Updated July 23rd to reflect the Arian Foster signing and Le’Veon Bell potential suspension. Our podcast discussion also influenced some rankings in the Top 17.
Though more starting options exist at WR, going deeper at running back is even more important given how frequently the position is bit by the injury bug. More so than any other position, a variety of useful runners will breakout throughout the season, and stocking up in the draft can save some valuable waiver budget later on.
Reminder – these are full point per reception rankings.
Tier 1 – Three down workhorses in explosive offenses (Link here)
1. David Johnson (Arizona Cardinals)
2. Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas Cowboys)
Tier 2 – Lock RB1s
3. Todd Gurley (L.A. Rams)
4. Lamar Miller (Houston Texans)
5. Stock down – Le’Veon Bell (Pittsburgh Steelers)
6. Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings)
7. Stock down – Devonta Freeman (Atlanta Falcons) – They seem serious about involving Tevin Coleman.
Tier 3 – Middling RB1s (Link here)
8. Jamaal Charles (Kansas City Chiefs)
9. Stock up- Lesean McCoy (Buffalo Biills)
10. Mark Ingram (New Orleans Saints)
11. Eddie Lacy (Green Bay Packers)
12. Doug Martin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Tier 4 – Low RB1s, Elite RB2s (Link here)
13. Stock up – Latavius Murray (Oakland Raiders)
14. Dion Lewis (New England Patriots)
15. Thomas Rawls (Seattle Seahawks)
16. Matt Forte (New York Jets)
17. CJ Anderson (Denver Broncos)
Tier 5 – Intriguing RB2s (Link here)
18. Ryan Mathews (Philadelphia Eagles)
19. Matt Jones (Washington Redskins)
20. Danny Woodhead (San Diego Chargers)
21. Carlos Hyde (San Francisco 49ers)
22. Stock Up: Arian Foster (Miami Dolphins)
23. Jonathan Stewart (Carolina Panthers)
Tier 6 – Last acceptable starters (Link here)
24. Jeremy Langford (Chicago Bears)
25. Stock up – DeAngelo Williams (Pittsburgh Steelers)
26. Titans Starter (assuming it’s Derrick Henry, or DeMarco Murray and he actually looks explosive)
*This, and other relevant RB battles, covered here.
27. Giovanni Bernard (Cincinnati Bengals)
28. Chris Ivory (Jacksonville Jaguars)
29. Justin Forsett (Baltimore Ravens)
30. Jeremy Hill (Cincinnati Bengals)
31. Duke Johnson (Cleveland Browns)
32. Rashad Jennings (New York Giants)
33. Isiah Crowell (Cleveland Browns)
34. Frank Gore (Indianapolis Colts)
Tier 7 – Ideal Bench RBs
*All remaining backs are covered here.**
35. Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans)
36. Melvin Gordon (San Diego Chargers)
37. Theo Riddick (Detroit Lions)
38. Ameer Abdullah (Detroit Lions)
39. Charles Sims (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
40. Tevin Coleman (Atlanta Falcons)
41. Bilal Powell (New York Jets)
Tier 8 – Remaining depth, top handcuffs + fliers
42. C.J. Prosise (Seattle Seahawks) *He’s on the radar for a big time bump
43. Stock Down – Jay Ajayi (Miami Dolphins) Now likely to enter the season as the #2, but still plenty of value to be had behind injury prone Arian.
44. Stock Down – LeGarrette Blount (New England Patriots) – Insecure roster spot bumps him down for now
45. Wendell Smallwood (Philadelphia Eagles)
46. Darren Sproles (Philadelphia Eagles)
47. Chris Johnson (Arizona Cardinals)
48. Shaughn Draughn (San Fran 49ers)
49. T.J. Yeldon (Jacksonville Jaguars)
50. Shane Vereen (New York Giants)
Tier 9- Best of the rest – handcuffs and fliers
51. DeAndre Washington (Oakland Raiders)
52. Josh Ferguson (Indianapolis Colts)
53. Spencer Ware (Kansas City Chiefs)
54. Javorious Allen (Baltimore Ravens)
55. Devontae Booker (Denver Broncos)
56. Tim Hightower (New Orleans Saints)
57. Mike Gillislee (Buffalo Bills)
58. Stock Down Kenneth Dixon (Baltimore Ravens) – injury concern, track camp progress
59. Paul Perkins (New York Giants)
60. Darren McFadden (Dallas Cowboys)
61. Charcandrick West (Kansas City Chiefs)
62. Alfred Morris (Dallas Cowboys)
63. Jordan Howard (Chicago Bears)
64. James Starks (Green Bay Packers)
65. Jerick McKinnon (Minnesota Vikings)
Our first official 2016 PPR RB Rankings are in the books! From here, we will look at the ADP and Expert Consensus rankings and determine who I am high, low, and oblivious on and prepare an overview of the Running Back Position. Stay tuned for our very first Podcast, where we’ll go even more in depth on backfields.
Where am I crazy wrong? Anyone missing? Who’s perfectly ranked? Sound off below!
