Fantasy football rankings, Week 1: Running backs for standard, PPR leagues

The NFL has moved to more of a passing league, but running backs remain an essential part of a championship fantasy squad. The top of our Week 1 rankings are stable, but the middle of the rankings feature notable differences in standard and PPR leagues.

It's no shock to see the top tier of RB ranked in their rightful positions. After all, in most cases, you didn't draft one of the big four to simply sit them on your bench. And fortunately, they each have their own fortuitous matchup during Week 1. After that, however, is an entirely different story.

There isn't much jostling in the Top 10 between Standard and PPR ranks. But once you reach the mid-teens, Reggie Bush and Shane Vereen jump considerably. Frank Gore, on the other hand, just can't seem to fight off the next generation of PPR staples. As for Bishop Sankey and Knowshon Moreno, well...prove it, then we'll talk.

Here are our Week 1 RB Rankings.

Consensus Writer Rankings (Standard)

Consensus	Team	Opponent
LeSean McCoy	Philadelphia	Jacksonville
Jamaal Charles	Kansas City	Tennessee
Matt Forte	Chicago	Buffalo
Adrian Peterson	Minnesota	at St. Louis
Montee Ball	Denver	Indianapolis
Marshawn Lynch	Seattle	Green Bay
Arian Foster	Houston	Washington
Eddie Lacy	Green Bay	at Seattle
DeMarco Murray	Dallas	San Francisco
Andre Ellington	Arizona	San Diego
Alfred Morris	Washington	at Houston
Le'Veon Bell	Pittsburgh	Cleveland
Frank Gore	San Francisco	at Dallas
Zac Stacy	St. Louis	Minnesota
Doug Martin	Tampa Bay	Carolina
Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati	at Baltimore
Reggie Bush	Detroit	NY Giants
Ben Tate	Cleveland	at Pittsburgh
C.J. Spiller	Buffalo	at Chicago
Toby Gerhart	Jacksonville	at Philadelphia
Rashad Jennings	NY Giants	at Detroit
Shane Vereen	New England	at Miami
Ryan Mathews	San Diego	at Arizona
Chris Johnson	NY Jets	Oakland
Joique Bell	Detroit	NY Giants
Pierre Thomas	New Orleans	at Atlanta
Steven Jackson	Atlanta	New Orleans
Fred Jackson	Buffalo	at Chicago
Bernard Pierce	Baltimore	Cincinnati
Trent Richardson	Indianapolis	at Denver
Maurice Jones-Drew	Oakland	at NY Jets
Shonn Greene	Tennessee	at Kansas City
Knowshon Moreno	Miami	New England
Danny Woodhead	San Diego	at Arizona
Stevan Ridley	New England	at Miami
Bishop Sankey	Tennessee	at Kansas City
DeAngelo Williams	Carolina	at Tampa Bay
Darren Sproles	Philadelphia	at Jacksonville
Ronnie Hillman	Denver	Indianapolis
Lamar Miller	Miami	New England
Mark Ingram	New Orleans	at Atlanta
Jeremy Hill	Cincinnati	at Baltimore
Lance Dunbar	Dallas	San Francisco
Chris Ivory	NY Jets	Oakland
Darren McFadden	Oakland	at NY Jets
Carlos Hyde	San Francisco	at Dallas
Jonathan Stewart	Carolina	at Tampa Bay
Terrance West	Cleveland	at Pittsburgh
Benny Cunningham	St. Louis	Minnesota
Jacquizz Rodgers	Atlanta	New Orleans

Consensus Writer Rankings (PPR)

