10. Jamaal Charles: Like most NFL fans, especially fantasy football fans, I was extremely confused about the limited amount of carries Charles got last season. I love Thomas Jones, but he is at the end of his career and should not have led the team in carries. Jones averaged 3.7 yards per carry while Charles averaged an unbelievable 6.4 yards per carry. It does not take a math wiz to figure out who should have been starting out of those two. Charles is also a great receiver out of the backfield. He has the potential to be as good as Chris Johnson.
9. Frank Gore: Injuries have really slowed him down, but he is an absolute beast and deserves to be in the top 10. He does not have elite speed, but he is a tough runner and an amazing pass blocker. Every year he is one of the 49ers top receivers on top of tallying up four 1000 yard rushing seasons despite all of his injuries. He has been playing with just awful quarterbacks and has still produced at a very high level.
8. Steven Jackson: Jackson is probably the most underrated running back in the NFL. He is a bigger back, yet catches the ball like a receiver, which is extremely rare. He had one amazing season in 2006, but has not had the supporting cast in St. Louis for him to repeat those numbers. I really hope he has at least another 2-3 years of elite play left in him because Sam Bradford is the quarterback the Rams have been looking for to take pressure off of Jackson. Jackson has been the Rams’ entire offense for years and it will be fun to watch him run with some help on offense.
7. Michael Turner: Turner is one of the biggest starting running backs in the NFL and yet he is still one of the fastest. The guy is almost impossible to bring down and if he gets into the secondary, there are few defensive backs in the league that can even slow him down. Only reason he is not higher on the list is because of his ineffectiveness on passing downs and some injury concerns.
6. Peyton Hillis: There is no way this guy is going to be a one year wonder. He has some problems with fumbling, which is apparently caused by having enormous biceps. That’s a problem that most players would love to have. He started the season as a fullback and ended up on the cover of Madden 2012. That’s a much more impressive story than Michael Vick’s comeback. Unless his injury problems come back, I don’t see him slowing down at all in 2011. He was the only reason the Browns were able to generate any sort of offense last season. He benefits from running behind a great offensive line, but he broke more tackles than anyone else in the NFL last season. On top of that, he had a staggering 61 catches, which was second on the team. He has only showed the tip of his potential and I think he’s going to have an incredible career.
5. Ray Rice: This guy is a young Maurice Jones-Drew. Short, stocky running back who is a tough runner and a very dangerous threat as a receiver. He is only going to get better over the next few years, especially if the Ravens find a receiver to stretch the field.
4. Maurice Jones-Drew: Since MJD entered the league, there has not been a more consistent running back in the NFL. He has scored an unbelievable 63 total touchdowns in his first five seasons. He is the most versatile running back in the NFL. He is a tough in between the tackles runner; he has the speed to take it to the edge and score from anywhere on the field; and he is a dangerous returner. The Jags have consistently had one of the worst passing games in the NFL and have never had a legitimate number one receiver to spread out the defense, so he has had to carry this offense on his back year in and year out.
3. Arian Foster: There was not a single running back that came close to having the season that Foster had in 2010. He was an absolute beast. He ran tough and hard like Peterson and caught passes out of the backfield like Reggie Bush. The only reason that he is not higher on the list is that it was just one season and he needs to prove that he was not a one year wonder. However, since he consistently dominated all of his opponents last season, barring an injury, I think he is going to have a long and successful career. It would not surprise me at all if he was on top of this list next year. That's how good he is.
2. Chris Johnson: Johnson is one of the most electrifying players in the NFL. I don’t think there is a single non-quarterback in the NFL who defensive coordinators have to game plan around more. The guy is faster than anyone I have ever seen in football pads and can truly score from anywhere on the field at any point in the game. I had him as my top running back last year not just because of his 2000 yard rushing season, but also because he is a threat as a receiver as well, which one of Peterson’s few weaknesses. He will put up 1500 total yards and 10+ touchdowns no matter who starts at quarterback for the Titans.
1. Adrian Peterson: As I said before, I had Chris Johnson as my top running back last year, but after Peterson had another spectacular season with an absolutely dreadful offense around him, I had to put Peterson here. Peterson is freakishly fast for his size and absolutely punishes defenders for even attempting to tackle him. People said that he would never be able to continue to run the way he did in his rookie season without getting seriously injured, yet the guy has not changed his running style a bit. I love watching players who simply love playing football and Peterson is one of those guys. He is well deserving of his nickname “All Day” and should be atop this list for a long time.
Hope you enjoyed the list!
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