Fantasy Football Rankings: The Top 50 Running Backs
Running Backs 11-20
| Rank | Player (Team, Bye) | Rush | Yards | TDs | FP | FireFactor™ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Mark Ingram (NO,5) | 233.41 | 1026.11 | 8.19 | 185.36 | 97.44 |
| 12 | Le'Veon Bell (PIT, 8) | 206.17 | 917.45 | 8.08 | 173.72 | 85.8 |
| 13 | Thomas Rawls (SEA, 5) | 210.95 | 985.14 | 7.69 | 164.12 | 76.2 |
| 14 | Matt Forte (NYJ, 11) | 188.05 | 840.56 | 5.35 | 162.9 | 74.98 |
| 15 | Ryan Mathews (PHI, 4) | 204.2 | 905.33 | 5.94 | 161.32 | 73.4 |
| 16 | Latavius Murray (OAK, 10) | 262.03 | 995.14 | 5.69 | 161.13 | 73.21 |
| 17 | Jonathan Stewart (CAR, 7) | 230.62 | 985.96 | 5.59 | 159.66 | 71.74 |
| 18 | Ameer Abdullah (DET, 10) | 206.91 | 901.83 | 6.51 | 157.77 | 69.85 |
| 19 | Carlos Hyde (SF, 8) | 258.39 | 1038.02 | 5.34 | 152.51 | 64.59 |
| 20 | C.J. Anderson (DEN, 11) | 191.68 | 827.06 | 5.2 | 148.78 | 60.86 |
Notes:
11) Mark Ingram
Ingram was a steady RB1 in 2015, averaging 12.8 points per game, but he missed the final four games of the season with a shoulder injury. Part of Ingram's value last season was his increased role in the passing game -- Ingram caught 50 passes in 2015, nearly surpassing his career total of 53 entering the season. While numberFire's projections forecast Ingram to maintain that volume in the passing game with 51 receptions, a knock on Ingram is his inability to stay healthy. In his five-year career, Ingram has played in all 16 games only once.
12) Le'Veon Bell
Just a couple of weeks ago, Bell was in the discussion to be the first running back off the board in fantasy drafts. But he's currently in danger of missing the first four games of the season due to several missed drug tests. Bell played in only six games in 2015 after serving a two-game suspension to open the season and then tore his MCL and PCL in early November. But when he was on the field, Bell was fantasy's third-best running back in terms of points per game, averaging 14.5. Once his suspension is complete, look for Bell to resume his spot atop the weekly running back rankings.
13) Thomas Rawls
With Marshawn Lynch now retired, Rawls enters the season as the lead back in Seattle. In 2015, the undrafted rookie out of Central Michigan burst onto the scene in the games Lynch missed. Rawls' notched 147 carries for 830 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2015, finishing with a 12.46 Rushing NEP, which ranked fifth-best in the league. Rawls recorded 41.2 fantasy points per 100 snaps in his rookie year, third-best in the league.
14) Matt Forte
Forte has been a staple near the top of the running back rankings for the past few years, but his expected workload is murky as he enters his first season with the Jets. Chan Gailey's offenses have been historically friendly to pass-catching backs like Forte, but with Khiry Robinson and Bilal Powell in the mix, it's unclear how often Forte will be on the field. Last season in Chicago, Forte carried the ball 218 times over 13 games -- 11th-most in the league -- and recorded a -0.04 Rushing NEP, sixth-best among backs with 200 or more carries.
15) Ryan Mathews
With DeMarco Murray off to Tennessee, Mathews steps into the lead back role in Philadelphia. At least he's expected to -- the Eagles did draft Wendell Smallwoodin the fifth round of April's draft. In limited opportunities in 2015, Mathews was productive in an offense that otherwise stalled. Among backs with at least 100 carries, he ranked 13th in Net Expected Points (NEP) per rush. The knock on Mathews has always been his penchant to be injured -- he's played in all 16 games just once in his career.
16) Latavius Murray
Murray was one of the most inefficient backs in 2015. He posted the ninth-worst Rushing NEP at -18.16, but finished 10th in fantasy scoring. Entering 2016, Murray is expected to remain the Raiders lead back, despite the addition of DeAndre Washington, a fifth round rookie Texas Tech. He'll make a living off of volume, but if that diminishes with Washington in the mix, Murray could fall in the rankings.
17) Jonathan Stewart
Stewart finished 2015 as RB16 after handling 242 carries for 989 yards and 6 touchdowns. It was a career high in carries for Stewart and a total he amassed in only 13 games. Stewart missed the final three games of the season with a foot injury which hampered his performance throughout the playoffs. He enters 2016 as Carolina's lead back, but he's 29 with a long injury history.
18) Ameer Abdullah
The Abdullah hype train went off the rails early in 2015, as Abdullah disappointed early on. The rookie rebounded during the second half of the season, averaging 4.7 yards per carry over the Lions' final 10 games. Abdullah saw only 143 carries in 2015, but numberFire is projecting more volume in his sophomore campaign, pegging him for 206 carries. Jim Sannes has written more on Abdullah's 2016 prospects.
19) Carlos Hyde
Hyde started fast in 2015, scorching the Vikings for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first Monday Night Football game of the season, but it was all downhill from there. Hyde's season ended following Week 7 after he suffered a stress fracture in his left foot. With Chip Kelly now in San Francisco, Hyde is shaping up to be a high-volume back with little depth behind him. In each of Kelly's first two seasons in Philadelphia, LeSean McCoy carried the ball more than 300 times. But like many of the backs before him, Hyde comes with an injury tag, missing 11 games over his first two seasons.
20) C.J. Anderson
Anderson was a league-winning waiver wire pickup in 2014, leading the Broncos offense down the stretch as he compiled a 20.37 Rushing NEP, sixth-best in the league that year. But Anderson fell off a cliff in 2015, producing a Rushing NEP of -7.85 and frustrating fantasy owners along the way. After going in the first or second round in drafts, Anderson finished the season as RB30 with 152 carries for 720 yards and 5 touchdowns. After signing with the Dolphins, the Broncos' matched the Dolphins offer to resign Anderson this summer and he enters the season as projected starter on a team with an elite defense and a coach who has a penchant for committing to the running game.
