FANTASY RANKINGS: Top 30 running backs

[JakeT.]

<table x:str="" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 683pt;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="910"><col style="width: 16pt;" width="21"> <col style="width: 93pt;" width="124"> <col style="width: 574pt;" width="765"> <tbody><tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt; width: 16pt;" x:num="" align="right" width="21" height="17">1</td> <td style="width: 93pt;" width="124">Ladanian Tomlinson</td> <td style="width: 574pt;" width="765">
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</td> <td>No one does it better. He runs well, he catches well, he finds the end zone well. No brainer at #1.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">2</td> <td>Adrian Peterson</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Explosive young back running behind the best offensive line in football. Only injuries will stop him.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">3</td> <td>Brian Westbrook</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Will once again be the focal point of the offense and McNabb's favorite receiving target.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">4</td> <td>Joseph Addai</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Youngster has proven he can carry a workload and should put up elite touchdown numbers this season.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">5</td> <td>Clinton Portis</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Portis has always been a stud and will have an even bigger role in the new Washington offense.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">6</td> <td>Steven Jackson</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Workhorse running back has improved offensive line and should see the ball over and over.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">7</td> <td>Frank Gore</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Gore is going to be extremely active in the passing game ala Marshall Faulk in Martz' offense.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">8</td> <td>Brandon Jacobs</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Running behind a great run-blocking offensive line, Jacobs will be near the top if he can avoid injuries.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">9</td> <td>Marion Barber</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Should see increased workload this season and gets all the goal line work.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">10</td> <td>Larry Johnson</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Doesn't have the offensive line to open up big holes like in past year's, but he's still KC's main endzone option.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">11</td> <td>Marshawn Lynch</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Had a good rookie year but Buffalo still has no passing game and defenses will key on him.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">12</td> <td>Selvin Young</td> <td>
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</td> <td>The next in a long line of fantasy-producing Denver running backs but might lose goal line carries to Andre Hall.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">13</td> <td>Ryan Grant</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Signed and in camp, he'll be the focal point of the offense as Aaron Rodgers adjusts.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">14</td> <td>Jamal Lewis</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Cleveland's offensive line was a nice surprise last season and Lewis should again have holes to run through.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">15</td> <td>Thomas Jones</td> <td>
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</td> <td>With Favre at QB there should be more room for Jones to run. Look for a very good season.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">16</td> <td>Laurence Maroney</td> <td>
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</td> <td>With defenses adjusting to the passing game, look for Maroney to get more carries this season.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">17</td> <td>Reggie Bush</td> <td>
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</td> <td>The talent is there and you should see a nice improvement from the rushing/receiving threat.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">18</td> <td>Maurice Jones-Drew</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Big play threat still held back by the timeshare with Fred Taylor.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">19</td> <td>Earnest Graham</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Cadillac is out for a while and the Bucs showed last season that they are happy letting Graham pound it in for 6.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">20</td> <td>Willis McGahee</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Is injured and will miss some action, but it's hard to drop him any lower since he's a workhorse.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">21</td> <td>Edgerrin James</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Getting older and running behind a poor offensive line but still should get a lot of touches if he doesn't break down.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">22</td> <td>Michael Turner</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Very talented running back playing on an offense that isn't going to move the ball well.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">23</td> <td>Ronnie Brown</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Parcells love Ricky Williams but Brown still should get 70% of the carries in a run-first offense.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">24</td> <td>Darren McFadden</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Will suffer Reggie Bush disease behind a poor offensive line and a running back by committee approach.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">25</td> <td>Matt Forte</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Looks to be the guy for a below average Bears offense but he still should see a ton of action.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">26</td> <td>Chris Johnson</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Only a matter of time before he becomes the primary ball carrier for the Titans and he has elite speed and a good line.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">27</td> <td>Rashard Mendenhall</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Has a great offensive line and will likely be getting a ton of touchdowns in Pittsburgh's running game.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">28</td> <td>Fred Taylor</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Still has some juice left in his legs and the Jaguars will give him the ball enough for him to contribute.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">29</td> <td>Willie Parker</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Will lose carries as well as touchdown chances in the red zone to Mendenhall but still can pick up 5 a pop.</td> </tr> <tr style="height: 12.75pt;" height="17"> <td style="height: 12.75pt;" x:num="" align="right" height="17">30</td> <td>Kevin Smith</td> <td>
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</td> <td>Seems like he's the logical starter in Detroit with Tatum Bell in the doghouse again. Won't gain much per run.</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

 

[Harvey Dent]

I would switch lynch for jacobs , mcfadden for grant and jones for johnson then it would be perfect

 

[Harvey Dent]

and maroney for young


good list

 

[JakeT.]

I would switch lynch for jacobs , mcfadden for grant and jones for johnson then it would be perfect

Thanks for the compliments and the only thing you said was switch McFadde and Grant.

