Fantasy Football Running Backs

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Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings

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All you have to do is look at the number of incomplete grades below (16) to know what kind of year 2007 was for fantasy running backs. (Of course that worked out well for our members since we ranked QBs and WRs much higher than most sites in the early rounds.) These results also highlight the importance of accurately projecting what the second tier RBs can be expected to do should the big guys go down. On that front we did very well finishing with very solid grades on guys that were very much in question going into last season such as Edgerrin James (98%), Marshawn Lynch (98%), Fred Taylor (97%), Willis McGahee (96%) and DeAngelo Williams (91%). After all, anybody can tell you to draft LaDanian Tomlinson, but the season is usually won or lost in the mid-rounds, not the early rounds. As far as our busts went, the toughest one to accept was Thomas Jones. We only missed his yardage total by 4yds. but his complete lack of TD production killed us. The same thing happened with Willie Parker, but our members will tell you that we were warning them away from Parker from the beginning of training camp.

LaDanian Tomlinson XR: 1 CR: 1 BW: 9 Final 2007 Grade: 85% B+

2007 Projections: Rushing YDs: 1,722 RushingTDs: 22 Receptions: 51 ReceivingYDs: 463 ReceivingTDs: 2 Fantasy Pts: 357

2007 Final Stats: 1,474 15 60 475 3 303

2008 Projections: 1,506 17 54 411 2 306 2007 Bottom Line: Only Tomlinson could finish with 13 less TDs and 374 fewer yards than the year before and still be the best running back in fantasy football.

2008 Outlook: Until proven otherwise LT remains the overwhelming favorite to go first in just about every fantasy football draft held this season. While we agree with that, there are a few numbers that we see as reason for at least a little concern. In 2007 Tomlinson failed to score a rushing TD in 6 games - an unheard of number for him. As a matter of fact, he only had 3 games with multiple rushing TDs and his numbers for the other 13 games were only 7TDs and an average of 75yds. rushing per game. None of this changes his ranking, but if somebody wants to make you an offer for the first pick overall - you should at least listen.

Brian Westbrook XR: 2 CR: 4 BW: 7 Final 2007 Grade: 89% B+

2007 Projections: Rushing YDs: 1,117 RushingTDs: 6 Receptions: 74 ReceivingYDs: 718 ReceivingTDs: 5 Fantasy Pts: 250

2007 Final Stats: 1,333 7 90 771 5 282

2008 Projections: 1,277 8 84 743 4 274

2007 Bottom Line: Our confidence in Westbrook last year proved to be well placed. He was (and is) the closest thing to a one man offense in the NFL. Now, about that kneel down on the one yard line...

2008 Outlook: What's not to like? His numbers of carries and receptions have increased over the last three seasons to 368 touches last year. He only failed to reach 100yds. (combined rushing and receiving) in 3 games last year and one of those games he finished with 99yds. With the Eagles failure to improve their WR position Westbrook remains the best receiver in an offense that loves to throw. Yeah, we'd like to see him score more but keep in mind that he scored in more games than Adrian Peterson in 2007.

Clinton Portis XR: 3 CR: 8 BW: 10 Final 2007 Grade: 84% B

2007 Projections: Rushing YDs: 1,158 RushingTDs: 10 Receptions: 24 ReceivingYDs: 177 ReceivingTDs: 0 Fantasy Pts: 194

2007 Final Stats: 1,262 11 47 389 0 231

2008 Projections: 1,331 12 42 336 1 245

2007 Bottom Line: Portis quietly put together a dominant fantasy season finishing 3rd in total yardage and 4th in RB TDs despite playing for an offense that lacked at QB and WR. (It could be argued that HC Joe Gibbs' decision not to play Portis at the 1yd. line against the Giants in Week 3 was the reason the Giants were able to move on and win the Super Bowl.)

2008 Outlook: Portis scored in more games last year than any RB not named Tomlinson or Addai, and over the last four weeks of the 2007 season he averaged over 125 combined yards and 1TD per game. Needless to say, we think he is being under-valued by most analysts. Sure there's a new coaching staff in place but that should be offset by somewhat improved play from Jason Campbell.

Frank Gore XR: 4 CR: 9 BW: 9 Final 2007 Grade: 75% C+

2007 Projections: Rushing YDs: 1,505 RushingTDs: 10 Receptions: 54 ReceivingYDs: 416 ReceivingTDs: 1 Fantasy Pts: 258

2007 Final Stats: 1,102 5 53 436 1 191

2008 Projections: 1,096 8 74 661 2 236 2007 Bottom Line: Despite injury problems and an offense that couldn't get out of it's own way, Gore still managed to finish 6th in total yardage in the NFL.

2008 Outlook: Last year we weren't as high on Gore as others were, and we turned out to be right. This year we're higher on Gore than most other sites and we're confident we'll be right again. Why? Because Gore (like Brian Westbrook) may very well be his team's best receiver as well as their RB. Now add Mike Martz and his pass happy offense to the mix and we believe Gore will be a consistent 100yd. combined yardage performer this season.

Joseph Addai XR: 5 CR: 3 BW: 4 Final 2007 Grade: 86% B+

2007 Projections: Rushing YDs: 1,431 RushingTDs: 13 Receptions: 51 ReceivingYDs: 446 ReceivingTDs: 1 Fantasy Pts: 271

2007 Final Stats: 1,072 12 41 364 3 233

2008 Projections: 1,063 12 44 392 3 235

2007 Bottom Line: Addai proved himself to be fantasy football force on an offense that's guaranteed to produce plenty of scoring opportunities.

