A year ago, Matt Forte was the most targeted running back in football, and it wasn’t particularly close. The Chicago Bears running back got 130 targets last year; Le’Veon Bell saw 105, Fred Jackson saw 90 and no one else had more than 77. If Forte were a wide receiver, he’d have tied for 17th at that position in targets.
Fantasy football rankings 2015: Running backs for PPR leagues, Week 2
A familiar name graces the top of the rankings for the new week. We have Week 2 running back rankings for PPR leagues.
Now, in football, yards are yards. There are pros and cons to running vs. passing, but in the end, you just want to move down the field. But in PPR fantasy football leagues, Forte rose from “good running back” to “evaluate things in all capital letters please.”
With the departure of Marc Trestman from the Bears over the offseason, some thought Forte’s targets would fall off. After all, new scheme, and conservative coach John Fox to boot. And hey, there are 15 games left to play in this NFL season; things could still happen. But after one week, Forte sits right near the top of the running back targets yet again. He was targeted eight times Sunday, behind only Mark Ingram and Darren Sproles, both with nine.
With Alshon Jeffery banged up for the game (but active), maybe it was just a Forte-heavy offense. But the Forte attack worked last year; even with Jeffery, Brandon Marshall and Martellus Bennett, Forte was the biggest player on that offense. It’s one week, but it looks like he will be again.
That’s why Forte is the No. 1 running back in our Week 2 PPR rankings, with three rankers having him first and all five having him second or better. It gets messier and more confusing after that; every running back after Forte had at least one person rank him eighth or lower. But at least we have that top spot.
On to the rest of our staff consensus PPR running back rankings for NFL Week 2:
Running backs for PPR leagues, Week 2
(DK: Daniel Kelley; DC: Dan Ciarrocchi; AM: Andrew Miller; JD: John Daigle; SK: Scott Kaliska)
| Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp. | DK | DC | AM | JD | SK |
| 1 | Matt Forte | CHI | ARI | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Jamaal Charles | KC | DEN | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
| 3 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | SD | 8 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | Marshawn Lynch | SEA | @GB | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 5 | Eddie Lacy | GB | SEA | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 9 |
| 6 | DeMarco Murray | PHI | DAL | 4 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 3 |
| 7 | Adrian Peterson | MIN | DET | 12 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | @KC | 7 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 11 |
| 9 | Carlos Hyde | SF | @PIT | 5 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 7 |
| 10 | Justin Forsett | BAL | @OAK | 9 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 13 |
| 11 | Mark Ingram | NO | TB | 10 | 13 | 15 | 7 | 6 |
| 12 | Chris Ivory | NYJ | @IND | 13 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| 13 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | NE | 11 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
| 14 | Lamar Miller | MIA | @JAC | 18 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 |
| 15 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | @MIN | 14 | 16 | 10 | 19 | 15 |
| 16 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | HOU | 15 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | Rashad Jennings | NYG | ATL | 16 | 21 | 25 | 18 | 19 |
| 18 | DeAngelo Williams | PIT | SF | 20 | 24 | 18 | 17 | 22 |
| 19 | Alfred Morris | WAS | STL | 19 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 24 |
| 20 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | @NYG | 24 | 19 | 22 | 16 | 23 |
| 21 | Doug Martin | TB | @NO | 25 | 15 | 17 | 27 | 21 |
| 22 | Joseph Randle | DAL | @PHI | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 17 |
| 23 | Latavius Murray | OAK | BAL | 17 | 20 | 24 | 29 | 25 |
| 24 | Danny Woodhead | SD | @CIN | 23 | 23 | 28 | 22 | 20 |
| 25 | Frank Gore | IND | NYJ | 27 | 35 | 19 | 20 | 18 |
| 26 | Bishop Sankey | TEN | @CLE | 29 | 32 | 20 | 24 | 26 |
| 27 | T.J. Yeldon | JAC | MIA | 26 | 27 | 31 | 31 | 28 |
| 28 | LeGarrette Blount | NE | @BUF | 28 | 30 | 33 | 25 | 31 |
| 29 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | TEN | 22 | 31 | 34 | 32 | 30 |
| 29 | Melvin Gordon | SD | @CIN | 32 | 29 | 30 | 26 | 32 |
| 31 | Joique Bell | DET | @MIN | 33 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 27 |
| 32 | Chris Johnson | ARI | @CHI | 35 | 28 | 27 | 40 | 29 |
| 33 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | SD | 37 | 26 | 35 | 39 | 33 |
| 34 | Darren Sproles | PHI | DAL | 44 | 25 | 38 | 36 | 35 |
| 35 | Ryan Mathews | PHI | DAL | 38 | 37 | 40 | 28 | 41 |
| 36 | David Johnson | ARI | @CHI | 30 | 45 | 37 | 42 | 36 |
| 37 | Dion Lewis | NE | @BUF | 45 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 38 |
| 38 | Benny Cunningham | STL | @WAS | -- | 38 | 26 | 49 | 34 |
| 39 | C.J. Spiller | NO | TB | 34 | 36 | 29 | -- | -- |
| 39 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | @NYG | 31 | 40 | 44 | 41 | 45 |
| 39 | Alfred Blue | HOU | @CAR | 50 | 39 | 39 | 33 | 40 |
| 42 | Lance Dunbar | DAL | @PHI | 42 | 44 | 49 | 35 | 39 |
| 43 | Shane Vereen | NYG | ATL | 41 | 41 | 41 | 45 | 47 |
| 44 | Darren McFadden | DAL | @PHI | 36 | 42 | 46 | 50 | 48 |
| 44 | Duke Johnson | CLE | TEN | 48 | 46 | 47 | 37 | 44 |
| 46 | Ronnie Hillman | DEN | @KC | -- | 43 | 43 | 47 | 42 |
| 47 | Tre Mason | STL | @WAS | 40 | -- | -- | 34 | -- |
| 48 | Marcel Reece | OAK | BAL | 43 | 47 | 42 | -- | -- |
| 49 | Khiry Robinson | NO | TB | 46 | -- | -- | -- | 37 |
| 50 | Karlos Williams | BUF | NE | 49 | -- | -- | 43 | 43 |
| -- | Bilal Powell | NYJ | @IND | 39 | -- | -- | -- | 50 |
| -- | Matt Jones | WAS | STL | -- | 49 | 48 | 46 | -- |
| -- | Terrance West | TEN | @CLE | -- | -- | -- | 44 | -- |
| -- | Denard Robinson | JAC | MIA | -- | -- | 45 | -- | -- |
| -- | Buck Allen | BAL | @OAK | -- | 50 | -- | -- | 46 |
| -- | Charles Sims | TB | @NO | 47 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Chris Polk | HOU | @CAR | -- | -- | 50 | 48 | -- |
| -- | Knile Davis | KC | DEN | -- | 48 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Brandon Bolden | NE | @BUF | -- | -- | -- | -- | 49 |
