As we head into Week Four, and with the Week Four Running Back Rankings complete, you will notice a few changes this week. Before looking at the rankings themselves, lets take a look at one guy who has moved into the rankings and another guy who is getting close to the cliff and falling out completely.
Mikel Leshoure - It's amazing just how fast Leshoure has been able to make an impact in the Lions' backfield after one week. In what I believed was supposed to be a timeshare, Leshoure not only acted as the main man, but he pushed Kevin Smith out of the picture completely against Tennessee. The Lions say they had intended for Smith to be the third-down back against the Titans. But with no touches and losing backup snaps to Joique Bell, it remains to be seen just what Smith's role will be moving forward. Was Leshoure's day a fluke? The Titans are awful against the run this year. If Leshoure can put up decent stats against the Vikings' No. 1 ranked defense against fantasy backs, he is for real.
Chris Johnson - Johnson is making Shonn Greene look good this year. Those who are stuck with Johnson, like myself in one league, are finding themselves in a pickle. First off, you can't trade the guy. He's untradable. Unless you really BS your way into getting the other guy to buy into a bounce-back week, you won't unload him for anything worthy. Can you drop him outright? That question was asked in our forum. It really depends on what is left on the wire. By now, I doubt there would be anything worthwhile. Not unless you play in an 8 team league. So unless someone like Leshoure is sitting there waiting to be grabbed, all you can do now is sit and pray. I get the feeling Johnson will have a monster game, everyone will ride the bandwagon and then he will go back to being nothing. Just wait.
With that said, lets get into the Week Four Running Back Rankings. Like every week, make sure to check out the rest of our rankings in our RANKINGS SECTION (Including IDP).
UPDATE (9/28)
There is now belief that if Matt Forte doesn't suffer a setback in practice that he will play against the Cowboys Monday night.
Bills Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller both practiced this week, but it sounds like Jackson has the better chance to play and get the workload against the Patriots.
Both Ahmad Bradshaw and Andre Brown are expected to play in the Giants game against the Eagles, but it's not known how much work both players will get.
Willis McGahee is listed as "probable" and will start against the Raiders.
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