As fantasy football players know all too well, this is truly a week-to-week game. Injuries, byes, matchups good and bad, they all can conspire to inflate or collapse a player’s place in the hierarchy at a moment’s notice.
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Some players are impervious. Entering Week 11, Le’Veon Bell is once again the unanimous selection by SB Nation as the top running back to use in PPR leagues. And why not? Bell draws a Tennessee defense on Thursday night ranked fifth-worst among teams playing in Week 11 in DVOA against pass-catching running backs.
But this week, our rankings reveal some of the wildest swings we have seen all season. Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Leonard Fournette has been a top-10 selection each of the past six weeks, and a top-three pick each of the past two. But this week, even with the Jaguars facing a Browns team that, despite a No. 2 DVOA against the run overall, ranks 27th against pass-catching backs, Fournette plunges all the way down to No. 9, his lowest spot on our list since Week 4.
An overreaction? After not playing for three straight weeks (injury, bye, suspension), Fournette may have hit a bit of a rookie wall in Week 10, posting 33 yards on 17 carries, easily his worst game of the season. But he did have four targets for the first time in the past three games played, so don’t go benching him just yet.
On the other side of the coin is the Saints’ Mark Ingram. While new kid on the block Alvin Kamara has become the apple of fantasy owners’ eyes, Ingram delivered his best game of the season, bludgeoning the Bills for 131 yards and three touchdowns. PPR? Please. Ingram’s 31 fantasy points featured nary a target.
And we loved him for it. This week, after not sniffing the top five in our rankings all season, Ingram sits in the top spot among backs not named Le’Veon Bell. Ingram and Kamara, who is ranked 10th, face a Washington team ranked 21st in DVOA against pass-catching backs.
Todd Gurley, LeSean McCoy, and Kareem Hunt round out our top five for Week 11, but the three backs to watch this week all reside in the New England backfield. They will reside on the field in Mexico City this Sunday, facing a Raiders team ranked 28th against pass-catching backs. That is great news for Rex Burkhead, James White, and Dion Lewis, who all benefit from playing alongside the ageless wonder, Tom Brady.
Running back (PPR) rankings, Week 10
(SK: Scott Kaliska; JG: Jeff Goldberg; DG: Derek Gordon; KB: Kyle Bennett; ZS: Zach Senvisky; JM: Jason Marcum)
RB PPR rankings, Week 11
Rk | Consensus | Tm | Opp | SK | JG | DG | KB | ZS | JM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le'Veon Bell | PIT | vs. TEN | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Mark Ingram | NO | vs. WAS | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Todd Gurley | LAR | @ MIN | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | LeSean McCoy | BUF | @ LAC | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Kareem Hunt | KC | @ NYG | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | Melvin Gordon | LAC | vs. BUF | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| 8 | Tevin Coleman | ATL | @ HOU | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Jordan Howard | CHI | vs. DET | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| 10 | Leonard Fournette | JAC | @ CLE | 8 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 13 |
| 11 | Alvin Kamara | NO | vs. WAS | 6 | 9 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| 11 | Jay Ajayi | PHI | @ DAL | 14 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| 13 | DeMarco Murray | TEN | @ PIT | 13 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| 14 | Dion Lewis | NE | @ OAK | 26 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 12 |
| 15 | Joe Mixon | CIN | @ DEN | 20 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| 16 | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | vs. LAR | 11 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 16 |
| 17 | Chris Thompson | WAS | @ NO | 12 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 19 |
| 17 | Jamaal Williams | GB | vs. BAL | 31 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 |
| 19 | Doug Martin | TB | @ MIA | 23 | 17 | 12 | 18 | 21 | 20 |
| 20 | Alfred Morris | DAL | vs. PHI | 37 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| 21 | Marshawn Lynch | OAK | vs. NE | 28 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 12 | 18 |
| 22 | Lamar Miller | HOU | vs. ARI | 15 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 24 | 24 |
| 23 | Adrian Peterson | ARI | @ SEA | 16 | 25 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 26 |
| 24 | Damien Williams | MIA | vs. TB | 33 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 26 | 23 |
| 24 | Ameer Abdullah | DET | @ CHI | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 25 |
| 26 | Thomas Rawls | SEA | vs. ATL | 42 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 |
| 27 | Orleans Darkwa | NYG | vs. KC | 19 | 28 | 32 | 32 | 20 | 22 |
| 28 | Duke Johnson Jr. | CLE | vs. JAC | 18 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 30 | 29 |
| 29 | Rex Burkhead | NE | @ OAK | 21 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| 30 | Kenyan Drake | MIA | vs. TB | 22 | 30 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 31 |
| 31 | James White | NE | @ OAK | 25 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 33 | 33 |
| 32 | C.J. Anderson | DEN | vs. CIN | 30 | 32 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 30 |
| 33 | Latavius Murray | MIN | vs. LAR | 29 | 33 | 33 | 31 | 32 | 32 |
| 34 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE | vs. JAC | 17 | 34 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| 35 | Buck Allen | BAL | @ GB | 32 | 31 | 28 | 33 | 34 | 34 |
| 36 | Alex Collins | BAL | @ GB | 35 | 35 | 38 | 34 | 28 | 28 |
| 37 | Theo Riddick | DET | @ CHI | 27 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 37 |
| 38 | Austin Ekeler | LAC | vs. BUF | 34 | 38 | 34 | 38 | 38 | 38 |
| 39 | Devontae Booker | DEN | vs. CIN | 41 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| 40 | JD McKissic | SEA | vs. ATL | 44 | 41 | 41 | 41 | 40 | 40 |
| 41 | Derrick Henry | TEN | @ PIT | 38 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 41 |
| 41 | Samaje Perine | WAS | @ NO | 39 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 39 |
| 43 | LeGarrette Blount | PHI | @ DAL | -- | 39 | 40 | 39 | 39 | 43 |
| 44 | DeAndre Washington | OAK | vs. NE | 50 | 40 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 |
| 45 | Tarik Cohen | CHI | vs. DET | 46 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 45 | 45 |
| 46 | Mike Tolbert | BUF | @ LAC | -- | 45 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 44 |
| 47 | Rod Smith | DAL | vs. PHI | 40 | 47 | 45 | 47 | 50 | 47 |
| 48 | Giovani Bernard | CIN | @ DEN | 49 | 46 | 47 | 46 | 46 | 48 |
| 49 | Andre Ellington | ARI | @ SEA | 36 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 46 |
| 50 | Charcandrick West | KC | @ NYG | -- | 49 | 48 | 48 | 48 | -- |
| -- | D'Onta Foreman | HOU | vs. ARI | -- | 48 | 50 | 50 | 47 | 49 |
| -- | Ty Montgomery | GB | vs. BAL | 43 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Shane Vereen | NYG | vs. KC | -- | 50 | 49 | 49 | 49 | -- |
| -- | T.J. Yeldon | JAC | @ CLE | 45 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Jamaal Charles | DEN | vs. CIN | 47 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Corey Clement | PHI | @ DAL | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | Mike Gillislee | NE | @ OAK | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 50 |
