Fantasy Football 2013 Running Back Rankings: Week 6

Author:
Mark Ross
Oct 10, 2013 6:30 AM EDT

In this story:

Adrian Peterson is back from bye, which means order has been restored atop Athlon Sports' fantasy football Week 6 running back rankings. Peterson posted his best numbers of the season (140 yards rushing, 2 TDs) in his last game against Pittsburgh and this week will go up against the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers are seventh in the NFL in rushing defense (92.3 ypg), can these cats contain a rested "All Day" on his home turf?

On the opposite side of the matchup spectrum is Houston's Arian Foster. After averaging 100 yards rushing against the Seahawks and 49ers in his last two games, Foster gets a crack at the Rams, who are tied for 28th in the league at 126 yards allowed per game. Foster and his running mate, Ben Tate, both could see plenty of carries, as the Texans desperately need a win to break out of their funk and will probably run the ball even more with quarterback Matt Schaub battling a serious case of the pick-six yips.

No running back has a better match up, at least on paper, this week than Denver's Knowshon Moreno. Jacksonville is surrendering 160.6 yards per game on the ground. While we know the Broncos won't just hand it off all game, Moreno should be in position for another solid effort, provided he gets his work in before the score gets out of hand. In that case, Ronnie Hillman and/or Montee Ball could see more carries than usual, but are still probably too risky for flex consideration, unless your league is really deep.

Each week during the NFL season, we will rank enough players at each position to appease everyone from those in 8-team leagues to 16-team leagues, those that can start two QBs, two TEs, three RBs and four WRs. We cut out the rest, because if you're looking at who the 50th-best running back or the 17th-best kicker is for that week, you need more help than any website can give you.

2013 NFL Week 6 Fantasy Football Rankings — Running Back
Teams on bye: Atlanta, Miami


Rk	Player	Team	OPP	Notes
1	Adrian Peterson	MIN	vs. CAR	Peterson rested, ready to face No. 7 run D.
2	Arian Foster	HOU	vs. STL	Rams tied for 28th against the run (126.0 ypg).
3	Jamaal Charles	KC	vs. OAK	Averaging 129.4 total yards per game.
4	Matt Forte	CHI	vs. NYG (Thurs.)	Only got 16 touches last week vs. Saints.
5	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	vs. TEN	Finally broke through w/ 102 yards last week.
6	LeSean McCoy	PHI	at TB	Season-low 46 yards rushing (w/ a TD) last week.
7	DeMarco Murray	DAL	vs. WAS	Redskins allowing most fantasy points to RBs.
8	Doug Martin	TB	vs. PHI	Just 45 yards on 27 carries last week.
9	Knowshon Moreno	DEN	vs. JAC	Jags dead last in rushing defense (160.6 ypg).
10	Ray Rice	BAL	vs. GB	41 touches in first 3 games, 33 last week.
11	Reggie Bush	DET	at CLE	Held to 3.4 ypc last week, CLE allowing 3.3 ypc.
12	Trent Richardson	IND	at SD (Mon.)	3.0 ypc not going to get it done.
13	Alfred Morris	WAS	at DAL	Dealing with bruised ribs, but should play.
14	Frank Gore	SF	vs. ARI	Has 81+ yards rushing in each of last 3 games.
15	C.J. Spiller	BUF	vs. CIN	Injured ankle didn't stop 54-yard TD run vs. CLE.
16	Eddie Lacy	GB	at BAL	Season-high 93 yards in first game back.
17	Chris Johnson	TEN	at SEA	Seahawks have been run on some, can CJ?
18	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	at MIN	If only he could find the end zone.
19	Fred Jackson	BUF	vs. CIN	93 total yards, 2 TDs last week vs. Browns.
20	Le'Veon Bell	PIT	at NYJ	Can the rookie solve Jets' run defense?
21	Giovani Bernard	CIN	at BUF	Season-high 62 yards rushing, but also fumbled.
22	Darren Sproles	NO	at NE	Just six touches vs. CHI, expect more vs. NE.
23	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	at DEN	Who knows how many carries he will get?
24	Willis McGahee	CLE	vs. DET	Lions allowing 5.3 yards per carry.
25	Bilal Powell	NYJ	vs. PIT	More company in backfield w/ Ivory, Goodson.
26	Danny Woodhead	SD	vs. IND (Mon.)	Just 13 yards rushing, but 9-58-1 as receiver.
27	Stevan Ridley	NE	vs. NO	Missed last week b/c of knee injury.
28	Zac Stacy	STL	at HOU	Rookie gets his chance to shine.
29	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	CIN	at BUF	Longest run is just 14 yards, but has 3 TDs.
30	Andre Ellington	ARI	at SF	Has been most effective Cardinal back lately.
31	Pierre Thomas	NO	at NE	Did his best Sproles imitation w/ 2 TD catches.
32	Joique Bell	DET	at CLE	Not much of an impact over last 2 games.
33	Rashard Mendenhall	ARI	at SF	Rookie Ellington could cut into carries.
34	Marcel Reece	OAK	at KC	Picked up 57 total yards in spite of knee injury.
35	Rashad Jennings	OAK	at KC	Hamstring injury puts status in doubt.
36	Ben Tate	HOU	vs. STL	Rams have had their issues against the run.
37	Brandon Bolden	NE	vs. NO	11 total touches, 64 total yards last week.
38	Brandon Jacobs	NYG	at CHI (Thurs.)	Lead Giant back w/ Wilson (neck) out.
39	Bernard Pierce	BAL	vs. GB	Rice was workhorse, but Pierce got 11 carries.
40	Daryl Richardson	STL	at HOU	Out-carried and gained by Stacy last week.
41	Ronnie Hillman	DEN	vs. JAC	Still ahead of Ball for 2nd in RB pecking order.
42	LeGarrette Blount	NE	vs. NO	Had 51 yards and 1 costly fumble vs. CIN.
43	Donald Brown	IND	at SD (Mon.)	Now clear-cut No. 2 w/ Bradshaw out.
44	Roy Helu	WAS	at DAL	Morris' bruised ribs bear watching.
45	Chris Ivory	NYJ	vs. PIT	Picked up 27 yards on 4 carries in return.
46	Da'Rel Scott	NYG	at CHI (Thurs.)	Re-signed this week for depth, Jacobs only 2.2 ypc.
47	Johnathan Franklin	GB	at BAL	Packers content to let Lacy run the show.
48	Montee Ball	DEN	vs. JAC	Could get his chances if it's a blowout.

Rankings are based upon Athlon Sports' standard scoring system:

OFFENSIVE SCORING
All touchdowns are 6 points
1 point for 25 yards passing
1 point for 10 yards rushing/receiving
Receptions are .5 points
Interceptions/fumbles are minus-2 points

Additional Week 6 Positional Rankings

Quarterbacks
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
Defense/Special Teams
Kickers

Week 6 Waiver Wire