October 1, 2016

Featured writer Ben Ruppert highlights some RB rankings and matchups analysis for Week 4, and draws some matchup conclusions.

Below you will find our Week 4 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 4, 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 4. You can also check out RotoBaller's overall player rankings here.

Editor's Note: Be sure to check out FantasyAces DFS contests for Week 4. New users that sign up on Fantasy Aces and make a $20 deposit will receive RotoBaller's full season NFL Premium Pass for free (including Premium DFS), normally a $59.99 value. Expert DFS research, sample lineups, matchup ratings and lots more!

Week 4 Running Backs - Rankings & Matchups Analysis

Le’Veon Bell makes his triumphant return this week against a relatively tough KC defense. Last week against the Eagles, the Steelers had a tough time getting anything going while DeAngelo Williams only rushed for 21 yards on eight carries. The ground game is huge for the success of the Steelers, so look for Bell to make an impact on the offense immediately. He is the number two back on our board right away, and if you look back at his statistics while he’s healthy, the ranking is well deserved.

Melvin Gordon and Mark Ingram will both see plenty of work this week in the San Diego, New Orleans game. Both of these teams are in the top-10 in fantasy points allowed to RBs (Saints are number one), and this game figures to be a high scoring affair. Gordon didn’t look too good carrying the ball last week against the Colts, but his involvement in the passing game will keep him useful every week. The only problem Ingram has faced is he isn’t getting enough touches. In 12 games last season, he averaged 18 touches per game. So far this season, that number has been down to 15. With the injury issues Ingram has faced throughout his career, this is likely the Saints effort to limit his workload to help keep him healthy. Tim Hightower is an OK RB, but not someone you should feel good about starting multiple weeks.

Charles Sims will be a solid play in PPR formats this week. The Broncos defense is daunting, but so far this season against RBs they have not been so dominating. Last week against the Bengals, Jeremy Hill was able to carve them for 97 yards and two scores. On limited touches in Week 1, Jonathan Stewart was able to average 4.3 YPC, while in Week 2, Frank Gore found some room through the air for a receiving TD. The Broncos are excellent at limiting opposing QBs and WRs, so this will be a great chance for Sims to improve off of his 124 all-purpose yard, one TD performance last week. Head coach Dirk Koetter said he would like to see Jameis Winston throw the ball a bit less, so unless the Bucs get down very early look for more carries for Sims.

LeGarrette Blount will be an excellent play this week against the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo has done a good job in limiting pass-catching RBs, but have failed against backs that run the ball tough up the middle like Blount does. Matt Forte ran all over them in Week 2 scoring three TDs, and David Johnson was able to find plenty of room against them in their loss. The Bills have allowed five rushing TDs, third in the league. In Week 1 when Jimmy Garoppolo was healthy against the Cardinals, Blount rushed 22 times for 70 yards and a TD. Consider this the floor for Blount in Week 4.

Carlos Hyde has been better than advertised this season. Hyde averages 21 touches per game, and has rushed for 225 yards through three games with four TDs. He is also getting more involved in the passing game, something we thought would hinder Hyde in 2016. He has six catches through three games, after getting only 11 in seven games last season. It’s not much, but if Hyde can get better at pass-catching and become more involved in that phase of the offense his value will receive a huge boost. The Cowboys are a middle of the pack run defense. They allowed the Bears RBs to rush 12 times for 76 yards last week (Jeremy Langford got hurt, Jordan Howard came in). I think Hyde is a little low on our list, he will find more success than we are giving him credit for with this ranking.

Todd Gurley is coming off of his best fantasy day of the season, rushing for 85 yards and two scores. Unfortunately for Gurley, those 85 yards came on a whopping 27 carries. Gurley is getting the huge volume which is keeping him relevant in fantasy circles, but is still not efficient in his carries while the Rams do not have a QB defenses have to respect. This week he draws the Panthers, who dealt Hyde his only bad fantasy day of the season. They shut down the Viking rushing attack last week also. With the Panthers defense capable of shutting down opponents in all phases of the game, I don’t see Gurley having much room to operate once again, meaning he will be very TD dependent. Gurley has a low floor this week.

The offensive line has been so bad for the Jaguars this season. It has clearly affected the passing and rushing attack, making everyone on their team tough to judge moving forward. The return of Chris Ivory last week meant T.J. Yeldon saw a large decrease in his carries (Weeks 1 & 2: 14 avg., Week 3: 6). Neither has been efficient running the ball, but since it was Ivory’s first game back from injury I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt last week. If he can’t find running lanes against a weak Colts defense at a neutral site in London, then this backfield will be a dumpster fire all season until they get some offensive line help. Both are ranked very low on our list, but Ivory will get the volume to out-perform this ranking. It’s only a matter of whether or not he can find a running lane.

Week 4 Fantasy Football Rankings - Running Backs