A year ago, Matt Forte had a historic season from a PPR fantasy football perspective. He caught 102 passes and was targeted 130 times, and he was significantly ahead of second place and multiple standard deviations from the mean.
Fantasy football rankings 2015: Running backs for PPR leagues, Week 4
We have a running back looking at some record-pace receiving production though three games.
And it might pale in comparison to this year’s leader.
We’re only three weeks into the 2015 NFL season, but Lance Dunbar is on a crazy pace. Though three games, he has 21 receptions, which would be a pace of 112 over the full season. That’s on 23 targets, which is a pace of 123. That’s not quite on pace for Forte’s 2014 targets pace, though Dunbar’s target number shot up to 10 on Sunday, the team’s first game without Tony Romo.
Here’s the thing: With Dez Bryant hurt, Lance Dunbar, running back, is somehow the best wide receiver on the Cowboys’ roster. Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley are warm bodies and little else. Jason Witten is a good tight end. But Dunbar has been increasingly running receiver routes and catching passes. For the season, in addition to those 21 receptions, he has ... two carries. Of Dunbar’s 228 yards in 2015, 215 of them have come via the pass.
If you assume he’ll remain healthly, Dunbar is on pace for 1,216 yards this season, and he’s on pace to have enough catches to break records. It’s unconventional, but a running back who gains 1,200 yards is a fantasy starter, and one that adds another hundred-some points in PPR becomes a potential RB1.
That’s one name. How do the rest shake out? On to our Week 4 running back PPR rankings:
Running backs for PPR leagues, Week 4
(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 | Le'Veon Bell | PIT | BAL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Jamaal Charles | KC | @CIN | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | Matt Forte | CHI | OAK | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Eddie Lacy | GB | @SF | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Adrian Peterson | MIN | @DEN | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | Latavius Murray | OAK | @CHI | 9 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Mark Ingram | NO | DAL | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| 8 | Marshawn Lynch | SEA | DET | 14 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 9 |
| 9 | Devonta Freeman | ATL | HOU | 13 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 8 |
| 10 | Joseph Randle | DAL | @NO | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 |
| 11 | Karlos Williams | BUF | NYG | 8 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 16 |
| 12 | Frank Gore | IND | JAC | 12 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 7 |
| 13 | Carlos Hyde | SF | GB | 11 | 11 | 18 | 11 | 17 |
| 14 | Justin Forsett | BAL | @PIT | 15 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 11 |
| 15 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | KC | 16 | 18 | 8 | 17 | 19 |
| 16 | Danny Woodhead | SD | @CLE | 19 | 20 | 17 | 19 | 13 |
| 17 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | KC | 23 | 16 | 27 | 15 | 12 |
| 17 | Melvin Gordon | SD | @CLE | 29 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 14 |
| 17 | Chris Ivory | NYJ | @MIA | 20 | 17 | 14 | 20 | 22 |
| 20 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | MIN | 18 | 15 | 20 | 24 | 21 |
| 21 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR | @TB | 21 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 18 |
| 22 | T.J. Yeldon | JAC | @IND | 22 | 25 | 28 | 21 | 23 |
| 23 | Matt Jones | WAS | PHI | 33 | 22 | 19 | 22 | 24 |
| 24 | Arian Foster | HOU | @ATL | 10 | 30 | -- | 7 | 27 |
| 25 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | @SD | 24 | 27 | 30 | 27 | 29 |
| 26 | Ryan Mathews | PHI | @WAS | 30 | 23 | 22 | 48 | 20 |
| 26 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | @SEA | 27 | 32 | 23 | 30 | 31 |
| 26 | DeMarco Murray | PHI | @WAS | 26 | 29 | 24 | 25 | 39 |
| 29 | Alfred Morris | WAS | PHI | 37 | 26 | 31 | 26 | 26 |
| 30 | Lance Dunbar | DAL | @NO | 17 | 35 | 35 | 32 | 28 |
| 31 | Andre Ellington | ARI | STL | 31 | 34 | 25 | 29 | 30 |
| 32 | Lamar Miller | MIA | NYJ | 41 | 24 | 26 | 33 | 32 |
| 33 | Darren Sproles | PHI | @WAS | 25 | 31 | 37 | 43 | 25 |
| 34 | Doug Martin | TB | CAR | 38 | 28 | 32 | 37 | 34 |
| 35 | Chris Johnson | ARI | STL | 32 | 33 | 42 | 34 | 36 |
| 36 | David Johnson | ARI | STL | 34 | 39 | 33 | 35 | 40 |
| 37 | Todd Gurley | STL | @ARI | 43 | 36 | 39 | 31 | 35 |
| 38 | Shane Vereen | NYG | @BUF | 36 | 40 | 34 | 45 | 33 |
| 39 | Ronnie Hillman | DEN | MIN | 28 | 42 | 38 | 41 | 43 |
| 40 | Rashad Jennings | NYG | @BUF | 35 | 37 | 40 | 46 | 41 |
| 41 | C.J. Spiller | NO | DAL | 47 | 38 | 43 | 42 | 38 |
| 42 | Thomas Rawls | SEA | DET | 44 | 47 | -- | 28 | 48 |
| 43 | Bilal Powell | NYJ | @MIA | -- | 41 | -- | 40 | 37 |
| 44 | Alfred Blue | HOU | @ATL | -- | 43 | 36 | 49 | 44 |
| 45 | Charles Sims | TB | CAR | -- | 44 | -- | 36 | 45 |
| 46 | Theo Riddick | DET | @SEA | 39 | -- | -- | 39 | 50 |
| 46 | Tre Mason | STL | @ARI | 45 | -- | 41 | 47 | 46 |
| 48 | Darren McFadden | DAL | @NO | 42 | 46 | 46 | 50 | 47 |
| 49 | Duke Johnson | CLE | @SD | -- | 45 | 50 | 44 | 42 |
| 50 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | NYG | -- | -- | 29 | -- | -- |
| -- | Andre Williams | NYG | @BUF | -- | -- | 49 | 38 | -- |
| -- | Joique Bell | DET | @SEA | 46 | -- | 45 | -- | 49 |
| -- | Khiry Robinson | NO | DAL | 40 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Fred Jackson | SEA | DET | -- | 48 | 47 | -- | -- |
| -- | DeAngelo Williams | PIT | BAL | -- | 50 | 48 | -- | -- |
| -- | Chris Thompson | WAS | PHI | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Kyle Juszczyk | BAL | @PIT | 49 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | James Starks | GB | @SF | -- | 49 | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Marcel Reece | OAK | @CHI | 50 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
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SB Nation presents: Who to start and sit on your fantasy team in Week 4
