Fantasy football rankings 2015: Running backs for PPR leagues, Week 10
It might feel like we’re seeing fewer RB receptions this year, but that isn’t accurate. Here are our fantasy football running back rankings for PPR leagues in Week 10.
I had this notion. With Matt Forte losing his connection to Marc Trestman, with Darren Sproles taking on an ever smaller role in his team's offense, with Pierre Thomas and Travaris Cadet unemployed, with Le'Veon Bell missing time, I had this idea that the number of targets for running backs in the 2015 NFL season was way down.
It stands to reason. A year ago, Forte and Bell caught passes at a record-setting rate. Fred Jackson and Shane Vereen were very active. The pass-catching among running backs was ridiculous. This year, Theo Riddick is near the top of the position. Dion Lewis, Arian Foster, Le'Veon Bell and Jamaal Charles are all done. The guys who get the receptions just aren't doing what they do.
So I checked. I tallied up all the running back receptions and targets so far this season and prorated those over a full season. Then I checked the same numbers for the 2014 and 2013 full seasons. Paces are dicey things to mess with, but through nine weeks, that certainly seemed like a way to handle it.
The chart that follows show the numbers:
| RB receptions | RB targets | |
| 2015 (pace) | 2,694 | 3,596 |
| 2014 | 2,511 | 3,440 |
| 2013 | 2,575 | 3,507 |
Turns out, my notion isn’t going as I expected. So far at least. We’re on pace for increases in running-back receptions and targets over the last two years.
We might not end up getting there. We haven’t seen the effect of the recent injuries to Charles, Bell, Lewis quite yet, and that could hurt the season-long numbers. Still, I came into this thinking I’d be talking about a reduction in targets, and that just isn’t there.
The last two years combined, three running backs were targeted 100 times in a season. This year, through Week 9, Freeman, Lewis, Riddick and Danny Woodhead are all on that pace. Obviously, Lewis won't get there, but the receptions actually are there.
It just doesn’t feel that way.
We have our Week 10 running back rankings for PPR leagues.
Running backs for PPR leagues, Week 10
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; AM: Andrew Miller; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska. Atlanta, Indianapolis, San Diego and San Francisco are on bye.)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | DK | DC | AM | JD | SK |
| 1 | Todd Gurley | STL | CHI | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Adrian Peterson | MIN | @OAK | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | DeAngelo Williams | PIT | CLE | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Mark Ingram | NO | @WAS | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | DeMarco Murray | PHI | MIA | 5 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Marshawn Lynch | SEA | ARI | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 8 |
| 7 | Justin Forsett | BAL | JAC | 7 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | Darren McFadden | DAL | @TB | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
| 9 | Lamar Miller | MIA | @PHI | 12 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 13 |
| 10 | Chris Ivory | NYJ | BUF | 9 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 11 |
| 11 | Doug Martin | TB | DAL | 11 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 17 |
| 12 | LeGarrette Blount | NE | @NYG | 18 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | @TEN | 10 | 12 | 20 | 14 | 14 |
| 14 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | HOU | 19 | 13 | 19 | 13 | 9 |
| 14 | Latavius Murray | OAK | MIN | 16 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 18 |
| 16 | T.J.Yeldon | JAC | @BAL | 13 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 16 |
| 17 | Chris Johnson | ARI | @SEA | 15 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 20 |
| 18 | Charcandrick West | KC | @DEN | 29 | 14 | 25 | 19 | 10 |
| 19 | James Starks | GB | DET | 25 | 22 | 18 | 18 | 15 |
| 20 | Jeremy Langford | CHI | @STL | 26 | 18 | 22 | 15 | 21 |
| 21 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | @NYJ | 14 | 19 | 23 | 20 | 28 |
| 22 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | HOU | 27 | 21 | 17 | 22 | 22 |
| 23 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | KC | 22 | 24 | 28 | 27 | 19 |
| 24 | Duke Johnson Jr. | CLE | @PIT | 20 | 23 | 21 | 28 | 29 |
| 25 | Karlos Williams | BUF | @NYJ | 28 | 31 | 15 | 25 | 24 |
| 26 | Shane Vereen | NYG | NE | 34 | 26 | 27 | 24 | 25 |
| 27 | Antonio Andrews | TEN | CAR | 36 | 25 | 29 | 23 | 26 |
| 28 | Ronnie Hillman | DEN | KC | 23 | 30 | 24 | 33 | 33 |
| 28 | Ryan Mathews | PHI | MIA | 39 | 29 | 26 | 26 | 23 |
| 30 | Alfred Blue | HOU | @CIN | 21 | 28 | 33 | 29 | 34 |
| 31 | Theo Riddick | DET | @GB | 24 | 37 | 32 | 32 | 30 |
| 32 | Charles Sims | TB | DAL | 31 | 35 | 31 | 30 | 31 |
| 33 | Matt Jones | WAS | NO | 44 | 27 | 35 | 31 | 27 |
| 34 | Eddie Lacy | GB | DET | 30 | 34 | 30 | 35 | 37 |
| 35 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | @PIT | 40 | 33 | 37 | 34 | 32 |
| 36 | Joique Bell | DET | @GB | 17 | 42 | 36 | 42 | 42 |
| 37 | Rashad Jennings | NYG | NE | 33 | 36 | 39 | 38 | 35 |
| 38 | James White | NE | @NYG | 32 | 39 | 34 | 39 | 39 |
| 39 | Darren Sproles | PHI | MIA | 42 | 38 | 45 | 36 | 36 |
| 40 | Chris Thompson | WAS | NO | 43 | 32 | 48 | 37 | 38 |
| 41 | Dexter McCluster | TEN | CAR | 37 | 47 | 42 | 44 | 40 |
| 42 | Brandon Bolden | NE | @NYG | 50 | 43 | 43 | 40 | 41 |
| 43 | Andre Ellington | ARI | @SEA | 45 | 48 | 38 | 45 | 44 |
| 43 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | @GB | 41 | 40 | 49 | 43 | 47 |
| 45 | David Johnson | ARI | @SEA | 35 | 49 | 40 | 50 | 49 |
| 45 | C.J. Spiller | NO | @WAS | 46 | 41 | 50 | 41 | 45 |
| 45 | Alfred Morris | WAS | NO | 48 | 45 | 41 | 46 | 43 |
| 48 | Marcel Reece | OAK | MIN | 38 | 46 | -- | 47 | 46 |
| 49 | Orleans Darkwa | NYG | NE | -- | 44 | 47 | 48 | -- |
| 50 | Chris Polk | HOU | @CIN | 49 | -- | 46 | 49 | 48 |
| -- | Taiwan Jones | OAK | MIN | -- | 50 | 44 | -- | -- |
| -- | Jay Ajayi | MIA | @PHI | 47 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Buck Allen | BAL | JAC | -- | -- | -- | -- | 50 |
* * *
SB Nation presents: NFL Week 10 preview and picks
