Fantasy Football 2017 RB Rankings

Last week, we rolled out the Fantasy Football QB Rankings, and now we turn to the Running Backs.

These rankings were put together after compiling team projections and looking at depth chart and preseason battles and our best guess at most likely usage. The rankings are compiled for a PPR scoring system, and I’ll load some statistical projections in a future post. However, these rankings don’t just follow the point estimates. The pure PPR guys (like Duke Johnson and Theo Riddick and Darren Sproles) are ranked lower than they would otherwise fall. Meanwhile, other guys are ranked higher, because if you go by expected wins and weekly rankings, they would surge if they were starting due to injury. Tevin Coleman and Derrick Henry are good examples of this. If Freeman or Murray were hurt for a week, they would likely be top 5 starts, and that has great value.

Similarly, the suspensions for Ezekiel Elliott and Doug Martin are priced into the rankings.

#1 Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh

#2 David Johnson, Arizona

#3 Melvin Gordon, LA Chargers

#4 LeSean McCoy, Buffalo

#5 Jordan Howard, Chicago

#6 Devonta Freeman, Atlanta

#7 Jay Ajayi, Miami

#8 DeMarco Murray, Tennessee

#9 Todd Gurley, LA Rams

#10 Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas

#11 Lamar Miller, Houston

#12 Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland

#13 Ty Montgomery, Green Bay

#14 Christian McCaffrey, Carolina

#15 Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville (slight downward adjustment based on possibility of missing week 1)

#16 Dalvin Cook, Minnesota

#17 Joe Mixon, Cincinnati

#18 Spencer Ware, Kansas City

#19 Marshawn Lynch, Oakland

#20 Ameer Abdullah, Detroit

#21 Carlos Hyde, San Francisco

#22 Mark Ingram, New Orleans

#23 C.J. Anderson, Denver

#24 Adrian Peterson, New Orleans

#25 Bilal Powell, NY Jets

#26 Tevin Coleman, Atlanta

#27 Mike Gillislee, New England

#28 Doug Martin, Tampa Bay

#29 Paul Perkins, NY Giants

#30 LeGarrette Blount, Philadelphia

#31 Danny Woodhead, Baltimore

#32 Eddie Lacy, Seattle

#33 Derrick Henry, Tennessee

#34 Terrance West, Baltimore

#35 Kareem Hunt, Kansas City

#36 Darren McFadden, Dallas (likely starter first 6 weeks of season)

#37 Frank Gore, Indianapolis

#38 Duke Johnson, Cleveland

#39 Rob Kelley, Washington

#40 Theo Riddick, Detroit

#41 Jonathan Stewart, Carolina

#42 Jacquizz Rodgers, Tampa Bay (likely starter first 4 weeks of season)

#43 Matt Forte, NY Jets

#44 Samaje Perine, Washington

#45 Thomas Rawls, Seattle

#46 Jamaal Williams, Green Bay

#47 Marlon Mack, Indianapolis

#48 C.J. Prosise, Seattle

#49 Rex Burkhead, New England

#50 Darren Sproles, Philadelphia

#51 James White, New England

#52 Latavius Murray, Minnesota

#53 Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati

#54 Jalen Richard, Oakland

#55 Shane Vereen, NY Giants

#56 Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati

#57 Jamaal Charles, Denver

#58 DeAndre Washington, Oakland

#59 Chris Thompson, Washington

#60 Dion Lewis, New England

#61 James Conner, Pittsburgh

#62 Donta Foreman, Houston

#63 Tim Hightower, San Francisco

#64 Alvin Kamara, New Orleans

#65 Jonathan Williams, Buffalo

#66 Orleans Darkwa, NY Giants

#67 Devontae Booker, Denver

#68 Charles Sims, Tampa Bay