October 20, 2016

Ben Ruppert's 2016 Week 7 running back (RB) fantasy football rankings analysis and tiered ranks. His rankings and start/sit advice for your Week 7 running back matchups.

Below you will find our Week 7 running back rankings, to help determine your RB starts/sits for this week, brought to you by Bill Dubiel (@Roto_Dubs), Nick Mariano (@NMariano53) and Ben Ruppert (@Ben_Ruppert_21).

Featured writer Ben Ruppert also highlights some RB rankings and matchups analysis for Week 7, and draws some matchup conclusions. He tells you who he likes, who he doesn't, and most importantly who he thinks you should be starting in Week 7. You can also check out RotoBaller's overall player rankings here.

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Week 7 Running Backs - Rankings & Matchups Analysis

Get ready for a dominating week from DeMarco Murray. Indianapolis has been the recipe for RB success all season long. They have allowed two straight rushers to eclipse the 100-yard mark, and they allowed T.J. Yeldon to have his best game of the season the week before that. Murray has been doing it all this season while completely holding off Derrick Henry for the bulk of the carries. As per usual, roll out Murray with extreme confidence. He should be the best play of the week.

LeSean McCoy had his hamstring tighten up in practice this week, leaving his status for Sunday completely up in the air. He has a prime matchup this week at Miami, who allow 120 yards on the ground per game to opposing RBs. He is a great play if he can go, if not look for Mike Gillislee to step in. Gillislee has been good in limited action this season, rushing 17 times for 117 yards (6.9 YPC) with two TDs. Last season at the end of the year he got one start and didn’t look good, rushing 24 times for 28 yards. However, that was against a Jets defense that was much more difficult to face than the Jets this year. He would be a nice RB2 play against Miami if named the starter.

The New Orleans Saints have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing RBs this season. This week they take on the Chiefs at KC, who have two running backs with the ability to dominate in Spencer Ware and Jamaal Charles. The return of Charles was supposed to put an end to Ware’s run, but he has been playing too well to sit. Last week Ware dominated the touches, but Charles looked good in the limited touches he had. Charles did report some swelling in his knee at practice this week however, so if he is at all limited expect an even bigger day from Ware. Charles makes for a bit of a risky play given the swelling news, but against the Saints he is still worth a roll of the dice.

Things have begun to shake up a bit down in Jacksonville, as Chris Ivory out-touched T.J. Yeldon last week 13-to-7. Ivory missed most of the season so far while recovering from an illness, but has been looking healthier each week he has played. Yeldon has been unable to produce much this season, leaving the door open for Ivory to see an expanded role if he can find some success. He scored a TD last week, and this week they face a Raiders defense that was shredded by the Chiefs running game last. Ivory can continue to separate himself from Yeldon with a good game this week.

With the news that Doug Martin suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury, it looks like the Jacquizz Rodgers train will remain on the tracks for this week against San Francisco. Rodgers surprised in Week 5, rushing for 101 yards on 30 carries while also catching five passes for 28 yards. The 49ers run defense has been abysmal, allowing 149 yards on the ground to RBs per game. If the Bucs offense operates like it did before the bye, expect another huge game for Rodgers. He will be a solid option in the coming weeks until Doug Martin is ready to return.

When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, who wins? That’s the case this week with David Johnson matchup up with the Seattle Seahawks run defense this week. This is likely the lowest you will see Johnson in our rankings all season long. He has been electric all season long, every bit as good as we drafted him to be and then some. The Seahawks were able to limit Devonta Freeman last week, and have been dominant against opposing RBs all season long outside of some late TDs by Carlos Hyde. I think Johnson will have a good game due to volume, but this will easily be his toughest challenge yet this season.

Latavius Murray returns to the Raiders RB rotation this week. DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard filled in and kept the ship afloat, but before the injury Murray was receiving the bulk (not a much bigger bulk) of the work. Murray should return to his role atop the totem pole, so he should be a bit higher up in our rankings compared to Washington. None of these players are very good starts this week, but Murray is an OK play if you’re in a tough spot. You can’t sell any of these guys right now; one can only hope the coaching staff ditches the committee approach and picks one back to roll with. Until then, this backfield is too volatile for fantasy purposes.

The Monday night matchup this week pits the Texans up against the Broncos in Denver. Lamar Miller will look to continue to success he found last week against the defenseless Colts. The Broncos passing defense is legit, but they have allowed the 12^th most fantasy points to RBs this season, making Miller a better play than expected. It is still CJ Anderson’s backfield in Denver, with Devontae Booker operating as the change of pace back. Last week Anderson ran into some bad luck with holding calls taking away big plays, including a nice 20-yard reception TD. He looks good on the field, and against a Houston run defense just behind the Broncos at #14, he should have a strong performance also.

Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings - Running Backs