2010 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Cheatsheet | Sleepers | Busts | Deep Sleepers

2010 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings Outlook

With the increasing trend of NFL teams using committee backfields, the list of true running back workhorses continues to shrink. As a result, running backs are likely to fill the first and second rounds of most fantasy drafts making it more important than ever to snag one of these guys early.

Chris Johnson will likely be the No. 1 overall pick in your draft this year. Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew and Ray Rice round out our top tier and are all early first-round picks.

Our second tier consists of Frank Gore, Michael Turner, Steven Jackson, and DeAngelo Williams. All of these players will be gone before the end of the second round, further stressing the importance of snagging at least one of these guys with your first or second pick.

The third tier consists of quality backs that will likely see the bulk of the workload on a week-to-week basis, including Rashard Mendenhall, Shonn Greene, Ryan Grant, Cedric Benson, and Rookie of the Year candidate Ryan Matthews. Beyond this tier, there are very few options remaining that will not be in some kind of backfield timeshare.

Draft Day Advice

While the days of drafting running backs with your first and second pick are gone, the position is still critical to the success of your fantasy team. Having running back depth puts you at an advantage throughout the season since they are great trade bait and it’s difficult to find productive backs on the waiver wire.

Rank	Tier	Name	Team	Games	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Rec Yds	Rec TD
1	1	Chris Johnson	TEN	16	2006	5.6	14	50	503	2
2	1	Adrian Peterson	MIN	16	1383	4.4	18	43	436	0
3	1	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	16	1391	4.5	15	53	374	1
4	1	Ray Rice	BAL	16	1339	5.3	7	78	702	1
5	2	Frank Gore	SFO	14	1120	4.9	10	52	406	3
6	2	Michael Turner	ATL	11	871	4.9	10	5	35	0
7	2	Steven Jackson	STL	15	1416	4.4	4	51	322	0
8	2	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	13	1117	5.2	7	29	252	0
9	3	Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	16	1108	4.6	7	25	261	1
10	3	Shonn Greene	NYJ	14	540	5	2	0	0	0
11	3	Ryan Grant	GNB	16	1253	4.4	11	25	197	0
12	3	Cedric Benson	CIN	13	1251	4.2	6	17	111	0
13	3	Ryan Matthews	SD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	4	Jamaal Charles	KAN	15	1120	5.9	7	40	297	1
15	4	Beanie Wells	ARI	16	793	4.5	7	12	143	0
16	4	Knowshon Moreno	DEN	16	947	3.8	7	28	213	2
17	4	LeSean McCoy	PHI	16	637	4.1	4	40	308	0
18	5	Pierre Thomas	NOR	14	793	5.4	6	39	302	2
19	5	Felix Jones	DAL	14	685	5.9	3	19	119	0
20	5	Joseph Addai	IND	15	828	3.8	10	51	336	3
21	6	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	16	1133	5.1	10	18	139	1
22	6	Matt Forte	CHI	16	929	3.6	4	57	471	0
23	6	Ronnie Brown	MIA	9	648	4.4	8	14	98	0
24	6	Brandon Jacobs	NYG	15	835	3.7	5	18	184	1
25	6	Arian Foster	HOU	6	257	4.8	3	8	93	0
26	6	Jahvid Best	DET	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	6	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	15	778	4.8	7	21	207	0
28	7	Fred Jackson	BUF	16	1062	4.5	2	46	371	2
29	7	Jerome Harrison	CLE	14	862	4.4	5	34	220	2
30	7	Ricky Williams	MIA	16	1121	4.7	11	35	264	2
31	7	Michael Bush	OAK	16	589	4.8	3	17	105	0
32	7	Clinton Portis	WAS	8	494	4	1	9	57	1
33	7	Carnell Williams	TAM	16	821	3.9	4	29	219	3
34	7	Marion Barber	DAL	15	932	4.4	7	26	221	0
35	8	Justin Forsett	SEA	16	619	5.4	4	41	350	1
36	8	C.J. Spiller	BUF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
37	8	Montario Hardesty	CLE	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
38	8	Tim Hightower	ARI	16	598	4.2	8	63	428	0
39	9	Reggie Bush	NOR	14	390	5.6	5	47	335	3
40	9	Laurence Maroney	NWE	15	757	3.9	9	14	99	0
41	9	Thomas Jones	KC	16	1402	4.2	14	10	58	0
42	9	LaDainian Tomlinson	NYJ	14	730	3.3	12	20	154	0
43	9	Donald Brown	IND	11	281	3.6	3	11	169	0
44	10	Chester Taylor	CHI	16	338	3.6	1	44	389	1
45	10	Darren McFadden	OAK	12	357	3.4	1	21	245	0
46	10	Steve Slaton	HOU	11	437	3.3	3	44	417	4
47	10	Darren Sproles	SDG	16	343	3.7	3	45	497	4
48	10	Leon Washington	SEA	7	331	4.6	0	15	131	0
49	10	Marshawn Lynch	BUF	13	450	3.8	2	28	179	0

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