB1s |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Running Back | Team | Opponent | High Floor/ High Ceiling RB1s |
1 | Saquon Barkley | NYG | ARI | Barkley should be back in time for a date with the hapless Cardinals' defense. |
2 | David Johnson | ARI | at NYG | And David Johnson will be there to answer Barkely's stellar performance with one of his own. |
3 | Dalvin Cook | MIN | at DET | He's a Top 5 RB, regardless of the matchup. Mike Daniels and Da'Shawn Hand's presumed absences are noteworthy for his ceiling though. |
4 | Leonard Fournette | JAX | at CIN | Massive blow-up spot here. Could contend for Week 7's overall RB1 finish against this defense. |
5 | Chris Carson | SEA | BAL | Only the Bengals have been unable to smash the Ravens' run defense in recent weeks. |
6 | Ezekiel Elliott | DAL | PHI | Although it's a challenging matchup, Elliott can only be dropped so far down the rankings. |
7 | Derrick Henry | TEN | LAC | Henry put up his first dud of the season last week. But, the Chargers' run defense has given up .5-PPR finishes of RB6 and RB1 performances to Phillip Lindsay and James Conner, respectively, over the last two weeks. |
8 | Mark Ingram II | BAL | at SEA | Chris Carson's Week 7 counterpart should see ample touches in a close contest. |
9 | Josh Jacobs | OAK | at GB | Green Bay's run defense has been a run-funnel this year. |
10 | Aaron Jones | GB | OAK | The ease of the matchup keeps Jones from tumbling into the RB2 realm after a bad showing on Monday Night Football. |
11 | Le'Veon Bell | NYJ | NE | It's a brutal matchup but he should rack up 20 touches. |
12 | Marlon Mack | IND | HOU | Mack's ankle should be significantly healthier, coming off the bye week. 20-25 touches can be expected for Indy's focal point. |
High Floor/High Ceiling RB2s | ||||
13 | Todd Gurley II | LAR | at ATL | We love running backs facing the Falcons. |
14 | Phillip Lindsay | DEN | KC | Kansas City can't stop giving points to opposing backfields. |
15 | Tevin Coleman | SF | at WAS | Coleman has taken over as the Niners' lead back. A matchup with Washington puts him firmly on the RB2 map. |
16 | Kerryon Johnson | DET | MIN | He's been a reliable RB2 producer but has shown no RB1 ceiling to speak of. |
17 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | LAR | Freeman begrudgingly gets this ranking, based on his matchup. |
18 | Matt Breida | SF | at WAS | Washington's run defense poor play can't be overstated. |
19 | Royce Freeman | DEN | KC | This is a very strong matchup. Freeman's got a good shot at scoring. |
20 | Sony Michel | NE | at NYJ | Another great chance for Michel to find the end zone. |
21 | Latavius Murray | NO | at CHI | Murray should see 20 touches in tough matchup with Alvin Kamara sidelined. |
22 | Devin Singletary | BUF | MIA | Fire up your Bills! |
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB2s | ||||
23 | Austin Ekeler | LAC | at TEN | Ekeler is losing touches but still outplaying Melvin Gordon III. This is a bet on talent. |
24 | David Montgomery | CHI | NO | Game script should fall relatively in Montgomery's favor. |
High Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3s | ||||
25 | Carlos Hyde | HOU | at IND | Hyde's locked in for 18, or more, gross looking carries. |
26 | Damien Williams | KC | at DEN | The KC offense goes as Patrick Mahomes' ankle does. |
27 | Melvin Gordon III | LAC | at TEN | Gordon should see 12-15 touches this week. He's not playing well though. |
28 | Miles Sanders | PHI | at DAL | Sanders finally added a touchdown to his steady yardage production. He's locked up the receiving back role, making him an excellent flex option this week. |
29 | Joe Mixon | CIN | JAX | The Cincinnati offensive line just can't get him room to run. |
30 | Jordan Howard | PHI | at DAL | Dallas's run defense is becoming one to target. |
31 | Jamaal Wiliams | GB | OAK | Williams was granted lead back status during MNF after Jones lost a fumble and dropped a long touchdown pass. We can expect Jones to regain the 1A job, but it's probably closer to a split backfield than it was the Jones Show while Williams was out with a concussion. |
32 | Adrian Peterson | WAS | SF | Peterson should see 20+ carries, regardless of game script. |
33 | James White | NE | at NYJ | White's .5-PPR floor remains rock-solid. He's a sure thing for 9 points or so in this matchup too. |
34 | Frank Gore | BUF | MIA | Gore should see around 10 touches. Against the Miami defense, that deserves low ceiling flex consideration. |
35 | Tarik Cohen | CHI | NO | Cohen should see 10 or more touches this week. |
The Shaky Floor/Capped Ceiling RB3 | ||||
36 | LeSean McCoy | KC | at DEN | Denver had been a run defense to target, entering Week 6. McCoy 's locked in for his 8-11 carry workload but if last week's Denver defense comes to play, McCoy is best left on benches. |
Shaky Floor/Capped Ceiling RB4s | ||||
37 | Kenyan Drake | MIA | at BUF | Mark Walton was given the start but Drake ended up getting the most work. |
38 | Chase Edmonds | ARI | at NYG | Edmonds may need to be higher on this list. He's turned in back-to-back double-digit performances and would be a Top 12 option should DJ's back injury cause him to miss time. |
39 | Brandon Bolden | NE | at NYJ | Bolden's been balling in the box score as of late. |
40 | Ito Smith | ATL | LAR | Theoretically, Smith should see a decent number of touches and goal line work. That wasn't the case last week though. |
41 | Darrell Henderson Jr. | LAR | at ATL | Henderson soundly outplayed Malcolm Brown on his handful of touches last week. |
Low Floor/Low Ceiling RB4s | ||||
42 | Mark Walton | MIA | at BUF | Buffalo is interested in seeing what they have in Walton. |
43 | Alexander Mattison | MIN | at DET | The handcuff could see a little run. |
44 | Jalen Richard | OAK | at GB | Richard could get work as Oakland tries to keep up with Green Bay. |
45 | Gus Edwards | BAL | at SEA | The Bus should see 5 or so touches against Seattle. |
46 | JD McKissic | DET | MIN | McKissic seems to have passed Ty Johnson on the depth chart. |
47 | Nyheim Hines | IND | HOU | Could provide some PPR value. |
48 | Dwayne Washington | NO | at CHI | Washington assumes the No. 2 RB role for New Orleans with Alvin Kamara and his bum ankle declared Out, ahead of Sunday's matchup with the Bears. |