The top of running back rankings are volatile from year to year. Adrian Peterson has consistently been one of the highest-selected running backs each season for quite some time (excluding 2012 when he was coming off a major knee injury), but the rest of the top five seems to change frequently. This year isn't much different.
Fantasy football rankings, 2014: Running backs in standard leagues
The NFL is developing into more and more of a passing league, but running backs remain fantasy workhorses. We’ve got your standard running back rankings.
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Peterson is still in the mix, but he's not the No. 1 target owners are going after in 2014. Eddie Lacy managed to crack our top five after just one season in the league. But after watching last season play out, you shouldn't be too surprised with who we think are the best running backs to target.
The list gets more interesting the further down you look. C.J. Spiller was the No. 6 running back taken on average in 2013, according to My Fantasy League. He comes in at No. 17 for us. Andre Ellington has gone from a back few owners drafted as a rookie to No. 15 here. Some analysts value him as a Round 2-3 pick. We're not buying quite that high.
There shouldn’t be too many surprises in the mix. Let’s take a look at our top 50 running backs for the 2014 season.
Consensus Writer Rankings
| Rank | Consensus |
| 1 | Jamaal Charles |
| 2 | LeSean McCoy |
| 3 | Adrian Peterson |
| 4 | Matt Forte |
| 5 | Eddie Lacy |
| 6 | Marshawn Lynch |
| 7 | DeMarco Murray |
| 8 | Le'Veon Bell |
| 9 | Montee Baal |
| 10 | Arian Foster |
| 11 | Doug Martin |
| 12 | Alfred Morris |
| 13 | Zac Stacy |
| 14 | Giovani Bernard |
| 15 | Andre Ellington |
| 16 | Ryan Mathews |
| 17 | C.J. Spiller |
| 18 | Reggie Bush |
| 19 | Toby Gerhart |
| 20 | Ben Tate |
| 21 | Frank Gore |
| 22 | Bishop Sankey |
| 23 | Rashad Jennings |
| 24 | Chris Johnson |
| 25 | Joique Bell |
| 26 | Trent RIchardson |
| 27 | Shane Vereen |
| 28 | Pierre Thomas |
| 29 | Ray Rice |
| 30 | Steven Jackson |
| 31 | Stevan Ridley |
| 32 | DeAngelo Williams |
| 33 | Danny Woodhead |
| 34 | Knowshon Moreno |
| 35 | Darren McFadden |
| 36 | Fred Jackson |
| 37 | Maurice Jones-Drew |
| 38 | Darren Sproles |
| 39 | Chris Ivory |
| 40 | Lamar Miller |
| 41 | Bernard Pierce |
| 42 | Terrance West |
| 43 | Jeremy Hill |
| 44 | Jonathan Stewart |
| 45 | Christine Michael |
| 46 | Mark Ingram |
| 47 | Peyton Hillis |
| 48 | Andre Brown |
| 49 | Donald Brown |
| 50 | Shonn Greene |
Individual Writer Rankings
| Rank | Daniel Kelley | Dan Ciarrocchi | Alex Welch | John Daigle |
| 1 | Jamaal Charles | LeSean McCoy | Jamaal Charles | LeSean McCoy |
| 2 | Adrian Peterson | Jamaal Charles | LeSean McCoy | Matt Forte |
| 3 | LeSean McCoy | Adrian Peterson | Adrian Peterson | Adrian Peterson |
| 4 | Matt Forte | Matt Forte | Matt Forte | Jamaal Charles |
| 5 | Eddie Lacy | Eddie Lacy | Eddie Lacy | Eddie Lacy |
