2017 Fantasy Football: Running Back Rankings

Running back is always a tough position to draft in fantasy because of the volatility of production and injuries. Just because a running back is being drafted in the first round, doesn’t mean he will return that value. In fact, many experts firmly believe that running backs should not be drafted until the later rounds of the draft. This allows fantasy players to load of wide receivers, and address Quarterback and tight end earlier than other owners. Just look at the top ten running backs for this season, only six of my top ten ranked running backs went in the first rounds of drafts last season. That doesn’t even necessarily mean that provided top 30 pick value, but that at their ceiling that is the value they should produce this season.

Now even amidst the strategies of waiting on running backs, I feel we have to continue to draft running backs highly. There are only a few running backs who are considered true bell cow backs, and they provide great fantasy value. Last season, the best wide receivers went first overall in drafts, but the outstanding production from Le’Veon Bell, David Johnson, and Ezekiel Elliott has shot them up to the top of draft boards. Because there are so few bell cow backs in the league, they are all being drafted in the first two or three rounds. Even though the position is the riskiest in fantasy, missing out on this kind of production can badly hurt your fantasy season because of the number of running back committees in the league.

Now with all this analysis out of the way, below are my running back rankings standard and ppr scoring.

Top 50 Running Backs for 2017 (Standard Scoring)

1. Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
2. David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals
3. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
4. LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills
5. Devonta Freeman, Atlanta Falcons
6. Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers
7. Jay Ajayi, Miami Dolphins
8. Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears
9. DeMarco Murray, Tennessee Titans
10. Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
11. Marshawn Lynch, Oakland Raiders
12. Lamar Miller, Houston Texans
13. Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars
14. Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland Browns
15. Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers
16. Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints
17. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
18. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
19. Mike Gillislee, New England Patriots
20. Ty Montgomery, Green Bay Packers
21. Spencer Ware, Kansas City Chiefs
22. Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
23. LeGarrette Blount, Philadelphia Eagles
24. Robert Kelley, Washington Redskins
25. Frank Gore, Indianapolis Colts
26. Eddie Lacy, Seattle Seahawks
27. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
28. C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos
29. Bilal Powell, New York Jets
30. Ameer Abdullah, Detroit Lions
31. Tevin Coleman, Atlanta Falcons
32. Paul Perkins, New York Giants
33. Adrian Peterson, New Orleans Saints
34. Kenneth Dixon, Baltimore Ravens
35. James White, New England Patriots
36. Theo Riddick, Detroit Lions
37. Danny Woodhead, Baltimore Ravens
38. Jacquizz Rodgers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
39. Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles
40. Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
41. Jalen Richard, Oakland Raiders
42. Matt Forte, New York Jets
43. Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals
44. Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals
45. Samaje Perine, Washington Redskins
46. Thomas Rawls, Seattle Seahawks
47. Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers
48. Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
49. Latavius Murray, Minnesota Vikings
50. Terrance West, Baltimore Ravens

Top 50 Running Backs for 2017 (PPR Scoring)

1. Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
2. David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals
3. Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
4. LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills
5. Devonta Freeman, Atlanta Falcons
6. Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers
7. DeMarco Murray, Tennessee Titans
8. Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears
9. Jay Ajayi, Miami Dolphins
10. Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
11. Lamar Miller, Houston Texans
12. Marshawn Lynch, Oakland Raiders
13. Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars
14. Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland Browns
15. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
16. Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers
17. Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints
18. Ty Montgomery, Green Bay Packers
19. Spencer Ware, Kansas City Chiefs
20. Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
21. Bilal Powell, New York Jets
22. Danny Woodhead, Baltimore Ravens
23. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
24. Ameer Abdullah, Detroit Lions
25. Theo Riddick, Detroit Lions
26. Frank Gore, Indianapolis Colts
27. Tevin Coleman, Atlanta Falcons
28. Paul Perkins, New York Giants
29. C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos
30. Eddie Lacy, Seattle Seahawks
31. Mike Gillislee, New England Patriots
32. Robert Kelley, Washington Redskins
33. Duke Johnson Jr., Cleveland Browns
34. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
35. Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles
36. James White, New England Patriots
37. LeGarrette Blount, Philadelphia Eagles
38. Jalen Richard, Oakland Raiders
39. Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals
40. C.J. Prosise, Seattle Seahawks
41. Kenneth Dixon, Baltimore Ravens
42. Adrian Peterson, New Orleans Saints
43. Chris Thompson, Washington Redskins
44. Jacquizz Rodgers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
45. Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
46. Samaje Perine, Washington Redskins
47. Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
48. Matt Forte, New York Jets
49. Rex Burkhead, New England Patriots
50. Shane Vereen, New York Giants

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Written by

John Leinweber

Warriors, Lions, Raiders, Giants, A's.

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