Rank	Consensus	Team	Opponent
1	LeSean McCoy	Philadelphia	Jacksonville
2	Jamaal Charles	Kansas City	Tennessee
3	Matt Forte	Chicago	Buffalo
4	Adrian Peterson	Minnesota	at St. Louis
5	Montee Ball	Denver	Indianapolis
6	Arian Foster	Houston	Washington
7	Marshawn Lynch	Seattle	Green Bay
8	Eddie Lacy	Green Bay	at Seattle
9	Andre Ellington	Arizona	San Diego
10	DeMarco Murray	Dallas	San Francisco
11	Reggie Bush	Detroit	NY Giants
12	Le'Veon Bell	Pittsburgh	Cleveland
13	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati	at Baltimore
14	Doug Martin	Tampa Bay	Carolina
15	Shane Vereen	New England	at Miami
16	Alfred Morris	Washington	at Houston
17	Zac Stacy	St. Louis	Minnesota
18	C.J. Spiller	Buffalo	at Chicago
19	Frank Gore	San Francisco	at Dallas
20	Rashad Jennings	NY Giants	at Detroit
21	Joique Bell	Detroit	NY Giants
22	Chris Johnson	NY Jets	Oakland
23	Pierre Thomas	New Orleans	at Atlanta
24	Ben Tate	Cleveland	at Pittsburgh
25	Toby Gerhart	Jacksonville	at Philadelphia
26	Ryan Mathews	San Diego	at Arizona
27	Danny Woodhead	San Diego	at Arizona
28	Steven Jackson	Atlanta	New Orleans
29	Fred Jackson	Buffalo	at Chicago
30	Darren Sproles	Philadelphia	at Jacksonville
31	Bernard Pierce	Baltimore	Cincinnati
32	Trent Richardson	Indianapolis	at Denver
33	Maurice Jones-Drew	Oakland	at NY Jets
34	Knowshon Moreno	Miami	New England
35	Bishop Sankey	Tennessee	at Kansas City
36	Lamar Miller	Miami	New England
37	Shonn Greene	Tennessee	at Kansas City
38	DeAngelo Williams	Carolina	at Tampa Bay
39	Stevan Ridley	New England	at Miami
40	Mark Ingram	New Orleans	at Atlanta
41	Darren McFadden	Oakland	at NY Jets
42	Jeremy Hill	Cincinnati	at Baltimore
43	Terrance West	Cleveland	at Pittsburgh
44	Chris Ivory	NY Jets	Oakland
45	Jonathan Stewart	Carolina	at Tampa Bay
46	Devonta Freeman	Atlanta	New Orleans
47	Carlos Hyde	San Francisco	at Dallas
48	Jacquizz Rodgers	Atlanta	New Orleans
49	Ronnie Hillman	Denver	Indianapolis
50	Benny Cunningham	St. Louis	Minnesota

Individual Writer Rankings (Standard)

