Running back levels in the auction 2010 football Fantasy
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I always find it helpful to break down specific positions into tiers. As always, the RB pool has some pretty distinct tiers. If you get any of these guys in the Top Tier, you've got a solid anchor to your squad.
Top Tier:
Chris Johnson $$72
Adrian Peterson $69
Ray Rice $66
Michael Turner $58
Frank Gore $55
Of course for every tier you can argue if certain players should be included or not and there is a pretty big swing in auction value from CJ to Gore ($17), but I believe these are all top tier talent.
Breakout candidate: Ray Rice
He had a great year last year, is very young and looks to be getting even better. Baltimore loves to run and Rice is a great receiving back as well. I don't think he's come anyway near his ceiling yet.
Safest Play: Maurice Jones-Drew
CJ and AP are also very safe, but you're going to have to pay for them. It feels like last year could be CJ's ceiling, well, you would think. AP looks steady to, but the fumbles are somewhat concerning if he keeps slipping up. Jones-Drew is the every down back who gets goal line work and 3rd down receptions. The Jags aren't a great team, but he is their best asset and they have to feed him.
Bust Potential: Chris Johnson*
It's tough to pinpoint a bust in the top tier this year. I love Chris Johnson, but so many things went right last year, it's just difficult to imagine he pulls it off again. Let me be clear, I don't think Chris Johnson is necessarily a bust (hence the asterisk), he's an awesome player and will have a great year. I just think that you might not get as much value out of him given his price tag this year, which could make him a bust relative to the % of your auction dollars you need to allocate to him to retain his services.
Best Value: Michael Turner
Last year he was a #2 overall guy going for the mid $60 range. He was having a very solid year and then got hurt. He came back very late a couple times but was never really ready nor was he effective. He's had time to heal now and get into better shape. Remember last year he had put on "muscle" coming into a camp. That is a code word for someone who got fat in the off-season. I can't ever think of a time when someone in a skill position puts on a bunch of weight, or "bulked up" as they sell it and it end up being a good thing. Turner will be back, slimmer and ready to return to form from his breakout campaign. His value has been knocked way down because of last year and I'm buying him if his price stays reasonable, like it looks on the board.
2nd Tier:
Steven Jackson $44
Cedric Benson $40
Ryan Grant $35
Jamaal Charles $35
Ryan Matthews $35
Pierre Thomas $34
Shonn Greene $33
Beanie Wells $32
I almost cut off the tier after Grant, but opted to include the next 5 RB's after that as well. There is definitely a difference; I just don't think it's that huge.
Breakout Candidate: Shonn Greene
I think we were more timid about anointing this guy as the next RB god originally. Sure it was tough not to be high on him after his playoff performance, but once the Jets brought in LT, (even if you think he is done) it was a little worrisome. Given all that I am starting to think this guy could be a monster despite any value LT might shift away from him. The Jets run the ball so much and this guy looks like he can handle the load. It's tough to imagine LT getting any better than he was last year and if Greene is dominating, it's not going to take the Jets long to figure out that superior talent wins out and will get the bulk of the carries and goalline work. Look for Greene to move up our board on the next update.
Safest Play: Ryan Grant
He is the ultimate not-sexy running back. That's good though, because the tempting RB's are usually the ones that burn you. His offense is loaded, moves the ball and scores points. Nobody cuts into Grants workload and he's been producing at a solid level for a good stretch now.
Bust Potential: Rashard Mendenhall
I don't know if it's just me, but whenever I watched this guy play last year I was never overly impressed. I just think he's going way to high right now in drafts and auctions. The Steelers offense is in complete disarray with Big Ben out 6 weeks (maybe 4), Holmes gone and Hines Ward is supposed to be getting old for the tenth consecutive year.
Best Value: Ryan Matthews
I know, I know, how can a rookie have the best value when he's completely unproven. Based on Norv's statement of how much he wants to use this guy, I'm slightly bullish on him. Vincent Jackson might be holding out for a while after his suspension, which hurts the passing attack slightly. LT was such a disaster last year they had to get away from running it. I look for them to bring a more balanced attack again and Matthews will be the top dog in an offense that produces year in year out.
3rd Tier:
Moreno $26
Addai $24
Brown $23
McCoy $17
Stewart $17
Forte $14
Best $14
Tate $13
Jacobs $12
The third tier is the place where a person who did the opposite and went after WR's and QB's first lives. Sure you might get lucky on a couple of these guys if you get a few, but if one, or God forbid, two of them are your starters, I hope you got a really stacked WR corp and/or a premium QB.