| 6 | Marshawn Lynch | Montee Ball | DeMarco Murray | DeMarco Murray |
| 7 | Alfred Morris | Le'Veon Bell | Montee Ball | Le'Veon Bell |
| 8 | Le'Veon Bell | Marshawn Lynch | Le'Veon Bell | Andre Ellington |
| 9 | Zac Stacy | Zac Stacy | Arian Foster | Monte Ball |
| 10 | Arian Foster | Alfred Morris | Marshawn Lynch | Giovani Bernard |
| 11 | Montee Ball | Gio Bernard | Giovani Bernard | Doug Martin |
| 12 | Doug Martin | Arian Foster | Zac Stacy | Rashad Jennings |
| 13 | Ryan Mathews | Demarco Murray | Doug Martin | Arian Foster |
| 14 | Andre Ellington | Doug Martin | Alfred Morris | Toby Gerhart |
| 15 | Ben Tate | Andre Ellington | Andre Ellington | Marshawn Lynch |
| 16 | C.J. Spiller | Ryan Mathews | Toby Gerhart | Alfred Morris |
| 17 | DeMarco Murray | Reggie Bush | CJ Spiller | Joique Bell |
| 18 | Giovani Bernard | Ben Tate | Ryan Mathews | C.J. Spiller |
| 19 | Frank Gore | Toby Gerhart | Rashad Jennings | Reggie Bush |
| 20 | Rashad Jennings | Rashad Jennings | Bishop Sankey | Trent Richardson |
| 21 | Reggie Bush | Frank Gore | Shane Vereen | Zac Stacy |
| 22 | Shane Vereen | Bishop Sankey | Joique Bell | Chris Johnson |
| 23 | Chris Johnson | C.J. Spiller | Stevan Ridley | Pierre Thomas |
| 24 | Joique Bell | Pierre Thomas | Frank Gore | Danny Woodhead |
| 25 | Pierre Thomas | Lamar Miller | Reggie Bush | Steven Jackson |
| 26 | Toby Gerhart | Trent Richardson | Ray Rice | Ryan Mathews |
| 27 | Steven Jackson | Shane Vereen | Ben Tate | Stevan Ridley |
| 28 | Knowshon Moreno | Stevan Ridley | Trent Richardson | Frank Gore |
| 29 | Bishop Sankey | DeAngelo Williams | Steven Jackson | Maurice Jones-Drew |
| 30 | Darren McFadden | Danny Woodhead | Chris Johnson | Bishop Sankey |
| 31 | Ray Rice | Ray Rice | Pierre Thomas | Ben Tate |
| 32 | Maurice Jones-Drew | Steven Jackson | Jeremy Hill | Shane Vereen |
| 33 | DeAngelo Williams | Chris Johnson | Chris Ivory | DeAngelo Williams |
| 34 | Stevan Ridley | Joique Bell | Fred Jackson | Fred Jackson |
| 35 | Danny Woodhead | Jonathan Stewart | Lamar Miller | Ray Rice |
| 36 | Fred Jackson | Bernard Pierce | Darren McFadden | Darren Sproles |
| 37 | Dri Archer | Maurice Jones-Drew | Terrance West | Knowshon Moreno |
| 38 | Chris Ivory | Chris Ivory | Danny Woodhead | Darren McFadden |
| 39 | LeGarrette Blount | Darren Sproles | Andre Williams | Bernard Pierce |
| 40 | Darren Sproles | Christine Michael | Shonn Greene | Ronnie Hillman |
| 41 | James Starks | Terrance West | Bernard Pierce | Carlos Hyde |
| 42 | Trent Richardson | Carlos Hyde | Mark Ingram | Jeremy Hill |
| 43 | Jeremy Hill | Darren McFadden | Knowshon Moreno | Devonte Freeman |
| 44 | Donald Brown | Ahmad Bradshaw | DeAngelo Williams | Donald Brown |
| 45 | Tre Mason | Fred Jackson | Jonathan Stewart | Lamar Miller |
| 46 | Knile Davis | Khiry Robinson | Darren Sproles | Terrance West |
| 47 | C.J. Anderson | Mark Ingram | Carlos Hyde | Khiry Robinson |
