POWER-POLE RANKINGS WEEK 12: RUNNING BACKS

This Sunday fresh off his bye week, DeMarco Murray retakes his throne atop the running back rankings. He has been a dominating force this year and I don't see the New York Giants doing anything to stop him. He's pretty much a shoe in for at least 100 yards and 15+ fantasy points. I also really like Reshad Jennings this week, as he was looking great before an injury derailed a promising season. He is now fully healthy and I think ready to pick up where he left off. I expect at least 100 all purpose yards and a touchdown against a Cowboys defense that has given up the 15th most points to running backs this season. The deep sleeper of the week is Latavius Murray, as he has been practising with the first team this week and the Raiders have nothing to lose in getting this physical specimen some touches. He's 6'3 weighs 230 pounds and runs a sub 4.4 40 yard dash, he has all the tools to make an impact and now seems like the time when he'll get an opportunity. He may not pay immediate dividends but if you have a spot on your roster he may be worth a stash.

TOP 20 RUNNING BACKS:

1. DeMarco Murray

2. Matt Forte

3. Jamaal Charles

4. Marshawn Lynch

5. Arian Foster (If he plays)

6. Eddie Lacy

7. LeSean McCoy

8. Andre Ellington

9. Mark Ingram

10. Reshad Jennings

11. Denard Robinson

12. Justin Forsett

13. CJ Anderson

14. Giovanni Bernard

15. Fred Jackson

16. Ryan Matthews

17. Alfred Morris

18. Shane Vereen

19. Lamar Miller

20. Jeremy Hill

(If Foster doesn’t play, Alfred Blue slides into 17th, bumping everyone above that up one spot)

EXTRA ADVICE: CEILING CANDIDATES

LOW FLOOR/HIGH CEILING PICKS: (If you like to live dangerously)

JONAS GRAY-(Low 5/High 14) The Patriots backfield just got even messier with the addition of Blount, making starting Gray an even harder choice. It was already a tough choice with Vereen breathing down his neck, now Gray will see even less touches going forward.

ISAIAH CROWELL-(Low 6/High 18) With the cutting of Ben Tate this week, the Browns backfield has become slightly less crowded, paving the way for Crowell to get a consistent amount of touches this week and going forward. The issue is we never really know which remaining back will be used, whether it be West or Crowell, making Crowell a good bet to score a solid 6-8 points, with a slight chance of him exploding out for more.

HIGH FLOOR/LOW CEILING PICKS: (If you need some guaranteed points)

The following running backs all have a higher then average minimum amount of points they are probable to score this week, while they also have a very limited chance of breaking out for a large amount of fantasy points. This is either because they have very good backups being used heavily behind them, or they are stuck on crappy teams.

FRANK GORE-(Low 8/High 11)

TRE MASON-(Low 7/High 12)
CHRIS IVORY-(Low 9/High 12)
JERICK MCKINNON-(Low 6/High 10)
JOIQUE BELL-(Low 7/High 10)