1.
Adrian Peterson, MIN
Adrian
Peterson led the league in rushing in his second NFL season. He was Minnesota’s workhorse carrying the
ball 363 times, but the TD total dropped a bit from 12 to 10. Purple Jesus hasn’t made many immaculate
receptions in PPR leagues since he only has 40 total catches over 2 years. Peterson may not be a spectacular 1st
overall pick, but he’s a solid choice in traditional formats.
2.
Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC
Fred
Taylor’s departure now solidifies MJD’s role as Jacksonville’s primary
offensive threat. He’s never topped 200
carries or a 1000 rushing yards in a season, so there will be some adjustment
to the increase in attempts. But, he’s
averaged 12 total TDs per season in his brief 3-year career and poised for a
step forward in production.
3.
Michael Turner, ATL
Michael
Turner ran for 17 TDs and 1700 yards in his first season as a featured
back. What’s not to like? Well, Turner hit the dreaded 370-carry mark,
a common indicator for a decrease in production in the following year. In fact, the Atlanta coaching staff has
hinted at a lesser workload, but he’ll receive his fair share of carries. Even if Turner only gets 300 attempts, he
will still have the opportunity to remain among the top 5 fantasy backs.
4.
Matt Forte, CHI
Chicago’s
rookie back instantly became the focal point of the offense. He grinded out 1238 rushing yards on 316
attempts including 12 games with 70+ yards.
Forte is equally as valuable in the passing game, catching 63 passes and
4 receiving TDs. The addition of Jay
Cutler should help draw defensive attention and give Forte a little more room
to run.
5.
LaDainian Tomlinson, SD
For
the first time in 8 seasons, LT dipped below 300 rushing attempts and his 1110
rushing yards was the worst total of his career. He was hampered by a nagging toe injury for a large part of the
year but still managed to start all 16 games for the 4th consecutive
season. At age 30, health and a
possible timeshare with Darren Sproles will be the biggest issues in his quest
for a bounce back season.
6.
Steven Jackson, STL
For
the second year in a row, Jackson was severely hampered by injury. When he did get on the field, he was
fantastic. Even with a decimated
offensive line, Jackson average 93.1 rushing yards over 11 full games along
with scoring 9 total touchdowns. The
Rams rebuilt the O-line during the off season and they will have to rely
heavily on the run going into 2009.
Marc Bulger is a question mark and his primary weapon will be Laurent
Robinson after Donnie Avery went down for 4-6 weeks. If Jackson avoids the injury bug, he can return to top 5 RB
status.
7.
DeAngelo Williams, CAR
DeAngelo
Williams enjoyed a breakout 2008 season becoming the only RB to hit the 20 TD
mark. He racked up the yardage (1515)
and Carolina’s ground attack even had enough to give teammate Jonathan Stewart
10 TDs. Williams isn’t much of a PPR
threat, only catching a total of 45 passes in ’07 and ’08, but he has plenty to
offer fantasy owners. Few backs have
repeated the 20 TD season, but he can hit the 12-touchdown mark in 2009.
8.
Steve Slaton, HOU
The
rookie from West Virginia busted out of the gates with 10 total TDs in
2008. He sported a healthy 4.8 yards
per attempt average and even chipped in with 50 receptions. Houston may be looking into another
reclamation project by having Chris Brown absorb some goal line TDs, but Slaton
appears to one of the few backs not in a committee situation.
9.
Frank Gore, SF
The
49ers new coaching staff of Mike Singletary and OC Jimmy Rae has many talking about
a run-oriented, smash-mouth offensive style.
Gore would certainly benefit, but some important peripherals have been
steadily declining. For 3 straight
years, Gore’s games started, rushing yardage, rushing attempts and receptions
have all gone down. San Francisco
drafted Glen Coffee, so their intentions appear to be leaning toward a
committee approach.
10.
Chris Johnson, TEN
Chris
Johnson’s first year campaign was a resounding success. He scored 10 total touchdowns and averaged
4.9 rushing yards per attempt. He was
second on the team with 43 receptions, but that’s more indicative of
Tennessee’s run-first offense. Johnson
had 251 attempts versus 200 for LenDale White, but White is still the preferred
choice for goal line duties.
