Below are the week 15 RB rankings for 2014. Keep in mind that theses running back rankings are not a ranking of who the best at the position is, rather a guide to help you figure out who you should be starting this week on your season long fantasy team. The week 15 running back rankings take into consideration season long performance, matchup, as well as recent performance.
These players in the rankings will differ a bit from players you might be considering for your daily fantasy football. Any player not playing this week will be excluded from this week 15 running back rankings.
Must Start: If you have them on your team, do not bench them in week 15
The top 5 of the week 15 RB rankings are all fantastic players with equally fantastic matchups. I fully expect all 5 to have really great numbers this week.
1. Le'Veon Bell: Pittsburgh@Atlanta
2. DeMarco Murray: Dallas@Philadelphia
3. Jamaal Charles: Oakland@Kansas City
4. Matt Forte: New Orleans@Chicago
5. Arian Foster: Houston@Indianapolis
6. LeSean McCoy: Dallas@Philadelphia
Rewind back to week 13 where these two teams met up and Philadelphia ended up with an important NFC East win. In that game, McCoy went off for 159 yards and a touchdown.
7. C.J. Anderson: Denver@San Diego
Matchup doesn't really seem to matter all that much for Anderson and the Bronco's run game. Last week, a good Buffalo defense held Peyton Manning without a touchdown, ending his impressive 51 game streak. This same defense, however, couldn't stop Anderson from getting in the end zone 3 times.
8. Justin Forsett: Jacksonville@Baltimore
The Jaguar's defense still gives up among the most fantasy points in the NFL. The Ravens have a lot riding on this game and the Jaguars have nothing to gain from winning this. I anticipate 100+ yards rushing and at least one touchdown from Forsett.
9. Marshawn Lynch: San Francisco@Seattle
Frank Gore will have trouble running and Colin Kaepernick will have just as much trouble passing. Lynch is going to be punishing the defense all day while Seattle keeps chewing up the clock. Expect a one sided game and another sour interview from Kaep.
10. Eddie Lacy: Green Bay@Buffalo
11. Joique Bell: Minnesota@Detroit
This may seem a little high of a rank for some coming into week 15, but Bell is on a hot streak lately. He has gotten in the end zone 4 times in the last 2 weeks against favorable opponents. Week 15 puts him in another favorable situation to have similar success. The Lions have been steadily feeding him the ball around 20 times per game and I see no reason why they won't continue.
12. Isaiah Crowell: Cincinnati@Cleveland
This high of a ranking is justified here. When the two teams last saw each other in week 10, 3 different running backs got in the end zone. Now that Crowell has the majority of the backfield to himself, those kind of numbers will not be shared between 3 people.
Start these guys if you don't have any of the ones above
13. Mark Ingram: New Orleans@Chicago
14. Latavius Murray: Oakland@Kansas City
Week 15 will be full of flashbacks. Last time these two teams faced off in week 12, Murray scored twice and gained 112 yards rushing. Keep in mind that he only touched the ball 4 times.
15. LeGarrette Blount: Miami@New England
Blount seems to be the #1 guy for the Patriots, leading the backfield with 20 carries against San Diego in week 14. Miami has been disastrous against the run in recent weeks. The defense has allowed an almost unreal 529 yards rushing in just 3 weeks.
16. Chris Ivory: NYJ@Tennessee
Tennessee may be hoping to get the number one pick in the 2015 draft and this is only going to help any player's stat line who plays them. Add that to the fact that the Jets have ran the ball a stunning 70 times in the last 2 weeks. Jets running backs are getting TDs this week!
17. Jonathan Stewart: Tampa Bay@Carolina
Stewart can have a really good day if the matchup is right. He has averaged over 7 yards per carry over the last two games against favorable opponents such as New Orleans and Minnesota. The Panthers are playing much better than they have been this season and if they continue to give Stewart the ball 20+ times, he will make fantasy owners happy.
18. Alfred Morris: Washington@NYG
It hasn't been a very good two weeks for the stat line of Morris but I see a bounce back this week against the Giants, who are susceptible to big plays by running backs.
19. Lamar Miller: Miami@New England
20. Darren Sproles: Dallas@Philadelphia
21. Tre Mason: Arizona@St. Louis
I'm big on Mason and the Rams in general lately. If they had played like this all year long, they would be making a playoff push right about now. Mason however, is a little bit dependent on matchup as can be seen by his stats from week 14 against Washington.
22. Daniel Herron: Houston@Indianapolis
23. Rashad Jennings: Washington@NYG
24. Chris Johnson: NYJ@Tennessee
The best of the rest: Start these guys if that's all you have
25. Terrance West: Cincinnati@Cleveland
26. Marcel Reece: Oakland@Kansas City
27. Steven Jackson: Pittsburgh@Atlanta
28. Kerwynn Williams: Arizona@St. Louis
29. Jonas Gray: Miami@New England
30. Jeremy Hill: Cincinnati@Cleveland
31. Matt Asiata: Minnesota@Detroit
32. Knile Davis: Oakland@Kansas City
33. Andre Williams: Washington@NYG
34. Fred Jackson: Green Bay@Buffalo
35. Pierre Thomas: New Orleans@Chicago
36. Giovani Bernard: Cincinnati@Cleveland
37. Ryan Mathews: Denver@San Diego
38. Trent Richardson: Houston@Indianapolis
39. Reggie Bush: Minnesota@Detroit
40. Doug Martin: Tampa Bay@Carolina