And now the position that we've all been waiting for,
kicker
RUNNING BACKS
1 1 Trent Richardson CLE 22.2
1 2 Doug Martin TB 24.6
1 3 Jamaal Charles KC 26.7 **
1 4 LeSean McCoy PHI 25.1
2 5 C.J. Spiller BUF 26.1 **
2 6 Adrian Peterson MIN 28.4
2 7 Ray Rice BAL 26.6
3 8 Arian Foster HOU 27.0 --
3 9 Alfred Morris WAS 24.7
3 10 Matt Forte CHI 27.7
3 11 David Wilson NYG 22.2
4 12 Marshawn Lynch SEA 27.4
4 13 Stevan Ridley NE 24.6
4 14 DeMarco Murray DAL 25.5
4 15 Darren McFadden OAK 26.0
4 16 Eddie Lacy GB 23.3 **
4 17 Ryan Mathews SD 25.9
4 18 Giovani Bernard CIN 21.8
4 19 Maurice Jones-Drew JAX 28.4
5 20 Montee Ball DEN 22.8
5 21 Chris Johnson TEN 27.9 --
5 22 Steven Jackson ATL 30.1
5 23 Chris Ivory NYJ 25.4
5 24 Lamar Miller MIA 22.4
5 25 LeVeon Bell PIT 21.6
5 26 Reggie Bush DET 28.5
5 27 Rashard Mendenhall ARI 26.2
6 28 Frank Gore SF 30.3
6 29 Ben Tate HOU 25.0 **
6 30 Darren Sproles NO 30.2
6 31 Jonathan Stewart CAR 26.4
6 32 Christine Michael SEA 22.8 **
6 33 Ahmad Bradshaw IND 27.5 **
6 34 Bernard Pierce BAL 23.7
6 35 Mark Ingram NO 23.7
6 36 Shane Vereen NE 24.5
6 37 Marcus Lattimore SF 21.9
7 38 Robert Turbin SEA 23.7
7 39 Ryan Williams ARI 23.4
7 40 Pierre Thomas NO 28.7 **
7 41 Knile Davis KC 21.9 **
7 42 Zac Stacy STL 22.4
7 43 Johnathan Franklin GB 23.9 --
7 44 Andre Brown NYG 26.7
7 45 Isaiah Pead STL 23.7
7 46 Bryce Brown PHI 22.3 --
7 47 Mikel Leshoure DET 23.4 --
7 48 Daryl Richardson STL 23.4
7 49 Vick Ballard IND 23.1 --
7 50 DeAngelo Williams CAR 30.4
7 51 BenJarvus Green-Ellis CIN 28.2
8 52 LaMichael James SF 23.9
8 53 Kendall Hunter SF 24.0
8 54 Mike Goodson NYJ 26.3
8 55 Toby Gerhart MIN 26.4
8 56 Ronnie Hillman DEN 22.0 --
8 57 Knowshon Moreno DEN 26.1
8 58 Latavius Murray OAK 22.5 **
8 59 Denard Robinson JAX 23.0
8 60 Danny Woodhead SD 28.7
8 61 Isaac Redman PIT 28.8
8 62 Brandon Bolden NE 23.6
8 63 Beanie Wells FA 25.1
8 64 Fred Jackson BUF 32.5
9 65 Alex Green GB 24.2 **
9 66 Andre Ellington ARI 24.6
9 67 Roy Helu WAS 24.7
9 68 Jonathan Dwyer PIT 24.1
9 69 Stepfan Taylor ARI 22.2
9 70 Jahvid Best DET 24.6 **
9 71 Willis McGahee FA 31.9
9 72 Joseph Randle DAL 21.7 --
9 73 Jacquizz Rodgers ATL 23.6 --
9 74 Shonn Greene TEN 28.0 --
9 75 Michael Bush CHI 29.2 --
The shape of RB value: I see a relatively steady dropoff in value from RB1 (tier 1) through RB 37 (tier 6), and then the bottom falls out. From tier 7 onward, if you can find anyone who will bit then I'd be looking to trade guys away for receivers, or draft picks, or top 37 RBs. Some of the guys in tier 7+ are worth owning as fairly reliable but low-upside RB3s, if you're thin at RB. Some of them have a shot at a starting RB job in the next few years, but not a great shot, and they probably won't be great starters. Basically, I see them as stopgaps and not-so-great lottery tickets. It's fine to use a few roster spots on them, but I wouldn't get too attached to anyone.
Some brief player capsules, mostly for guys where I'm somewhat out-of-line from the consensus (I shared more thoughts on the rookie RBs
here):
Charles is my #2 in redraft, even in non-PPR. I'm a big believer in what he'll do in Reid's offense.
Ray Rice is elite as a receiver but merely good as a runner. Pierce could win a pretty big chunk of the workload.
Arian Foster showed hints of decline last year which have me worried (including a huge drop in YPR). Sometimes the cliff comes before 30.
Lynch is gold as the workhorse in the Seahawks' offense, but he now has 2 much cheaper guys chomping at his heels on a team that could be looking to find cap space in the coming years.
I like Lacy's talent, and am willing to take the injury risk.
In my mind I group Montee Ball with the older RBs more than the other young prospects, because I suspect that most of his career fantasy value will come while Manning is his QB. If the workload is there, he could have a few Addai-like years as a fantasy RB1 (look at what McGahee & Moreno did last year). The rest of his career is just a bit of a bonus over guys like Chris Johnson & Steven Jackson.
Chris Johnson is starting to get up there in years and he just hasn't been that good a RB the past few seasons.
Ben Tate and Christine Michael both look like they could have the talent to be a starting RB, if you wait a year or three. Both have the athleticism and draft pedigree, and Tate has at least had one NFL season where he looked the part.
Bradshaw could easily be a high-end RB2, if his feet will carry him.
Pierre Thomas seems like the safest of the solid, low-upside RB3s.
I liked Knile Davis as a boom-or-bust prospect and his draft position matched that evaluation, but KC is an awful landing spot. Could he be the next Correll Buckhalter?
Zac Stacy Zac Stacy Zac Stacy Zac Stacy Zac Stacy Zac Stacy Zac Stacy.
Johnathan Franklin is down in tier 7 for much the same reasons as Stacy.
Toby Gerhart is second to Ben Tate among the contract year backups vying for a starting job next season.
I don't like handcuffs, but I'll make an exception for Darren McFadden. Latavius Murray has a similar running style and a good shot at winning that role.
Alex Green was coming off an ACL last year, so I'm not ready to give up on him entirely.
Jacquizz Rodgers doesn't have Danny Woodhead's raw athleticism, but he could win that type of role in the right situation.