Breakout Candidate: Everyone not named Joseph Addai
Seriously, you could make an argument for everyone on the list other than Addai that says each guy could have a breakout first season or rebound season. I just don't see a lot of upside with Addai.
Safest play: Joseph Addai
Huh? No, I'm not really a big fan of Addai, but the guy has produced at a moderate level the past few seasons, including 13 TD's last year. The Colts offense is always steady. The only concern is Donald Brown taking the job from him. Addai is not as old (27) as he feels like. When you're looking at the 3rd tier, it's tough to find safety, but Addai is the closest thing to it.
Bust Potential: Jahvid Best
How many rookie RB's from the Lions are you going to talk yourself into before you just give up and realize that anyone that is on the Lions is probably doomed for failure. Kevin Jones was the last one for me....never again. Let me summon my inner-Pitino...."Barry Sanders is not walking through that door!"
Best Value: Jonathon Stewart
Carolina is so run heavy, even the #2 guy (or depending how you view it, 1A guy) Jonathon Stewart is a beast. He posted starter-like numbers last year despite not being "the guy". He's a great value because if anything happens to DeAngelo, Stewart is probably a top 5 back, providing he doesn't get injured himself.
It's almost time for Fantasy Football season! Let the second guessing and over analysis begin!
Workhorses of running back for Fantasy Football draft
Apart from the word "injury", there no other word most feared that the word "platoon" fantasy sports. He was much more common in fantasy baseball outfielders and Closers for many years, but changed the offensive approach in the NFL. We are now seeing this approach that is commonly used in the NFL backfields. The polite way to describe the use of multiple running backs is "running back by Committee". No matter how you term approach, the peloton situations can be killers of fantasy football.
It is absurd to initiate a Marshal field that is not designated full-time Starter unless you are using a computer Quarterback position. Wide receivers, by nature, are treated as committees and can occasionally become a very poor performance. However, we have come to expect from starting running backs to produce on a weekly basis, reason why they usually make up 80% of the players that was drafted in the first two rounds of standard score fantasy football leagues. There are approximately 40% of computers in the League that still uses the old one-back "driver" to bear the burden.These are the running backs who will want to focus on primera.Si you project any of these running backs, don't forget to grab his back-up as a 'wives' injury.
Workhorse:
? Chris Johnson (TENN) - the number 1 pick on average all estándar.CJ leagues has no threat to steal significant scree.
? Adrian Peterson (Minnesota) - another player as the top pick. AP will ever written newbie Toby Gerhart, but which will tend to be erupting final games.
Maurice Jones-Drew (JACK) - MoJo ? proved to be a workhorse pasado.A year repeat this activity this year.
? Rashard Mendenhall (PITT) - Mendenhall showed the Steelers were drafting him is his horse in battle in 2008.Se run again this year and expected to be offensive force.
? Steven Jackson (STL) - nobody embodies the workhorse over Jackson's definition.Your image is displayed next to the word at the Webster dictionary.
? Frank Gore (SF) - the main coup in Gore is that he is injury prone, so make sure you have Glen Coffee should draft Gore.
? Cedric Benson (CIN) - Benson was a machine in 2009.Debido injuries and field problems, he is a risk, so take advantage of Bernard Scott as their wives.
? Ryan Mathews (SD) - read The Mathews Chargers to the workhorse of young returns with duties of Sproles scatback manipulation.
Ryan Grant (GB) - Grant ? had his best season in 2009.The team loves throw the ball, so he should retain the same role.Be sure to grab Brandon Jackson as your backup.
Workhorse with concerns:
? Michael Turner (ATL) - this is dura.Turner was phenomenal in 2008, but many believe that the workload caused their injuries of 2009.Durante his time in the infirmary, the Falcons were found two fill-ins competent, so it would be very surprised to see Turner get lettering early in the season, and if the computer is successful, this approach will continue.
? Ray Rice (balanced) - rice looks as a workhorse back in the second half of the year pasado.Sin however, one must be concerned about losing the caries, especially around the goal line since the Ravens have still Willis McGahee and Le ' Ron McClain.
? Carnell Williams (TB) - Cadillac is hard to place in this group, but has to list since Derrick Ward was a no-factor offensively pasado.Lamentablemente year, the entire offense is a factor-no.