Fantasy Football: Running Back Options
As the National Football League season approaches, so does the start of fantasy football. When it comes to drafting a team, a lot of player selection may be the result of luck. After all, everyone knows who the dominant four running backs in the league are; just not everyone is able to get them. Thus, if possible, it is a safe bet to use a top pick on Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, Maurice Jones-Drew, or Adrian Peterson (in that order). However, not everyone is fortunate enough to be in a position to draft one of those four, so it important to note other productive running backs.
Frank Gore: Gore has never quite been considered to be a top fantasy player. However, he has four seasons in a row of 1000+ rushing yards and at least 40 receptions. He is underrated and guaranteed to be a consistently producing fantasy points.
Steven Jackson: Jackson is an elite running back crippled by being the only mode of offence for the stagnant St. Louis Rams franchise. Since the Rams have had no passing game, teams just stack against Jackson on the run. Yet Jackson has still managed to amass over 1,000 yards in each of the past five seasons.
If Jackson were on a team with a decent offensive line, he’d easily oust one of the top four backs listed above. The addition of Sam Bradford at quarterback should open up the Rams offence a bit and bodes well for Jackson’s numbers.
Michael Turner: Turner can run. He showed that with the 1,699 yard 2008 season. Even with ankle injuries, Turner still managed to score 10 touchdowns in 11 games while increasing his yards per carry average from 4.5 to 4.9. Unfortunately, Turner has been very sparsely utilized in passing schemes throughout his career. He has caught just 22 passes in total over the past six seasons, which is the fewest amongst any NFL backs with more than two years of experience.
Rashard Mendenhall: Mendenhall stepped up big last season and made most Steelers fans forget about Willie Parker’s running woes. Although Mendenhall took over the starting running back duties from Parker only in October, he still managed to rush for the seventh highest amount of yards in the NFL with 1,063 yards.
Unfortunately, Mendenhall has to play in much less favourable circumstances this season. The first four games the Steelers play will be without franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, which means teams are going to be stacking harder against the run. Also right tackle Willie Colon will not be playing, which makes Mendenhall much more vulnerable.
Jonathan Stewart: Stewart has shown tons of potential but has been held down by a bad heel for the last two seasons. He is finally at full health and should be ready to dominate defences. Together with DeAngelo Williams, Stewart comprises arguably the best back duo in the entire NFL. With no real quarterback or passing game to speak of, the Carolina Panthers offence will rely almost entirely on Williams and Stewart. Both players should be over the 1000 yard mark this year, though Stewart should come out on top if he can stay healthy.
Shonn Greene: Greene is finally the No. 1 running back for the New York Jets, after trading lots of carries with Thomas Jones the previous year. He has veteran LaDainian Tomlinson to mentor him on running and is working from behind one of the best offensive lines in football.
Greene should be having a great year and will be the driving force in a rushing offence that ranked number one in the NFL in 2009.
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