| 48 | Lamar Miller | Shonn Greene | Maurice Jones-Drew | Tre Mason |
| 49 | Jordan Todman | Devonta Freeman | Christine Michael | Mark Ingram |
| 50 | Terrance West | Knowshon Moreno | Khiry Robinson | Andre Williams |
| Rank | Kenneth Arthur | Scott Kaliska | Mike Gallagher |
| 1 | Jamaal Charles | Jamaal Charles | LeSean McCoy |
| 2 | LeSean McCoy | LeSean McCoy | Jamaal Charles |
| 3 | Adrian Peterson | Adrian Peterson | Adrian Peterson |
| 4 | Marshawn Lynch | Matt Forte | Matt Forte |
| 5 | DeMarco Murray | Eddie Lacy | Eddie Lacy |
| 6 | Matt Forte | Marshawn Lynch | DeMarco Murray |
| 7 | Alfred Morris | DeMarco Murray | Montee Ball |
| 8 | Arian Foster | Montee Ball | Marshawn Lynch |
| 9 | Doug Martin | Arian Foster | Zac Stacy |
| 10 | Eddie Lacy | Le'Veon Bell | Doug Martin |
| 11 | LeVeon Bell | Giovani Bernard | Giovani Bernard |
| 12 | Reggie Bush | Doug Martin | LeVeon Bell |
| 13 | Ryan Mathews | Zac Stacy | C.J. Spiller |
| 14 | Frank Gore | Alfred Morris | Arian Foster |
| 15 | Ben Tate | Andre Ellington | Andre Ellington |
| 16 | Zac Stacy | C.J. Spiller | Toby Gerhart |
| 17 | Chris Johnson | Ryan Mathews | Ryan Mathews |
| 18 | Ray Rice | Reggie Bush | Shane Vereen |
| 19 | CJ Spiller | Toby Gerhart | Alfred Morris |
| 20 | DeAngelo Williams | Rashad Jennings | Ben Tate |
| 21 | Bishop Sankey | Frank Gore | Trent Richardson |
| 22 | Montee Ball | Ben Tate | Bishop Sankey |
| 23 | Knowshon Moreno | Bishop Sankey | Reggie Bush |
| 24 | Giovani Bernard | Shane Vereen | Steven Jackson |
| 25 | Rashad Jennings | Chris Johnson | Chris Johnson |
| 26 | Fred Jackson | Joique Bell | Joique Bell |
| 27 | Darren McFadden | Steven Jackson | Frank Gore |
| 28 | Trent Richardson | Trent Richardson | Ray Rice |
| 29 | Andre Ellington | Ray Rice | Rashad Jennings |
| 30 | Stevan Ridley | Stevan Ridley | Pierre Thomas |
| 31 | Toby Gerhart | Pierre Thomas | Knowshon Moreno |
| 32 | Pierre Thomas | Fred Jackson | Bernard Pierce |
| 33 | Danny Woodhead | Lamar Miller | Chris Ivory |
| 34 | Joique Bell | Maurice Jones-Drew | Stevan Ridley |
| 35 | Donald Brown | DeAngelo Williams | Darren Sproles |
| 36 | Joseph Randle | Knowshon Moreno | Darren McFadden |
| 37 | Maurice Jones-Drew | Darren Sproles | Mark Ingram |
| 38 | Darren Sproles | Darren McFadden | Terrance West |
| 39 | Steven Jackson | Danny Woodhead | Jonathan Stewart |
| 40 | BenJarvus Green-Ellis | Bernard Pierce | Danny Woodhead |
| 41 | Chris Ivory | Christopher Ivory | Christine Michael |
| 42 | Lamar Miller | Terrance West | DeAngelo Williams |
| 43 | Knile Davis | Jeremy Hill | DeVanta Freeman |
| 44 | Roy Helu | Mark Ingram | Maurice Jones-Drew |
| 45 | Bernard Pierce | Khiry Robinson | Knile Davis |
| 46 | Jonathan Stewart | Shonn Greene | Fred Jackson |
| 47 | Jacquizz Rodgers | Devonta Freeman | Roy Helu |
| 48 | Shane Vereen | Christine Michael | Carlos Hyde |
| 49 | Mark Ingram | Jonathan Stewart | Andre Brown |
| 50 | Carlos Hyde | LeGarrette Blount | Jeremy Hill |
