Fantasy Football 2009: Running Backs

1. Adrian Peterson - Not really much of a surprise this year as Purple Jesus takes the top spot on the RB rankings.  AP ran for 1,760 yards last year and with the cream puff schedule he has this year combined with the fact that Brett Favre will most likely be under center for the Vikes, I think a 2,000 yard campaign is very likely.  However, Favre's presence may take away from his red zone carries and scoring TDs is one area of AP's game that was somewhat lacking last year as he only found pay dirt 10 times.

(Photo by Getty Images)

2. Matt Forte - After an impressive rookie season behind a bad offense line and Kyle Orton, you really have to wonder just how good he'll be with a rebuilt line and Pro Bowler Jay Cutler at QB.  Forte is a guy that can do it all.  In addition to his 1,238 yards on the ground, he caught 63 passes for another 477.  He is a HUGE offensive weapon for the Bears and will see the a lot this season.  He is a younger, less injury prone version of Brian Westbrook.

3. Maurice Jones-Drew - This year has "MJD's breakout season" written all over it.  Jones-Drew will no longer have to fight with Fred Taylor over carries and will be the feature back for the Jags this season.  In addition to being the man in Jacksonville, the Jags offensive line will get a significant upgrade with the acquisition of Tra Thomas and the return of Maurice Williams and Vince Manuwai from injuries.  MJD won't be running into a brick wall over and over again like he did for most of last year.  A 2,000 total yardage season with 15 TDs is well within his grasp if he can stay healthy. 

4. Michael Turner - After spending years as LT's backup, Turner finally got his shot at a starting gig.  How did he do?  Ohhhh just 1,699 yards and 17 TDs, that's all.  Turner's emergence into super stardom led the Falcons to the playoffs and lead many fantasy teams to championships.  I do not, I repeat, do not expect him to have as great a season as he did last year.  The Falcons are talking about using Jerious Norwood more and will let Matt Ryan do more in the passing game.  The Falcons also have one of the tougher schedules in the league this season which will also cut into his numbers a bit.  Despite all that, he should still see the end zone 10+ times and will easily break the 1000 yard mark.

5. LaDainian Tomlinson - His numbers are slipping, his ranking is falling and he's hit the not-so-magical age 30.  Don't worry, this isn't Logan's Run and he won't be hunted down by the Sandmen.  LT had to deal with a lot of little injury problems last year that affected his ability to make cuts, which is a key to his running style.  Despite his struggles, he was still better than a lot of the other top elite backs in football last year (Westbrook, Gore, Jackson, Barber).  LT will come into this year focused and ready to play and with teams like Oakland, Denver and KC in their division, he should have no problem bouncing back with big numbers this year. 

6. Frank Gore - Like LT, this versatile do everything RB, has seen his numbers declining over the past couple seasons.  The 49ers though will continue to make him the focal point of the offense and want to pound the football a lot this year and Gore will be the battering ram they use to do it.  As long as they don't "batter" him up too much, he should have another 1,400+ total yard season and 10+ TDs.

7. Steven Jackson - No Action Jackons missed all of camp due to a hold out, then when that got resolved, he was ineffective and then injured.  No one will ever confuse me with his biggest fan, but you can't argue with the numbers he put up at the end of the season.  On a team that has basically nothing except him (and even less now with Orlando Pace and Tory Holt gone) he should see the ball a lot.  Calling him the workhorse of this team will be putting it mildly.  Just the number touches alone will be enough to give him significant fantasy value.

8. Steve Slaton - The Texans 2008 third round pick from WVU showed that passing up Reggie Bush as the first overall pick in the 2006 draft wasn't such a bad idea after all.  Slaton rushed for over 1200 yards, scored 9 TDs and caught 50 passes.  Oh by the way, Bush has just 1550 yards rushing and 12 rushing TDs in three seasons.  Slaton is everything Reggie Bush was expected to be and with him in their backfield, the Texans have a very lethal attack, one that I think will get a lot of attention in 2009.

9. DeAngelo Williams - The MVP of the fantasy football playoffs last year would be ranked a lot higher if it wasn't for the return of his backup/TD stealer, Jonathan Stewart.  With Stewart at 100%, Williams will not see the ball 300 times and will lose carries, yards and TDs.  If something were to happen to Stewart, Williams would be a top 3 back once again.  Heck, you may even want to draft both Williams and Stewart.  The Panthers love to run the ball and have a great offensive line.  Both should put up decent numbers.

