Filling in for the great David Hess I bring forth my top 80 running backs for week 9. These rankings are built using my heat-map, the same one I use to answer start sit questions in the forum. Let's take a peek at my personal weekly cheat sheet and find a couple interesting nuggets to talk about.
At a glance you can see some good match-ups for sure. But there are some sneaky upside plays if you need to dig deep this week due to bye-weeks. The 49'ers, Vikings and Texans have really good match-ups on paper. Lamar Miller is ranked 15th but based on his recent output I may have him a hair to low. In Minnesota you're probably wondering if you should start Murray if Cook is out, that answer is a resounding yes! Moving on over to a much harder to predict backfield in San Francisco I'm going to tell you to just pass. While the matchup is picture perfect I can't trust that Beathard (QB) starts and ends up playing the entire game. The backups behind him are, well, backups. And if you want to put your money on Matt Breida keep in mind its a short week for him and his ankle is really hurt. Its a situation to simply avoid.
| Rank | Running Backs | Opp |
| 1 | Todd Gurley | at NO |
| 2 | Kareem Hunt | at CLE |
| 3 | Ezekiel Elliott | vs. TEN |
| 4 | Alvin Kamara | vs. LAR |
| 5 | Melvin Gordon | at SEA |
| 6 | Christian McCaffrey | vs. TB |
| 7 | James Conner | at BAL |
| 8 | Adrian Peterson | vs. ATL |
| 9 | James White | vs. GB |
| 10 | Latavius Murray | vs. DET |
| 11 | Nick Chubb | vs. KC |
| 12 | Phillip Lindsay | vs. HOU |
| 13 | Chris Carson | vs. LAC |
| 14 | Mark Ingram | vs. LAR |
| 15 | Lamar Miller | at DEN |
| 16 | Jordan Howard | at BUF |
| 17 | Tarik Cohen | at BUF |
| 18 | Kerryon Johnson | at MIN |
| 19 | Kenyan Drake | vs. NYJ |
| 20 | Tevin Coleman | at WAS |
| 21 | Aaron Jones | at NE |
| 22 | Sony Michel | vs. GB |
| 23 | Alex Collins | vs. PIT |
| 24 | Doug Martin | at SF |
| 25 | Isaiah Crowell | at MIA |
| 26 | Dion Lewis | at DAL |
| 27 | Matt Breida | vs. OAK |
| 28 | LeSean McCoy | vs. CHI |
| 29 | Peyton Barber | at CAR |
| 30 | Chris Thompson | vs. ATL |
| 31 | Jalen Richard | at SF |
| 32 | Austin Ekeler | at SEA |
| 33 | Ito Smith | at WAS |
| 34 | Frank Gore | vs. NYJ |
| 35 | Derrick Henry | at DAL |
| 36 | Duke Johnson | vs. KC |
| 37 | Devontae Booker | vs. HOU |
| 38 | LeGarrette Blount | at MIN |
| 39 | Mike Davis | vs. LAC |
| 40 | Raheem Mostert | vs. OAK |
| 41 | Chris Ivory | vs. CHI |
| 42 | Jamaal Williams | at NE |
| 43 | Javorius Allen | vs. PIT |
| 44 | Trenton Cannon | at MIA |
| 45 | Alfred Morris | vs. OAK |
| 46 | Spencer Ware | at CLE |
| 47 | Alfred Blue | at DEN |
| 48 | C.J. Anderson | vs. TB |
| 49 | Ty Montgomery | vs. PIT |
| 50 | Kyle Juszczyk | vs. OAK |
| 51 | Theo Riddick | at MIN |
| 52 | Jacquizz Rodgers | at CAR |
| 53 | Rashaad Penny | vs. LAC |
| 54 | Elijah McGuire | at MIA |
| 55 | Kapri Bibbs | vs. ATL |
| 56 | Malcolm Brown | at NO |
| 57 | Kenjon Barner | vs. GB |
| 58 | Royce Freeman | vs. HOU |
| 59 | Marcus Murphy | vs. CHI |
| 60 | Mike Boone | vs. DET |
| 61 | Tyler Ervin | at DEN |
| 62 | DeAndre Washington | at SF |
| 63 | Stevan Ridley | at BAL |
| 64 | Rod Smith | vs. TEN |
| 65 | Roc Thomas | vs. DET |
| 66 | CJ Ham | vs. DET |
| 67 | Ameer Abdullah | at MIN |
| 68 | Gus Edwards | vs. PIT |
| 69 | Kalen Ballage | vs. NYJ |
| 70 | James Develin | vs. GB |
| 71 | Anthony Sherman | at CLE |
| 72 | Dontrell Hilliard | vs. KC |
| 73 | Andy Janovich | vs. HOU |
| 74 | Benny Cunningham | at BUF |
| 75 | De'Angelo Henderson | at MIA |
| 76 | Patrick DiMarco | vs. CHI |
| 77 | Damien Williams | at CLE |
| 78 | Keith Smith | at SF |
| 79 | Shaun Wilson | at CAR |
| 80 | D'Onta Foreman | at DEN |
