Running Back Rankings (NFG Rankings) - 06/24/2009

Please be aware that these are my own early opinions and will change as the season draws near. More importantly, please understand that these are not the Player Rankings which I have touted to be better than other experts rankings. I will put those out as the season draws near and other experts put out their own rankings for me to compare them all.



1) LaDanian Tomlinson – SD --- Some believe that Tomlinson is not as productive as he once was. He is 30 years old now, but he has only played 8 seasons. Ask yourself, Barry Sanders who retired early after 10 seasons… did he have 1500 plus yards every year? No. Neither did Emmitt Smith. They both had their seasons where they did not have the usual numbers. If Tomlinson does not bounce back, he is still a top-5 fantasy football running back. If he does bounce back, he is the number one RB easily. Tomlinson is also feeling healthy this year with no turf toe bothering him. He is easily my first pick in any draft in any format… unless your league does not count receiving yards from a running back.

2) Maurice Jones-Drew – JAC --- This is the season Jones-Drew has been waiting for. With Fred Taylor out of the mix, Jones-Drew will be the #1 running back and carry the heavy load. So long as his body can hold up to the heavy load, his numbers will soar. I am confident he can handle the load. Some believe he might be too small at 5'7" tall, but even with the shorter height, he is over 200 pounds of muscle.

3) Matt Forte – CHI --- As a rookie, Matt Forte had a huge year on a team that was not considered to be a great team. Usually I would expect a 2nd year player who had a huge rookie campaign to tail off a little. This is not the case. With Cutler on the team, I believe defenses will have to respect the pass a little more. This will open Forte up for bigger gains. As it stands I would say he is a good bet to repeat his 2008 numbers.

4) Adrian Peterson – MIN --- This is the one I would expect to get flack for my ranking. Many would take Peterson #1 overall. I would not. He is a great RB without a doubt, however, he will likely score less touchdowns than the others I ranked above him and he does not catch as many passes as they do either. Exciting? Yes. Great runner? Absolutely. But his 20 receptions and 10 to 12 TD’s drop him in my rankings.

5) DeAngelo Williams – CAR --- The only reason I do not rank Williams in the #2 position is because he is expected to lose some carries this season to a healthier Jonathon Stewart. Even so, DeAngelo will be worthy of a #1 Running Back spot on any fantasy team. His only real down fall is that he doesn't catch a lot of passes… and of course that he will share some carries with Jonathon Stewart.

6) Steve Slaton – HOU --- As a rookie, Slaton took charge of the running back position and he should be able to post the same numbers again. However, until he does it a second season in a row, don’t draft him higher than this.

7) Chris Johnson – TEN --- Chris is expected to share carries with LenDale White again. To make things worse, White has worked hard to get in shape and has shed pounds. Yet even so, Johnson is a force to be reckoned with and I would be glad to have him on any fantasy team.

8) Michael Turner – ATL --- Turner was true to his name in 2008 as he turned quite a few heads. He should have another big season but I would expect his numbers to drop just a bit. After all, defenses will be ready for this guy this time around and lets face the facts… he wont play the Lions in 2009.

9) Steve Jackson – ST.L. --- Jackson is no longer a sure thing. For two seasons in a row he has missed a few games and barely broke 1000 yards. With Tory Holt gone, the passing game might be worst and defenses will concentrate more on Jackson. Yet if he can stay healthy, he is still a top 10 running back.

10) Brandon Jacobs – NYG --- Jacobs is a beast. At 6’4” and 264 lbs, he has the ability to move the line and score the short yardage touchdowns. Singe tacklers will often be dragged for extra yardage. He also has the ability to move and make a defender miss when he wants. Unfortunately he is also an upright runner and susceptible to injury.

11) Brian Westbrook – PHI --- When healthy, Westbrook can run and catch with the best of them. If I knew he would stay healthy for a whole season, I would rank him in the top-3. Unfortunately, we NEVER know how long he will stay healthy. The man is a walking injury waiting to happen. In fact, in his seven seasons, he has never played a full 16 games.

12) Clinton Portis – WAS --- Other than one bad season where Portis missed half the year, he has been as stable and consistent as one could ask for. If you took him one or two spots higher it would be understandable. If he had a better passing game around him to keep defenses honest I would move him up myself.

13) Frank Gore – SF --- There is one thing that Gore has going for him over other years. He now has Michael Crabtree to draw some attention away from him. If the passing game picks up enough, it will open a little more room for Gore.

14) Pierre Thomas – NO --- With Duece McCallister out of the way, Thomas is expected to take over Duece's role. He will get most of the carries and most of the goal line touches, but he will still lose some carries and most of the receptions to Reggie Bush.

15) Kevin Smith – DET --- I will admit from the start, I may just be biased here since I have always been a Lions fan. Yes I still am…. Stop laughing! Still, in his rookie season, Kevin Smith came just shy of 1000 yards. With the addition of TE – Pettigrew, there might be a tiny bit more running room for Smith. He will also be the go to guy from the start this season where as in 2008 he split a lot of carries in the beginning.

16) Ronnie Brown – MIA --- Oh how we wish Ricky Williams would either have never come back or had been traded. Ricky serves mostly to just take touches away from the better running back. Unfortunately, so long as the two are together, Ronnie Brown will only get between 200 to 250 carries a season.

17) Ryan Grant – GB --- The one thing that keeps Grant from being ranked higher is the fact he does not score many touchdowns. Only 5 total in 2008.

18) Jonathon Stewart – CAR --- Stewart is expected to share the carries with DeAngelo Williams this season, which means he will get more touches than he had last year. Some believe he may get more carries than Williams.

19) Marshawn Lynch – BUF --- Marshawn played in 2 more games in 2008 than he played in 2007, and he had 30 fewer carries. Until he shows he can take on a heavy load, don’t expect it out of him.

20) Marion Barber – DAL --- In his first years in Dallas, Barber looked like a star waiting for his chance to be the go to guy. Last year he was and he still did not break a thousand yards rushing. Let’s be honest, with Owen’s gone, defenses will come in a little now. Not good for Barber.

21) Derrick Ward – TB --- The move of Ward to Tampa Bay was good for fantasy all around. Brandon Jacobs should get a few more touches with Ward gone and now Derrick Ward becomes the top Running Back in TB. With the move he should get a lot more carries.

22) Chris Wells – ARI --- The rookie, Wells, is expected to be the starter and carry the load as well. Hightower might steal some carries but it is not expected to be many.

23) Jamal Lewis – CLE --- In the twilight of his career, Lewis’ numbers are showing a decline. Most notably his yards per carry, which dropped from 4.4 to 3.8 yards per carry.

24) Darren McFadden – OAK --- McFadden is finally healthy and impressing. He is expected to get the most carries and should grow as the season goes.

25) LenDale White – TEN --- White is the 2nd string running back in Tennessee, but he gets his share of carries and a lot of touchdowns.


There is a smattering of running backs who could be arranged and re-arranged in the next 10 slots. Among these, it would be my opinion to take the players who have the higher upside being as they are younger and could show more to become a keeper in the future. If you are not in a keeper league, take the one you like most personally. These running backs are the following….

Knowshawn Moreno – DEN
Willis McGahee – BAL
Willie Parker – PIT
Thomas Jones – NYJ
Reggie Bush – NO
Larry Johnson – KC
Darren McFadden – OAK
Justin Fargas – OAK
Cedric Benson – CIN
Ricky Williams – MIA
Sammy Morris – NE