Fantasy football rankings 2015: Running backs for PPR leagues, Week 13
Adrian Peterson has been great, but has he really been great? Here are our fantasy football running back rankings for PPR leagues in Week 13.
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Before the season, I argued against Adrian Peterson as the overall No. 1 fantasy player, or even as a first-round draft pick. Ultimately, I was wrong, as Peterson has easily been the best of the possible candidates for No. 1 overall, and has in fact been maybe the only player in the first round who hasn't disappointed (honorable mention to Antonio Brown).
The thing is, though, that I wasn’t totally wrong.
I mean, I was. At this point, Peterson is on pace for almost 1,700 rushing yards, which would be the second-highest total of his career. He could score 12 touchdowns and is close to five yards a carry. That’s a good player. But Peterson only looks as great as he has because the other top running backs have fallen by the wayside. Peterson has 170 fantasy points, which is second this season, but would have been fourth at the same point last year. This after a big Week 12; a week ago, he’d have ranked sixth by 2014.
If Jamaal Charles, Le'Veon Bell, et al, had come close to expectations for this year, Peterson's season would be good — it's good no matter what others do — but he wouldn't be "Oooo, look at him."
Add to that Peterson’s pass-catching — or, if I’m being nitpicky, lack thereof. Those who argued the pro-Peterson side of things to me in the preseason cited the presence of Norv Turner in Minnesota as a huge Peterson benefit. Turner has a history of targeting running backs, making them PPR machines and giving them a second outlet to accumulate points. Well, Peterson came into 2015 averaging 2.8 targets, two catches a game in his career. This year, he’s averaging 2.6 targets, 2.1 catches. Say what you will about the rest of Peterson’s game, but the pass-catching has not been what’s made Peterson No. 1.
Blame that on Norv Turner or on Adrian Peterson. Heck, blame it on Teddy Bridgewater. You’d be justified. And if you have Peterson, you’re happy with what you’ve gotten, especially compared to the guys he was in competition with. But if you were expected a big pass-catcher here, you just haven’t gotten that.
On to our Week 13 running back rankings for PPR leagues.
Running backs for PPR leagues, Week 13
(DK: Daniel Kelley; AM: Andrew Miller; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska. Dan Ciarrocchi has the week off.)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | DK | AM | JD | SK |
| 1 | Adrian Peterson | MIN | SEA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | DeAngelo Williams | PIT | IND | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | @TB | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | HOU | 2 | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | Doug Martin | TB | ATL | 11 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| 6 | Todd Gurley | STL | ARI | 9 | 9 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | @NO | 18 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
| 8 | Mark Ingram | NO | CAR | 5 | 15 | 9 | 10 |
| 9 | Chris Ivory | NYJ | @NYG | 13 | 6 | 11 | 11 |
| 10 | Darren McFadden | DAL | @WAS | 12 | 11 | 8 | 12 |
| 11 | Eddie Lacy | GB | @DET | 7 | 14 | 14 | 9 |
| 12 | Matt Forte | CHI | SF | 6 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 12 | Thomas Rawls | SEA | @MIN | 17 | 10 | 10 | 8 |
| 14 | Buck Allen | BAL | @MIA | 10 | 13 | 12 | 13 |
| 15 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | @SD | 8 | 22 | 18 | 15 |
| 15 | DeMarco Murray | PHI | @NE | 14 | 18 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | @CLE | 23 | 17 | 16 | 18 |
| 18 | LeGarrette Blount | NE | PHI | 19 | 16 | 22 | 22 |
| 19 | T.J.Yeldon | JAC | @TEN | 20 | 20 | 21 | 20 |
| 20 | Latavius Murray | OAK | KC | 15 | 21 | 23 | 23 |
| 21 | Lamar Miller | MIA | BAL | 24 | 25 | 17 | 17 |
| 22 | David Johnson | ARI | @STL | 29 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| 23 | Spencer Ware | KC | @OAK | 28 | 7 | 32 | 29 |
| 24 | Ronnie Hillman | DEN | @SD | 16 | 27 | 28 | 27 |
| 25 | Danny Woodhead | SD | DEN | 27 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| 26 | Shaun Draughn | SF | @CHI | 34 | 26 | 20 | 21 |
| 26 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | @CLE | 25 | 23 | 27 | 26 |
| 28 | Jeremy Langford | CHI | SF | 26 | 32 | 26 | 25 |
| 29 | Frank Gore | IND | @PIT | 21 | 36 | 29 | 32 |
| 30 | Alfred Blue | HOU | @BUF | 30 | 28 | 31 | 31 |
| 31 | Charcandrick West | KC | @OAK | 22 | -- | 25 | 28 |
| 32 | Theo Riddick | DET | GB | 36 | 31 | 30 | 30 |
| 33 | Duke Johnson Jr. | CLE | CIN | 33 | 37 | 33 | 33 |
| 34 | Antonio Andrews | TEN | JAC | 46 | 29 | 34 | 35 |
| 34 | James Starks | GB | @DET | 35 | 30 | 41 | 38 |
| 36 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | GB | 43 | 34 | 37 | 36 |
| 37 | Charles Sims | TB | ATL | 31 | 38 | 39 | 43 |
| 38 | Shane Vereen | NYG | NYJ | 37 | 48 | 35 | 34 |
| 39 | Darren Sproles | PHI | @NE | 40 | 43 | 36 | 37 |
| 40 | Melvin Gordon | SD | DEN | 38 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| 41 | Brandon Bolden | NE | PHI | 32 | 41 | 44 | 44 |
| 41 | Matt Jones | WAS | DAL | -- | 33 | 38 | 39 |
| 43 | Alfred Morris | WAS | DAL | 44 | 35 | 43 | 42 |
| 44 | Joique Bell | DET | GB | 39 | 39 | -- | -- |
| 45 | James White | NE | PHI | -- | -- | 42 | 41 |
| 45 | Bilal Powell | NYJ | @NYG | 42 | 49 | 47 | 47 |
| 47 | Rashad Jennings | NYG | NYJ | 47 | 45 | 46 | 48 |
| 48 | Jay Ajayi | MIA | BAL | 45 | 44 | 50 | 49 |
| 49 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | @TB | -- | -- | 45 | 45 |
| 50 | Chris Thompson | WAS | DAL | 41 | 50 | -- | -- |
| -- | Tre Mason | STL | ARI | -- | 42 | -- | -- |
| -- | Ryan Mathews | PHI | @NE | -- | -- | 48 | 46 |
| -- | Dan Herron | IND | @PIT | -- | 46 | -- | -- |
| -- | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | CIN | -- | 47 | -- | -- |
| -- | Karlos Williams | BUF | HOU | 48 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Marcel Reece | OAK | KC | 49 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | C.J. Spiller | NO | CAR | -- | -- | 49 | -- |
| -- | Jonathan Grimes | HOU | @BUF | 50 | -- | -- | 50 |
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