Rank	Daniel Kelley	Dan Ciarrocchi	John Daigle	Scott Kaliska
1	LeSean McCoy	LeSean McCoy	LeSean McCoy	LeSean McCoy
2	Jamaal Charles	Jamaal Charles	Jamaal Charles	Jamaal Charles
3	Adrian Peterson	Matt Forte	Matt Forte	Matt Forte
4	Matt Forte	Adrian Peterson	Adrian Peterson	Adrian Peterson
5	Marshawn Lynch	Montee Ball	Montee Ball	Montee Ball
6	Arian Foster	Marshawn Lynch	Andre Ellington	Marshawn Lynch
7	Alfred Morris	Eddie Lacy	Arian Foster	Eddie Lacy
8	Montee Ball	DeMarco Murray	Marshawn Lynch	Arian Foster
9	Eddie Lacy	Arian Foster	Eddie Lacy	DeMarco Murray
10	Le'Veon Bell	Zac Stacy	Reggie Bush	Giovani Bernard
11	DeMarco Murray	Andre Ellington	Frank Gore	Zac Stacy
12	Andre Ellington	Doug Martin	DeMarco Murray	Andre Ellington
13	Doug Martin	Frank Gore	Joique Bell	Le'Veon Bell
14	C.J. Spiller	Le'Veon Bell	Shane Vereen	Alfred Morris
15	Reggie Bush	Alfred Morris	Le'Veon Bell	Doug Martin
16	Ryan Mathews	Gio Bernard	Alfred Morris	Frank Gore
17	Ben Tate	Toby Gerhart	Giovanni Bernard	Toby Gerhart
18	Frank Gore	Ben Tate	Zac Stacy	C.J. Spiller
19	Giovani Bernard	Rashad Jennings	Chris Johnson	Rashad Jennings
20	Zac Stacy	Reggie Bush	Pierre Thomas	Reggie Bush
21	Rashad Jennings	Shane Vereen	Ben Tate	Ryan Mathews
22	Chris Johnson	CJ Spiller	Doug Martin	Ben Tate
23	Pierre Thomas	Ryan Mathews	Rashad Jennings	Shane Vereen
24	Toby Gerhart	Joique Bell	Toby Gerhart	Chris Johnson
25	Steven Jackson	Chris Johnson	C.J. Spiller	Joique Bell
26	Fred Jackson	Pierre Thomas	Ryan Mathews	Steven Jackson
27	Bernard Pierce	Fred Jackson	Stephen Jackson	Bernard Pierce
28	Shane Vereen	Bernard Pierce	Danny Woodhead	Pierre Thomas
29	Trent Richardson	Steven Jackson	Fred Jackson	Fred Jackson
30	DeAngelo Williams	Trent Richardson	Shonn Greene	Trent Richardson
31	Joique Bell	Stevan Ridley	Maurice Jones-Drew	Stevan Ridley
32	Maurice Jones-Drew	Maurice Jones-Drew	Mark Ingram	Bishop Sankey
33	Shonn Greene	Knowshon Moreno	Darren Sproles	Maurice Jones-Drew
34	Darren Sproles	Bishop Sankey	Knowshon Moreno	Lamar Miller
35	Danny Woodhead	Mark Ingram	Trent Richardson	Knowshon Moreno
36	Knowshon Moreno	Lamar Miller	Stevan Ridley	Mark Ingram
37	Benny Cunningham	Shonn Greene	Ronnie Hillman	Shonn Greene
38	Lamar Miller	Danny Woodhead	Jeremy Hill	Danny Woodhead
39	Bishop Sankey	Jeremy Hill	DeAngelo Williams	DeAngelo Williams
40	Darren McFadden	DeAngelo Williams	Jacquizz Rodgers	Darren Sproles
41	Chris Ivory	Darren Sproles	Bernard Pierce	Jeremy Hill
42	Ahmad Bradsahw	Carlos Hyde	Bishop Sankey	Carlos Hyde
43	Stevan Ridley	Christopher Ivory	Chris Ivory	Christopher Ivory
44	Bobby Rainey	Jonathan Stewart	Lamar Miller	Terrance West
45	Jonathan Stewart	Darren McFadden	Carlos Hyde	Darren McFadden
46	Jeremy Hill	Terrance West	Christine Michael	Jonathan Stewart
47	Terrance West	LeGarrette Blount	Darren McFadden	Devonta Freeman
48	Ronnie Hillman	Devonta Freeman	Lance Dunbar	Khiry Robinson
49	Donald Brown	Khiry Robinson	Andre Williams	Andre Williams
50	LeGarrette Blount	Andre Williams	Johnathan Stewart	Ahmad Bradshaw

Individual Writer Rankings (PPR)

