Week 4 Rankings: Runningbacks

These rankings are, as of the time they were written, assuming injuries. Left off this list: Colts, Steelers, Jonathan Stewart, Beanie Wells, Willis McGahee, Matt Forte, Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller. This is also assuming standard scoring. For PPR, apply the following changes: Doug Martin (12) moves up a spot ahead of Ryan Mathews (12), Darren Sproles (22) moves up 6 spots and would be ahead of Trent Richardson (16), DeAngelo Williams (27) and Jacquizz Rodgers (32) each move up a few spots, and finally Felix Jones goes from 43 to 39. As always, I'm available for specific questions on Twitter (@ppatel760). Enjoy!

Rank	Runningback	Opp.	Comments
1	Maurice Jones-Drew	CIN	Cincy third worst in the NFL against runningbacks and after last week there's no reason to doubt him.
2	Arian Foster	TEN	Tennessee also terrible against the run and Foster's a beast.
3	Ray Rice	CLE	Browns usually lose through the air rather than on the ground, this offense is a bit different. Automatic start.
4	Marshawn Lynch	@STL	Rams pass defense is not awful, so look for Lynch to carry a ton of the workload on offense.
5	LeSean McCoy	NYG	Won't bench him, he's a stud. But the fact remains that he spends more time blocking than anything now.
6	Adrian Peterson	@DET	Peterson will be productive because he's not human. That's my reasoning, buy into it if you want.
7	Jamaal Charles	SD	After last week's monster performance you'll feel bad sitting him at all.
8	Frank Gore	@NYJ	Again, no Revis means they cant take the "risk" of putting 7 or 8 down in the box. Gore runs wild Sunday.
9	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	@JAC	Jags still the worst in the league against RBs. I'm feeling a multi-TD performance Sunday.
10	Darren McFadden	@DEN	Though I don't believe he'll run for much, he'll still get a ton of receptions with DHB and maybe Myers out.
11	Ryan Mathews	@KC	Not a guy I typically like but he is going up against the block of Swiss cheese that is the Chiefs defense.
12	Doug Martin	WSH	Redskins really missing Orakpo and Carriker. They'll miss them a whole lot more after this week.
13	Cedric Benson	NO	Did I just put Benson ahead of Murray??! Trust me here. Benson will be a better fantasy play this week.
14	DeMarco Murray	CHI	Chicago defense is damn good and everyone struggles against them.
15	Michael Bush	@DAL	Volume runner, and with the Dallas corners containing the passing game, should see plenty of touches.
16	Trent Richardson	@BAL	It's hard to sit him but depending on who you have, this matchup would be the reason to do so.
17	Stevan Ridley	@BUF	He's the go-to guy in the redzone and while a Pats RB is frustrating to own, Bills give up over 4 yards per carry.
18	Michael Turner	CAR	I'm losing more faith in him with every passing week but Carolina can't stop the run (or the pass, but still).
19	Reggie Bush	@ARI	I hate the matchup for him and he's ailing but he might be tough to sit considering other options.
20	Ryan Williams	MIA	Not a great starting matchup but he'll be the guy with Beanie out with turf toe. He'll get better.
21	Ahmad Bradshaw	@PHI	Will be splitting touches now with Andre Brown. Tread carefully as he will likely get hurt again at some point.
22	Darren Sproles	@GB	Still the go-to back in New Orleans and even though he doesn't get many carries, the targets are there.
23	Alfred Morris	@TB	The Bucs defend the run pretty well but this might be the guy to end the Shanahanigans.
24	Mikel Leshoure	MIN	Last week was not a fluke. Minnesota is a much tougher test, but Leshoure is the real deal.
25	Ben Tate	TEN	Makes the most of his carries and if there was every a chance to scoop up garbage-time touches, it's this week.
26	Andre Brown	@PHI	I truly believe he's a better RB than Bradshaw and he's shown it all season long. Hold on to him.
27	DeAngelo Williams	@ATL	Falcons aren't as great as they seem against runners. Seventh-most fantasy points to RBs this year.
28	Steven Jackson	SEA	3 straight games with less than 60 yards, still no touchdowns. Plus he's hurting. Bad play this week.
29	Tashard Choice	NE	Even though the Pats are great against the run, he'll be the guy getting all of the touches. Can't be too bad.
30	Chris Johnson	@HOU	At this point we're only ranking him this high out of respect for what he did two years ago. Unbelievable.
31	Lance Ball	OAK	Will likely start this weekend against a Raiders defense that allows the sixth-most fantasy points to RBs.
32	Jacquizz Rodgers	CAR	Panthers' run D is atrocious and personally I think he finishes the year with more fantasy points than Turner.
33	Pierre Thomas	@GB	Packers give up chunks of yardage to RBs and Thomas is the preferred runner. Expect 80+ yards.
34	Bilal Powell	SF	Assuming he starts/gets a bigger workload over Greene, he's still a bad play due to the matchup.
35	Mark Ingram	@GB	Desperation play. If it weren't for his goal-line carries, he'd be useless.
36	Daniel Thomas	@ARI	Matchup isn't great but if the Fins decide to sit Bush at all, could see a heavy workload.
37	Shonn Greene	SF	See: Powell, Bilal. Then multiply that by 3 and apply here.
38	Kendall Hunter	@NYJ	See: Tate, Ben. Then look for a better option here after you wipe the tears away as you look at your roster.
39	Jackie Battle	@KC	If Ryan Mathews magically gets hurt or they just want to sit him, he could be opportunistically productive.
40	Danny Woodhead	@BUF	What's surprising about this ranking is that there's still ten more guys after this. Ten!
41	Daryl Richardson	SEA	This ranking goes up, of course, the more you think about Steven Jackson's injury. Still a horrible matchup.
42	Toby Gerhart	@DET	Detroit not the best against RBs and if it gets to be garbage time, Toby could see some solid minutes.
43	Felix Jones	CHI	I hate him, Jason Garrett hates him, but they might use him to spread out that Bears defense.
44	Shaun Draughn	SD	There has to be better options for you to use. Charles looked really good and it's not a favorable matchup.
45	Lamar Miller	@ARI	Might see limited action, especially if Bush sits.
46	Ronnie Hillman	OAK	Lance Ball expected to get majority of work but it could end up being 50/30/20 (Hillman's the 30).
47	Mike Tolbert	@ATL	Have to get really lucky with a score here or there for this to work out.
48	Knowshon Moreno	OAK	See: Hillman, Ronnie. Moreno would be the 20 in McGahee's absence.
49	Peyton Hillis	SD	Just read Tolbert's comment and apply here.
50	LaRod Stephens-Howling	MIA	Not a great matchup but moves up in the depth chart with Beanie out. Will be a great third-down back.