Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings: Running Backs

A message to Marion Barber: don't mess this up for Felix Jones.

It's going to be Monday Night Football. The Cowboys are taking on the Carolina Panthers, who haven't yet shown a good run defense. Felix is a home run hitter, as evidenced by his 56-yard run last week, his 98-yard kick return touchdown last season and his career 8.9 yards-per-carry average on 43 carries. Give him 15 carries a week, and the sky is the limit. When news of Barber missing 1-2 weeks popped, it appeared the stars were aligning for Felix's breakout party. Now, it's looking like Barber might suit up and play. If he does, it would be like refusing to leave your friend alone with a girl at a bar. There's a hyphenated word for that, Marion, and the second part is "block." Don't be that guy. Back off and allow your buddy to get his.

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1. Adrian Peterson, MIN vs. SF
2. Maurice Jones-Drew, JAX at HOU
3. Matt Forte, CHI at SEA
4. DeAngelo Williams, CAR at DAL
5. Michael Turner, ATL at NE
6. Steven Jackson, StL vs. GB
7. Clinton Portis, WAS at DET
8. Brandon Jacobs, NYG at TB
9. Ryan Grant, GB at StL
10. Steve Slaton, HOU vs. JAX
11. Chris Johnson, TEN at NYJ
12. Frank Gore, SF at MIN
13. Brian Westbrook, PHI vs. KC
14. Fred Jackson, BUF vs. NO
15. Willis McGahee, BAL vs. CLE
16. Reggie Bush, NO at BUF
17. Felix Jones, DAL vs. CAR
18. Tim Hightower, ARI vs. IND
19. Ronnie Brown, MIA at SD
20. Darren Sproles, SD vs. MIA
21. Kevin Smith, DET vs. WAS
22. Thomas Jones, NYJ vs. TEN
23. Ray Rice, BAL vs. CLE
24. Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG at TB
25. Darren McFadden, OAK vs. DEN
26. Cadillac Williams, TB vs. NYG
27. Knowshon Moreno, DEN at OAK
28. Cedric Benson, CIN vs. PIT
29. Jonathan Stewart, CAR at DAL
30. Willie Parker, PIT at CIN
31. Marion Barber, DAL vs. CAR
32. Joseph Addai, IND at ARI
33. Larry Johnson, KC vs. PHI
34. Leon Washington, NYJ vs. TEN
35. Correll Buckhalter, DEN at OAK
36. Michael Bush, OAK vs. DEN
37. Donald Brown, IND at ARI
38. LeSean McCoy, PHI at KC
39. Pierre Thomas, NO at BUF
40. Fred Taylor, NE vs. ATL
41. Tashard Choice, DAL vs. CAR
42. Beanie Wells, ARI vs. IND
43. Derrick Ward, TB vs. NYG
44. Julius Jones, SEA vs. CHI
45. Ricky Williams, MIA at SD
46. Jamal Lewis, CLE at BAL
47. Chester Taylor, MIN vs. SF
48. Rashard Mendenhall, PIT at CIN
49. LeRon McClain, BAL vs. CLE
50. Kevin Faulk, NE vs. ATL

• To finish the introduction in a more matter-of-fact manner, we believe Barber does suit up but receives a limited workload. Expect Jones to get the most carries and Tashard Choice and Barber both to see between five and 10 rushes.

• We're verging on being fearful of Portis, but with the Lions and their porous run defense, you have to trust him at least one more week.

• The New Orleans situation is actually becoming funny. It's gotten to the point that there's a craze over this Lynell Hamilton. We believe Pierre Thomas will be ready to take on a few carries. Aside from that, the Saints are going to throw the football and feed Reggie Bush a few more touches. Whether they run the ball with Bush in the technical sense or throw him a quick pass in the slot immediately after the snap -- which is basically a running play -- he'll be involved this weekend. Yes, I'm loving Bush this week.

• Hightower is a great play and Beanie is a sneaky play in really deep formats for Arizona this week. The Cardinals know they have to keep the Colts' high-efficiency offense off the field and the way to do so is by running the football. They saw the blueprint Monday night in Miami. The difference? Larry Fitzgerald is a bit better than Ted Ginn. Thus, why not use the same plan of attack?

• Last item of particular note: keep an eye on the Browns' backfield. Lewis is done. There are no two ways about that. The only question is when the Browns start going to the inside-outside combo of James Davis and Jerome Harrison. From here on out, monitor the situation in deep leagues (in shallow leagues, the Browns' offense is just too dreadful to own anyone outside Braylon Edwards).