2014 Fantasy Football Rankings: Week 9 Running Backs

Given their durability history, you may not have been thrilled with landing DeMarco Murray and Arian Foster as the first two picks of your fantasy draft(s).

If you’ve gambled on this injury-prone duo with back-to-back picks, however, the gamble has more than paid off through the first half of the season.

Murray is getting most of the attention, but Foster has been nearly as good.

In fact, Foster ranks second only to Murray in terms of fantasy points scored and he has missed one game.

While Murray has set an NFL record with eight consecutive games of 100-plus rushing yards to start the season, Foster has gained 100-plus yards on the ground in six of his seven games this season. In addition, Foster has a four-game active streak of 100-yard games.

In those four games, Foster has scored a total of eight touchdowns including three of them last week against the Titans. Foster has finished as a top-12 running back in those four games, but he has finished with the most or second-most fantasy points at the position in three of those games.

If Foster can stay healthy and play in the remaining eight games, he’s on pace (over 15 games since he missed Week 3) for 1,997 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Murray is on pace (2,108 rushing yards) to set the single-season rushing record.

Of these two stud backs, Foster (vs. PHI) has a much more favorable matchup than Murray (vs. ARI) has this week. The Eagles have been middle of the pack (15th-fewest) in terms of fantasy points allowed to running backs, but no team has allowed fewer fantasy points to opposing running backs than the Cardinals this season.

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Some more thoughts on running backs:

- Colts running back Ahmad Bradshaw may have to share the workload with Trent Richardson on Monday Night Football, but he gets a favorable matchup against the Giants. Aside from the Falcons, who are on bye this week, no team has allowed more fantasy points to opposing RBs than the Giants. Bradshaw has scored a total of eight touchdowns with scores in all but two games and only four running backs have more fantasy points than he does this season.

- While there has been lots of attention paid to the locker-room issues in Seattle and the resentment brewing inside Marshawn Lynch towards Pete Carroll, this is the perfect week for him to go off a la Beast Mode. Lynch has finished as the RB30 (or worse) in three consecutive games, but the team is favored by more than two touchdowns at home against the Raiders and projected to score the second-most points this week according to Vegas. It wouldn’t surprise me if Lynch scored multiple touchdowns this week.

- Saints running back Mark Ingram rushed 24 times for 172 yards and a touchdown on Sunday night against the Packers. Ingram has now finished as a top-nine fantasy running back in three of four games with the exception being to the Lions stingy run defense. Given the team’s injuries in the backfield and the quality of the matchup, Ingram is once again a solid RB1 this week.

- With Montee Ball (groin) expected to miss at least another week, Ronnie Hillman will once again dominate the touches in Denver’s backfield. Hillman has had 20-plus carries and 100-plus yards in two of his three starts. It was the other game that he finished as a top-three running back (scored two TDs), but he has finished as a top-15 fantasy running back in three consecutive games. The Patriots have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season.

- Pittsburgh’s LeVeon Bell rushed for 100-plus yards in two of his first three games of the season, but he has been kept under 100 rushing yards since then. That said, Bell has exceeded 100 YFS in all eight games this season and is on pace for 2,172 YFS and 84 receptions this season. With the fourth-most fantasy points at the position through Week 8, Bell’s only finish outside the top 20 RBs was in Week 2 vs. the Ravens (RB21), who are this week’s opponent.

- Jaguars running back Denard Robinson became the team’s first 100-yard rusher in Week 7 and then he did it again in Week 8. Against the Browns, Robinson gained 108 yards on 18 carries and he goes against a Bengals team that has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season.

Here are my Week 9 fantasy football running back rankings:

1. Arian Foster, Houston Texans (vs. PHI)
2. DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys (vs. ARI)
3. Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks (vs. OAK)
4. Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NYJ)
5. Andre Ellington, Arizona Cardinals (at DAL)
6. Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints (at CAR)
7. Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. BAL)
8. LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles (at HOU)
9. Ronnie Hillman, Denver Broncos (at NE)
10. Lamar Miller, Miami Dolphins (vs. SD)
11. Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. JAX)
12. Ahmad Bradshaw, Indianapolis Colts (at NYG)
13. Chris Ivory, New York Jets (at KC)
14. Justin Forsett, Baltimore Ravens (at PIT)
15. Branden Oliver, San Diego Chargers (at MIA)
16. Jerick McKinnon, Minnesota Vikings (vs. WAS)
17. Ben Tate, Cleveland Browns (vs. TB)
18. Denard Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars (at CIN)
19. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers (vs. STL)
20. Shane Vereen, New England Patriots (vs. DEN)
21. Alfred Morris, Washington Redskins (at MIN)
22. Andre Williams, New York Giants (vs. IND)
23. Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders (at SEA)
24. Lorenzo Taliaferro, Baltimore Ravens (at PIT)
25. Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers (vs. NO)
26. Trent Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (at NYG)
27. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers (vs. NO)
28. Tre Mason, St. Louis Rams (at SF)
29. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at CLE)
30. Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles (at HOU)
31. Knile Davis, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NYJ)
32. Travaris Cadet, New Orleans Saints (at CAR)
33. Benny Cunningham, St. Louis Rams (at SF)
34. Zac Stacy, St. Louis Rams (at SF)
35. Jonas Gray, New England Patriots (vs. DEN)
36. Matt Asiata, Minnesota Vikings (vs. WAS)
37. LeGarrette Blount, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. BAL)
38. Chris Johnson, New York Jets (at KC)
39. Charles Sims, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at CLE)
40. Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers (vs. STL)
41. Robert Turbin, Seattle Seahawks (vs. OAK)
42. Bobby Rainey, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at CLE)
43. Juwan Thompson, Denver Broncos (at NE)
44. Roy Helu, Washington Redskins (at MIN)
45. Peyton Hillis, New York Giants (vs. IND)
46. Alfred Blue, Houston Texans (vs. PHI)
47. Terrance West, Cleveland Browns (vs. TB)
48. Daniel Thomas, Miami Dolphins (vs. SD)
49. Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland Browns (vs. TB)
50. Toby Gerhart, Jacksonville Jaguars (at CIN)
51. Maurice Jones-Drew, Oakland Raiders (at SEA)
52. De’Anthony Thomas, Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NYJ)
53. Marcel Reece, Oakland Raiders (at SEA)
54. Lance Dunbar, Dallas Cowboys (vs. ARI)
55. Cedric Peerman, Cincinnati Bengals (vs. JAX)
56. Joseph Randle, Dallas Cowboys (vs. ARI)
57. James White, New England Patriots (vs. DEN)
58. Dan Herron, Indianapolis Colts (at NYG)
59. Darrel Young, Washington Redskins (at MIN)
60. Kyle Juszczyk, Baltimore Ravens (at PIT)

Teams on bye in Week 9: Bears, Bills, Falcons, Lions, Packers, Titans

More of our Week 9 rankings:

• Week 9 Quarterback Rankings
• Week 9 Wide Receiver Rankings
• Week 9 Tight End Rankings

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