Grant has a good run-blocking offensive line and has proven himself. He's also the sure-fire starter.

McFadden is backing up Fargas right now and in one of the worst offenses in football.

I can't see any possible reason to switch them with McFadden getting half of Grant's carries in a much lesser offense.

 

[Harvey Dent]

Atleast early in the year teams will lock down on grant...fargas put up great numbers in that awful offense and dmac is much more talented them him ( big fargas fan btw).. jackson in GB will also get a decent amount of carries this year

 

[Harvey Dent]

I'm going to post some rankings of my own soon jake, just to get another view out there.... i make some bold predictions and sometimes hit a homer and sometimes strike out... should be cool to look back on both our rankings
:toast:

 

[Snookslayer]

Give me SEA's Julius Jones over a few RBs on that list. His ADP is late 6th round, which is damn cheap for a starting RB on a good offense. And Jones can catch too.

 

[PercocetThreat]

Give me SEA's Julius Jones over a few RBs on that list. His ADP is late 6th round, which is damn cheap for a starting RB on a good offense. And Jones can catch too.

People are definitely not giving any respect to Jones. Obviously he hasn't show much but I think he'll have a good year and should be a solid pick b/w rounds 6-7.

 

[JakeT.]

I'm going to post some rankings of my own soon jake, just to get another view out there.... i make some bold predictions and sometimes hit a homer and sometimes strike out... should be cool to look back on both our rankings
:toast:

Sounds good buddy. The more the merrier.

 

[JakeT.]

Give me SEA's Julius Jones over a few RBs on that list. His ADP is late 6th round, which is damn cheap for a starting RB on a good offense. And Jones can catch too.

He hasn't won the starting gig yet and even if he does, he'll give up carries to Morris. Right now the competition is still wide open from what I've read and I'd look for a 60/40 split, making both guys lesser fantasy options.

 

[Sammy_439]

Running backs are overrated. Offensive lines are underrated. Great offensive lines are much more important than great running backs. The reason is that a great offensive line is rare where as great runners are a dime a dozen. There are exceptions of course. See LT, AP, etc. Those are 2 special players.

 

[JakeT.]

Running backs are overrated. Offensive lines are underrated. Great offensive lines are much more important than great running backs. The reason is that a great offensive line is rare where as great runners are a dime a dozen. There are exceptions of course. See LT, AP, etc. Those are 2 special players.

Agree somewhat. I'm the biggest proponent of offensive lines allowing the skill players to succeed that you'll ever meet. That being said, LT is an exception but Peterson is not. He's running behind quite possibly the best run-blocking offensive line in all of football. Hell, Chester Taylor was picking up like 4.5 a pop last year if I remember correctly. Obviously Peterson is an elite back that will pick up more per carry than Taylor, but the holes he had to run through were massive and so were Taylor's. LT is a much better example IMO. Offensive lines allow the greats to be great though.

 

[Vancouverfan]

I think McGahee is around 13 or 14 in my opinion. Cam Cameron is only gonna make him better this year too

 

[JakeT.]

I think McGahee is around 13 or 14 in my opinion. Cam Cameron is only gonna make him better this year too

If he was healthy I'd have him alot higher but I've heard reports saying he still can't even walk right and is likely to miss regular season games if he doesn't show a ton of improvement in a short period of time. That's why he's so low.

 

[GrilledCheese]

Portis will not be top 10. His first full healthy season was last year. I'm not a believer he can repeat. If he can.... maybe you have it nailed.

Don't forget about Chris Brown at HOU. Once Ahman Green gets cut (soon), Brown will get 90% of carries w/ Slaton as a 3DRB.

Nice List.

 

[Vancouverfan]

yeah Jake, I meant McGahee as a 13 or 14 providing he's back week 1 or 2. I've read 2 articles the last couple days saying they expect him to play week 1 but who knows.

 

[JakeT.]

yeah Jake, I meant McGahee as a 13 or 14 providing he's back week 1 or 2. I've read 2 articles the last couple days saying they expect him to play week 1 but who knows.

Yeah I have read the same stuff but just don't believe it. The guy is having trouble walking and can't jog at all and it's like two weeks away. I guess I just can't believe he'll heal that quickly.

 

[MONDOGECKO]

No MJD lovehno:

 

[MattMillen+]

Jacobs and Grant to high IMO. Other than that, great list Jake. Keep it up.

 

[Harvey Dent]

Portis will not be top 10. His first full healthy season was last year. I'm not a believer he can repeat. If he can.... maybe you have it nailed.

Don't forget about Chris Brown at HOU. Once Ahman Green gets cut (soon), Brown will get 90% of carries w/ Slaton as a 3DRB.

Nice List.

Injured Chris Brown "seems unlikely" to make the Texans' 53-man roster, according to the Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice.