Fantasy Football: Running Backs

Tier One: Adrian Peterson

By far the best running back; so far ahead that he gets his own tier. My projections, whether Favre becomes the Vikes quarterback or not, are 1900 yards and 23 TDs.

1. Adrian Peterson

Tier Two: Probably Huge Studs

The question with these guys is: are they worth a top three pick? Or do you grab Brady or Brees instead? Turner is a perfect combo of speed and strength on one of the NFL’s best offenses; MJD is a TD machine and a great receiver, and now for the first time in his career will be rushing the ball around 20 times a game.

2. Michael Turner
3. Maurice Jones-Drew

Tier Three: Reliable Veterans

Rounding out the top ten is many familiar first-round denizens. The tricky part was ordering them. I feel I did a pretty good job.

4. Brian Westbrook
5. Steven Jackson
6. LaDanian Tomlinson
7. Clinton Portis
8. Marion Barber
9. Frank Gore
10. Joseph Addai

Tier Four: Last Year’s Rookies

Yeah, no kidding, I’m putting all four of these guys in a row. Forte and Johnson can’t reproduce last year’s stats, Slaton will be around the same and Smith is going to improve. The wildcard is Forte, who will be in the top ten if Cutler plays smart and doesn’t turn the ball over too much.

11. Matt Forte
12. Steve Slaton
13. Chris Johnson
14. Kevin Smith

Tier Five: Steady but not spectacular

Guys who run behind good offensive lines and should get the goal line carries; 10 touchdowns each but not too many yards.

14. Brandon Jacobs
15. Thomas Jones
16. Ronnie Brown
17. Ryan Grant

Tier Six: Too talented not to excel

Smallish guys who are in RBBC situations and won’t score tons of touchdowns, but have the speed and/or pass catching ability to gain loads of yardage. (You might not think Parker’s in an RBBC, but wait til you see Rashard Mendenhall tear it up!)

18. Willie Parker
19. Reggie Bush
20. DeAngelo Williams
21. Darren McFadden

Tier Seven: The Suspended

A concealed pistol is all that keeps this moron from being top-ten material. After week three, he’ll be released full-steam on a great Buffalo offense and score lots of TDs. He could pull a Brandon Marshall and get the suspension reduced; watch out for that.

22. Marshawn Lynch

Tier Eight: The First Round of Sleepers

Not a sure thing to be the feature back, but they have a good shot, and if they win the job they could produce first-round stats.

22. Knowshon Moreno
23. Derrick Ward

Tier Nine: Senior Citizens

They used to lead the NFL in rushing; now they are old and fighting for their jobs.

25. Jamal Lewis
26. Larry Johnson

Tier Ten: Vice Presidents

Just like Joe Biden is a heartbeat away from the Presidency, these guys are a torn ACL away from 1,000 yard seasons and 10 TDs. Or more.

25. Pierre Thomas
26. Ahmad Bradshaw
27. Chester Taylor
28. Jonathon Stewart
29. Ricky Williams
30. Darren Sproles

Tier Eleven: The Starters who Suck

They’ll give you a consistent 15 carries, 65 yards and .25 touchdowns a week. (Yes, I am extremely bitter that I drafted Julius Jones in the first round three years ago.)

31. Julius Jones
32. Earnest Graham
33. a. Cedric Benson
b. Kenny Watson

Tier Twelve: Touchdown Vultures

Vultures who score touchdowns. Asterisk on Hightower, who may or may not be the feature back in Arizona. I’m leaning towards a big-time RBBC situation, but keep an eye out.

34. LenDale White
35. Tim Hightower
36. LeRon McClain

Tier Thirteen: Third Down Vultures

A couple fellas who make their living on third-downs and big passes. Basically Diet Reggie Bush.

37. Jerious Norwood
38. Leon Washington
39. Felix Jones

Tier Fourteen: Tylenol PM

Very sleepy sleepers.

40. Chris Wells
41. Ray Rice
42. Brandon Jackson
43. Fred Jackson
44. Rashard Mendenhall

Tier Fifteen: Rumplestilskin

The Sleepiest of Sleepers. As always, there are a ton of these guys. The key is to rank them correctly, because at most you’re drafting one or two of them. I’m only listing these four, for now:

41. Jamaal Charles
42. Shonn Greene
43. LeSean McCoy
44. Javon Ringer
45. – 96. Every other running back in the NFL

Tier Sixteen: Death by RBBC

I would trust Lord Voldemort to babysit my Muggle child before I would trust any RB on the Patriots to be on my fantasy team.

97. Fred Taylor
98. Lawerence Maroney
99. Sammy Morris
100. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
101. Kevin Faulk
102. Kyle Eckel
103. ANYONE on the Patriots