Rank	Daniel Kelley	Dan Ciarrocchi	John Daigle	Scott Kaliska
1	Jamaal Charles	LeSean McCoy	LeSean McCoy	LeSean McCoy
2	LeSean McCoy	Jamaal Charles	Jamaal Charles	Jamaal Charles
3	Matt Forte	Matt Forte	Matt Forte	Matt Forte
4	Adrian Peterson	Adrian Peterson	Adrian Peterson	Adrian Peterson
5	Arian Foster	Montee Ball	Montee Ball	Montee Ball
6	Montee Ball	Eddie Lacy	Andre Ellington	Marshawn Lynch
7	Marshawn Lynch	Demarco Murray	Reggie Bush	Arian Foster
8	Eddie Lacy	Marshawn Lynch	Arian Foster	Eddie Lacy
9	DeMarco Murray	Andre Ellington	Marshawn Lynch	DeMarco Murray
10	Le'Veon Bell	Arian Foster	Eddie Lacy	Giovani Bernard
11	Andre Ellington	Giovani Bernard	Shane Vereen	Andre Ellington
12	Alfred Morris	Doug Martin	DeMarco Murray	Le'Veon Bell
13	Doug Martin	Zac Stacy	Joique Bell	Zac Stacy
14	Reggie Bush	LeVeon Bell	Le'Veon Bell	Reggie Bush
15	C.J. Spiller	Reggie Bush	Giovanni Bernard	Doug Martin
16	Giovani Bernard	Shane Vereen	Frank Gore	Shane Vereen
17	Ben Tate	Alfred Morris	Pierre Thomas	Rashad Jennings
18	Frank Gore	C.J. Spiller	Chris Johnson	C.J. Spiller
19	Rashad Jennings	Rashad Jennings	Alfred Morris	Alfred Morris
20	Pierre Thomas	Frank Gore	Doug Martin	Toby Gerhart
21	Chris Johnson	Toby Gerhart	Ben Tate	Frank Gore
22	Shane Vereen	Ryan Mathews	Zac Stacy	Ryan Mathews
23	Zac Stacy	Joique Bell	C.J. Spiller	Chris Johnson
24	Ryan Mathews	Chris Johnson	Rashad Jennings	Joique Bell
25	Joique Bell	Pierre Thomas	Toby Gerhart	Pierre Thomas
26	Toby Gerhart	Ben Tate	Danny Woodhead	Ben Tate
27	Darren Sproles	Bernard Pierce	Ryan Mathews	Steven Jackson
28	Danny Woodhead	Fred Jackson	Fred Jackson	Bernard Pierce
29	Steven Jackson	Steven Jackson	Darren Sproles	Fred Jackson
30	Fred Jackson	Danny Woodhead	Stephen Jackson	Danny Woodhead
31	DeAngelo Williams	Darren Sproles	Maurice Jones-Drew	Trent Richardson
32	Knowshon Moreno	Trent Richardson	Knowshon Moreno	Lamar Miller
33	Bernard Pierce	Maurice Jones-Drew	Shonn Greene	Darren Sproles
34	Trent Richardson	Bishop Sankey	Jeremy Hill	Maurice Jones-Drew
35	Darren McFadden	Lamar Miller	Mark Ingram	Bishop Sankey
36	Maurice Jones-Drew	Jeremy Hill	Trent Richardson	Knowshon Moreno
37	Lamar Miller	Shonn Greene	Jacquizz Rodgers	Stevan Ridley
38	Bishop Sankey	Mark Ingram	Bishop Sankey	Mark Ingram
39	Shonn Greene	Stevan Ridley	Stevan Ridley	Shonn Greene
40	Benny Cunningham	DeAngelo Williams	Ronnie Hillman	Dexter McCluster
41	Donald Brown	Knowson Moreno	Bernard Pierce	Terrance West
42	Ahmad Bradshaw	Darren McFadden	DeAngelo Williams	DeAngelo Williams
43	Jonathan Stewart	Terrance West	Lamar Miller	Darren McFadden
44	Stevan Ridley	Devonta Freeman	Chris Ivory	Devonta Freeman
45	Bobby Rainey	Christopher Ivory	Darren McFadden	Christopher Ivory
46	Terrance West	Carlos Hyde	Carlos Hyde	Carlos Hyde
47	Chris Ivory	Jonathan Stewart	Lance Dunbar	Jeremy Hill
48	Ronnie Hillman	Mike Tolbert	Andre Williams	Jonathan Stewart
49	Jeremy Hill	Roy Helu	Christine Michael	Lance Dunbar
50	Devonta Freeman		Tre Mason	Roy Helu

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