2008 Outlook: Last year Addai scored 5 of his 15 TDs in three games against the NFC West and we expect him to find the going a little more difficult against the NFC North. Still, if he remains healthy he should finish with very similar numbers to last year since he only played in 15 games last year and played sparingly in two others. His schedule during fantasy play-off time (Weeks 13, 14, and 15) looks very favorable with home games against the Bengals and Lions in Weeks 14 and 15.

Steven Jackson XR: 6 CR: 5 BW: 5 Final 2007 Grade: Incomplete

2007 Projections: Rushing YDs: 1,654 RushingTDs: 14 Receptions: 84 ReceivingYDs: 787 ReceivingTDs: 3 Fantasy Pts: 346

2007 Final Stats: Incomplete due to injury

2008 Projections: 1,188 10 67 504 1 235

2007 Bottom Line: Injuries to himself and his offensive line made 2007 a season to forget.

2008 Outlook: The addition of Al Saunders as offensive co-ordinator should be good news for Jackson owners as Saunders plans on opening up the offense by establishing the run first. In addition, Saunders has never been bashful about feeding a guy the ball early and often - especially in his Kansas City days. While we don't expect Jackson to put up Priest Holmes in-the-day numbers, we do believe that his involvement in the passing game and the new emphasis on the running game will serve him well. One thing to keep in mind about Jackson - he only scored one road TD in 2007 and definitely plays better on turf than real grass.

Adrian Peterson XR: 7 CR: 2 BW: 8 Final 2007 Grade: 66% D+

2007 Projections: Rushing YDs: 1,010 RushingTDs: 7 Receptions: 24 ReceivingYDs: 151 ReceivingTDs: 0 FantasyPts: 158

2007 Final Stats: 1,341 12 19 268 1 238

2008 Projections: 1,359 11 22 281 1 235

2007 Bottom Line: Peterson far exceeded our expectations for 2007. However, with the exception of two games he averaged 68yds. per game which is only 5yds. more per game than we expected.

2008 Outlook: Peterson is the clear consensus at the # 2 pick overall, but we just don't see it. Here's what the numbers say: AP scored in just 7 games last year and hit the 100yd. rushing mark in six while averaging 48yds. per game in the other eight games he played. The last four road games the Vikings played last year Peterson averaged 36yds. rushing per game and scored one TD. In addition, the Vikings play the AFC South this year which will pose a much sterner challenge than the defensively challenged AFC West. Don't get us wrong, we like Peterson - we just wouldn't feel comfortable taking him with the 2nd pick in the draft.

Marion Barber XR: 8 CR: 7 BW: 10 Final 2007 Grade: 83% B

2007 Projections: Rushing YDs: 702 RushingTDs: 12 Receptions: 19 ReceivingYDs: 153 ReceivingTDs: 1 FantasyPts: 163

2007 Final Stats: 975 10 44 282 2 197

2008 Projections: 1,206 12 38 229 2 227

2007 Bottom Line: The Cowboys finally realized that they were a much better team with Barber instead of Julius Jones.

2008 Outlook: It would seem that the sky is the limit for Barber in 2008, but don't get too carried away with your expectations. For starters, as long as Romo, Owens, and Witten are healthy there will be a limit to the number of rushing TDs available for Cowboy RBs. Secondly, we think Felix Jones is better than Julius Jones and he may well steal a couple of TDs from Barber by breaking off some long runs. Thirdly, Barber scored 7TDs on the road and only 3 at home, which is most likely a function of the passing offense putting on a show at home. That being said, the starting RB for a high-powered offense is always a good pick and Barber will almost certainly be one of the first ten players drafted.

Larry Johnson XR: 9 CR: 7 BW: 6 Final 2007 Grade: Incomplete

2007 Projections: Rushing YDs: 1,776 RushingTDs: 19 Receptions: 44 ReceivingYDs: 448 ReceivingTDs: 2 Fantasy Pts: 348

2007 Final Stats: Incomplete due to injury

2008 Projections: 1,189 9 42 409 2 226

2007 Bottom Line: A weak offensive line, poor QB play, and injury problems made Johnson a mere shadow of himself in 2007.

2008 Outlook: Other than Johnson's broken foot healing, it appears that little has changed in KC since last year. Brodie Croyle remains the QB - which means teams won't have to respect the passing game and the offensive line is still a huge question mark. We happen to think that the younger players on the OL - though inexperienced - should be an upgrade from last year, but by how much remains to be seen. While OC Chan Gailey isn't known for his high-powered offenses, he is still far better than Herm Edwards at play calling. Overall, we look for Johnson to rebound, but not to the level he was two years ago.

MarShawn Lynch XR: 10 CR: 11 BW: 6 Final Grade: 98% A+

2007 Projections: Rushing YDs: 1,074 RushingTDs: 9 Receptions: 22 ReceivingYDs: 144 ReceivingTDs: 0 FantasyPts: 175

2007 Final Stats: 1,115 7 18 184 0 172

2008 Projections: 1,291 9 26 221 0 205 2007 Bottom Line: It would be hard for us to do much better than a 98%. Lynch proved to be exactly what we thought he would be - a capable running back who would get the majority of the team's carries.

2008 Outlook: With his off-season legal problems now behind him, we look for Lynch to continue to be a very solid fantasy RB. This year he will be facing the NFC West instead of the NFC East which should give him even more opportunities to put up good numbers. (He only score 1TD against the NFC East defenses last year.) His schedule during the fantasy football play-off run (Weeks 13, 14, and 15) is favorable consisting of the Niners, the Dolphins, and the Jets.

ADDITIONAL RANKINGS AND PROJECTIONS