(Updated) 2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs (RBs)
The NFL pre-season gets underway a month from Thursday (Hall of Fame game between Cowboys and Bengals).
Over the next month, we will release our rankings keeper rankings, point-per-reception (PPR) rankings and our top 150 cheat sheets as well as in-depth player analysis and projections. For now, here is our updated list of the top 40 running backs for fantasy football:
1. Chris Johnson, Titans: 2,006 yards. 11 straight 100-yard games. While those numbers would be nearly impossible to repeat, Johnson can take it to the house on any given play with his 4.24 speed. The question is: Will he do so for his $550,000 salary? On a positive note, a compromise to the contract situation may be reached before the start of the season, per Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.
2. Adrian Peterson, Vikings: In three NFL seasons, Peterson has rushed for 1,300+ yards and 10+ touchdowns every year. His fumbling issues are well-documented, but he also had his best season as a receiver (43 receptions for 436) in 2009.
3. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars: In his first season as the featured back, Pocket Hercules delivered with 1,391 rushing yards, 374 receiving yards on 53 receptions and 16 combined touchdowns. My only concern? MJD had two games with single-digit rushing attempts. What if that happens against Washington in week 16?
4. Ray Rice, Ravens: Rice led RBs in receptions (78) and receiving yards (702) in 2009. He was one of only two backs to have over 2000 yards from scrimmage.
5. Michael Turner, Falcons: An ankle injury in week 10 essentially wiped out the rest of his season, but he was getting into a groove before the injury (428 rushing yards on 47 carries (9.1 YPC) and three touchdowns in 2 1/2 games). In his 27 games as a Falcon, Turner has rushed for more touchdowns (27) than he has receptions (11).
(Note: although these rankings are not based on a point-per-reception scoring, I will release my PPR rankings within the next two weeks.)
6. Frank Gore, 49ers: With two first-round picks in the 2010 NFL Draft, the 49ers drafted two offensive linemen (Trent Williams and Mike Iupati), which is obviously a benefit to Gore. In addition to rushing for over 1,000 yards in the past four years, he has also averaged 52 receptions per season during that span.
7. Steven Jackson, Rams: With the Rams' lack of offensive weapons to complement Jackson, opposing defenses know what is coming. Yet Jackson still finished second in the NFL in rushing in 2009 despite being hampered by back issues for the second half of the season.
8. Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers: Starting in week four, Mendenhall rushed for 1,068 yards and seven TDs in the final 13 games of the season. (That's a 1300-yard pace.) With Fast Willie in D.C. now, a repeat (or even an improvement) of that pace seems likely.
9. Ryan Grant, Packers: As the runner for one of the league's best aerial assaults, Grant should continue to see a lot of seven-men fronts and open lanes to run. Only four RBs rushed for more yards (1,253) and TDs (11) than Grant in 2009.
10. DeAngelo Williams, Panthers: Despite missing three games last year, Williams has rushed for 2,632 yards and scored 27 touchdowns (25 rushing and two receiving) in the past two seasons. His only drawback? Backfield mate Jonathan Stewart has rushed for close to 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns during that same span.
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11. Cedric Benson, Bengals: Only Tennessee's Chris Johnson finished with a higher yards-per-game average than Benson (96.2 ypg). However, will his June 29th arrest lead to discipline under the league's personal-conduct policy? And Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks the Bengals should cut Benson.
12. Ryan Mathews, Chargers: Not only does he have the skills (NCAA's second-leading rusher), Mathews steps into a nearly ideal situation to flourish. Chargers coach Norv Turner expects Mathews to get around 250 carries, which would have put him in the top ten in 2009.
13. Jamaal Charles, Chiefs: Charles had a Chris Johnson-esque second half (968 rushing yards, 158 receiving yards and eight total TDs) including a record-setting performance in the finale. If it weren't for the addition of Thomas Jones, who rushed for a career-high 1,402 yards in 2009, Charles would be in my top ten.
14. Shonn Greene, Jets: The Jets replaced one thirty-something back with another, but it's Greene's team now (even if LaDainian Tomlinson isn't aware of that). And with arguably the league's best line in front of him, Greene could have a monster season.
15. Beanie Wells, Cardinals: With the retirement of Kurt Warner and departure of Anquan Boldin (to Baltimore), the Cardinals will likely rely more on their running game than they have in years past. And Wells, who had 338 rushing/receiving yards and three touchdowns in his last four games, should be ready to capitalize.
16. Jonathan Stewart, Panthers: We saw what The Daily Show could do without DeAngelo Williams in the lineup: (440 rushing yards in final three games). Provided both backs are healthy for all of 2010, I would expect to see a split of 55-45 in favor of Williams. That said, another 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown season is likely for Stewart.
17. Pierre Thomas, Saints: With the off-season departure of Mike Bell, Thomas should get more carries in 2010 than given in 2009 (147). In 14 games, he finished with 1,095 (793 rushing and 302 receiving) yards from scrimmage in 2009 and averaged 5.4 yards per rushing attempt.
18. Knowshon Moreno, Broncos: Moreno led all rookies in rushing (947 yards) and finished 16th overall even though he failed to go over the 50-yard mark in seven of his 16 games. He should be more consistent in 2010.
19. Ronnie Brown, Dolphins: When healthy, he's elite. However, he's missed 20 games in his five-year career. Therefore, his best season was 2006 when he finished with only 1,008 rushing yards. Feeling lucky?
20. LeSean McCoy, Eagles: The days of Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook are over in Philly. In the eight games that Westbrook missed in 2009, McCoy rushed for 473 yards and four TDs and caught 22 passes for 163 yards. A combined rushing/receiving total of 1,300+ seems reasonable for 2010.
21. Joseph Addai, Colts: Addai, who finished sixth among RBs in receptions (51), also scored 13 times in 15 games. That's the good news. However, only the Cardinals (365) had fewer rushing attempts as a team than the Colts (366) and it's likely that back-up Donald Brown, who missed five games as a rookie, will get a larger workload than 78 carries (his 2009 total) -- at the expense of Addai -- in 2010.
22. Brandon Jacobs, Giants: After back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Jacobs rushed for only 835 yards despite getting a career-high 224 carries. Even worse, his TD production dropped from 15 in 2008 to five in 2009. And Ahmad Bradshaw could get a bigger chunk of the workload in 2010. Considering all those, I'm not exactly sure why I expect a bounce-back season for Jacobs. But I do.
23. Felix Jones, Cowboys: Jones, who is a big-play threat, could become the starter in 2010. In two playoff games, Jones rushed for 217 yards on 30 carries (average of 7.2 YPC).
24. Jahvid Best, Lions: The Lions moved back up into the first round to select Best, who has made a positive impression on his teammates so far. Receiver Nate Burleson said: "You hear about how explosive Best is and then you see him catch a ball in the flat, stick his foot in the ground and get up field like a Mustang."
25. Ricky Williams, Dolphins: He proved he can post big numbers if (or when) Ronnie Brown misses action. But with Brown in the lineup, Williams had 751 yards from scrimmage and seven TDs in nine games. (That's a 16-game pace of 1,335 yards and 12 TDs backing up Brown.)
26. Marion Barber, Cowboys: Perhaps a reduced role for MBIII in favor of Felix Jones may hurt his fantasy value. That said, Barber has flourished before in the role of "closer."
27. Ben Tate, Texans: Steve Slaton says that he's "100 percent." And Arian Foster rushed for 216 yards and three touchdowns in the team's final two games in 2009. But there's a good chance that Tate, who has a good combination of size and speed, will receive the largest workload in the Texans' backfield.
28. Jerome Harrison, Browns: By drafting Montario Hardesty, who has impressed coach Eric Mangini, in the second round, Harrison will have to share the workload with the rookie. But in the final three weeks of the season, Harrison had 561 yards and five touchdowns on 106 carries. Then again, he had only 88 carries for 301 yards and no scores in his other 11 games played. So, I guess we'll see.
29. Fred Jackson, Bills: When he received the bulk of work (over Marshawn Lynch), Jackson flourished as one of only 15 running backs to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark helped by a 212-yard performance in the season finale. He also finished tenth among RBs in receptions (46). But he will have to share the workload with rookie C.J. Spiller, the speedster from Clemson.
30. Matt Forte, Bears: This consensus top-five pick in 2009 was arguably fantasy football's biggest disappointment. With newcomers Mike Martz and Chester Taylor in town, 2010 could be more like 2009 (929 rushing yards) than 2008 (1,238 rushing yards) for Forte.
31. Cadillac Williams, Buccaneers: Cadillac had a solid (and, more importantly, healthy) season. His best month of the season was his last as he rushed for 301 yards in four December games with an average of 4.7 yards per carry.
32. Thomas Jones, Chiefs: Thirty-something running backs tend to see precipitous declines in production. Despite setting career-highs in rushing yards and touchdowns, Jones will back up Jamaal Charles in 2010.
33. Ahmad Bradshaw, Giants: Bradshaw averaged 1.1 yards per carry more than Jacobs and scored two more touchdowns despite getting 61 fewer carries. Bradshaw had off-season surgery on his feet and ankle, but he says that he feels "10 times better."
34. C.J. Spiller, Bills: Like the guy that tops this list, Spiller is a big-play threat with world-class speed that can take it to the house on any given play.
35. Montario Hardesty, Browns: Hardesty has impressed the coaching staff in Cleveland with his physical running style and ability to pick up the offense and should push Jerome Harrison for carries in 2010.
36. LaDainian Tomlinson, Jets: L.T. has gone from 1,474 yards (315 carries) to 1,110 yards (292 carries) to 730 yards (223 carries). See the trend?
37. Steve Slaton, Texans: There are plenty of concerns: fumbles lost, off-season neck surgery (although he says he's "100 percent") and Houston drafting Ben Tate. But in 11 games last year, Slaton still racked up 854 combined yards and scored seven touchdowns. That's a pace of 1,242 yards and ten touchdowns. Plus, he had 1,659 combined yards and 10 TDs in his 2008 rookie campaign.
38. Michael Bush, Raiders: Bush led the Raiders in rushing in 2009 with 589 yards. With Justin Fargas no longer in the mix, there will be more carries for Bush and Darren McFadden. Despite McFadden's potential, Bush has produced (career 4.6 yards per carry) when given a chance.
39. Reggie Bush, Saints: With the departure of Mike Bell, who led the team in rushing attempts (172), there should be more carries for Bush, who only had 70 carries last year, and Pierre Thomas. In 14 games, Bush finished with 735 combined yards and seven combined touchdowns in 14 games.
40. Justin Forsett, Seahawks: With the LenDale White era over in Seattle almost as quickly as it began, there is one less back with whom Forsett will compete for carries. Despite getting only 114 carries, Forsett had 969 yards from scrimmage (619 rushing and 350 receiving) in 2009. With Julius Jones out for a three-game stretch last year, Forsett had 368 yards from scrimmage in weeks 10-12.
Also, check out our other 2010 Fantasy Football rankings: Top 25 QBs | Top 50 WRs | Top 20 TEs