10. Brian Westbrook - After racking up an incredible amount of total yards over the past couple years, Westbrook appeared to break down at times during the 2008 season.  His injured and beat up body prevented him from reaching the 1000 yard rushing mark for the first time since 2005.  To make matters worse, he'll miss all of preseason due to surgery on his injured right ankle.  He's capable of big things and can carry your team all by himself when he's healthy, but with him starting off the season injured, he's a bit of a gamble.

11. Joseph Addai - With Peyton Manning as your QB, you would be hard pressed NOT to find running room.  Addai underwent knee surgery in the off season and is hoping to put up the type of numbers he posted in 2007 when he rushed for over 1,000 yards and scored 12 TDs.  With Dominic Rhodes gone, Addai will once again for the feature back in the Colts offense.

12. Clinton Portis - For the first half of the season, Portis looked like an MVP candidate.  For the second half... ehhh... not so much.  Injuries and arguments with the head coach killed his production in the second half and only time will tell if it boils over into this season.  Portis is a great back and has been for years, but I think his workload is finally taking its toll on his body.  He may only have a few good years left in him before he falls off this list.

13. Willie Parker - You would think the running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers would be ranked a little higher than 13th, but Fast Willie looked anything but fast in 2008.  Yes, I'm sure injuries slowed him down, but when he was healthy he was rushing for less than 4 yards per carry.  Plus, let's not forget the lack of TD's which probably won't change now with 5th rounder Frank "The Tank" Summers setup as the goaline back.  However, the Steelers do have a pretty easy schedule this season and if Willie gets the majority of the carries and his speed back, we could be looking at a 1500 yard season, just don't get too hopeful for TDs.

14. Chris Johnson - The Dash half of Smash 'n' Dash burst onto the scene in his rookie year to run for over 1200 yards and score 9 TDs.  Johnson looks as though he could develop into one of those backs that run and catch a lot, but as long as LenDale White is in the picture stealing carries and more importantly, goaline carries you'll never get as much out of Johnson as you could.

15. Marion Barber - Ahhh my first round pick from last year.  He totaled almost 1000 yards and scored 10 TDs in 2007 in a split carry role.  I figured as the full time back, he'll explode.  That he did, right in all of his owners faces.  Barber failed to reach 1000 yards and scored just 7 rushing TDs.  His QB, Tony Romo, was injured for part of the season and he was battling a toe injury, but all this did was show Dallas that they had a couple of other good options at RB. Felix Jones and Tashard Choice did exceptional in Barber's absence and now he looks to be splitting carries with two other backs.  The good news is, he'll still be used on 3rd downs, which is good for his receiving numbers and I'm sure he'll be the go to guy at the goaline.

16. Pierre Thomas - After using high first round picks on Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas, an undrafted free agent from Illinois, has taken over the running game for the Saints.  He's looked very impressive in his limited playing time and looks to upgrade his "limited" status to "full".  He has all the tools to fit into the offensive perfectly, but whether or not he can withstand the beating of a 17 week season remains to be seen.

17. Brandon Jacobs - He's big, he's bad, he's physical, he has yet to get through an season injury free.  Jacobs is a monster and has been unstoppable on the field (when he's on it) but the Giants have a big hole at the WR position this year and this lack of a vertical threat will make the line of scrimmage a very crowded place.  Jacobs will probably pound out another 10 TDs and get around 1000 yards, but if you're waiting for a breakout season, you'll be waiting a little bit longer.

18. Ronnie Brown - He is the ultimate high risk, high reward fantasy back.  A couple years ago he was racking up big points each week and was a one man fantasy wrecking crew before tearing his ACL.  Last year, he had a nice bounce back from the injury, picked up over 1000 total yards and 10 TDs.  This season, its a contract year and I don't expect him to share as many carries with Ricky Williams as he did last year, so he could have another big year like he did in 07, but its a risk.

19. Ryan Grant - Taking a bit of a slide in 2008, Grant will look to get back to his 2007 form and prove that last year was simply a sophomore slump.  I believe it was defenses crowding the line of scrimmage because Favre was gone and they figured they would force Rodgers to beat them.  Now that Rodgers has proven that he can do just that, Grant should see more running room and have a nice bounce back.

20. Ray Rice - I'm going a little bit out on a limb here, but as of right now the second year back from Rutgers is projected to be the Ravens starting tailback.  Rice fits in the Cam Cameron offense perfectly and if he gets the majority of the snaps, Rice could put up some big numbers rushing and receiving.  There is always the chance though, that they'll either have him split time with McGahee or worse go back to running back by committee.