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FanDuel advice: Running backs in Wild Card weekend
Good luck picking from this crew, which all carry a load of question marks.
Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports
It shouldn’t be this hard. We’re 17 weeks into the 2015 NFL season. The wheat has separated from the chaff, we’re in the playoffs, the good players are what should be left.
So why the heck don’t we know anything at all about running backs?
In ranking running backs for FanDuel for Wild Card weekend, there were so many questions. Will Marshawn Lynch be back, and if so, how healthy will he be? With DeAngelo Williams unlikely to play, how will touches break down among his backups? Jeremy Hill saw a big increase in touches down the stretch, even though he wasn't exactly crazy productive with them; will that continue? Can Adrian Peterson overcome having to face that Seattle defense?
Every week of the playoffs, I’m ranking players for that weekend, taking their FanDuel salaries into account. Is it worth splurging on the expensive guys, or should you hunt for some savings and spend elsewhere? Below, I’ve ranked the top 20 running backs for this weekend’s games, with rationales to follow:
Running backs
| Rank | Running back | Team | Opponent | Salary |
| 1 | Jeremy Hill | CIN | PIT | $6,700 |
| 2 | Marshawn Lynch | SEA | @MIN | $7,800 |
| 3 | Fitzgerald Toussaint | PIT | @CIN | $5,700 |
| 4 | Eddie Lacy | GB | @WAS | $6,000 |
| 5 | Adrian Peterson | MIN | SEA | $8,400 |
| 6 | Alfred Morris | WAS | GB | $5,500 |
| 7 | Alfred Blue | HOU | KC | $5,700 |
| 8 | James Starks | GB | @WAS | $5,800 |
| 9 | Charcandrick West | KC | @HOU | $6,400 |
| 10 | Spencer Ware | KC | @HOU | $5,400 |
| 11 | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | SEA | $5,500 |
| 12 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | PIT | $5,600 |
| 13 | Chris Thompson | WAS | GB | $4,800 |
| 14 | Fred Jackson | SEA | @MIN | $4,800 |
| 15 | Jordan Todman | PIT | @CIN | $5,700 |
| 16 | Christine Michael | SEA | @MIN | $6,500 |
| 17 | Chris Polk | HOU | KC | $4,700 |
| 18 | Jonathan Grimes | HOU | KC | $4,500 |
| 19 | Pierre Thomas | WAS | GB | $4,500 |
| 20 | John Kuhn | GB | @WAS | $4,500 |
- My top three running backs: A guy with no hundred-yard games this year and 3.4 yards per carry in his last four (Jeremy Hill), a guy who hasn't played in two months (Marshawn Lynch) and a guy with 54 career rushing yards (Fitzgerald Toussaint). Toussaint is who interests me; he got the lion's share of carries with Williams out last week, and the Pittsburgh offense certainly makes running backs productive. Plus, he's crazy cheap. But lord, good luck.
- The Alfreds (Alfred Morris and Alfred Blue) are hanging out in the middle of the position, but could legitimately go either way. Morris faces a Green Bay run defense that has struggled mightily of late, but Matt Jones hasn't been ruled out for Sunday yet (though I don't expect him to play), and that could change things. Blue draws a Kansas City defense that has been better against the run, but lord knows he should out-touch his teammates.
- Now, Adrian Peterson. He's clearly not 100 percent at this point in the season. He's facing the Seattle defense, which held him to 18 rushing yards a month ago. He's $8,400, $600 more than the next-priciest (healthy) running back. It's still Peterson, and I can't rank him too low, but I can't imagine putting a big chunk of my salary cap on him this week.
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