Ranking the RBs

[Dutch 874]

The talent at the RB position is in an exciting place right now imo. It's some really good backs in the league right now along with some talented rookies. Where do the top backs rank though? List your opinions.

 

1. Adrian Peterson - For me, A.P is still the undisputed RB until proven otherwise. His throne can't be toppled in one season. He's one of the best and exciting RBs I've ever gotten to watch and he's catching up with my all time favorite player ever; Barry Sanders.

 

2. - Jamaal Charles - This guy is averaging 5.5 yards per carry in his CAREER. Elite agility, elite speed, amazing vision, Charles can beat you bad anywhere on the field which makes him one of the most dangerous RB's in the game. He's the most efficient RB and gets the most out of his carries.

 

3. Marshawn Lynch - This guy earned his name in beast mode. He straight dominates guys and makes them look like kids. He is hands down the most difficult runner to bring to the ground and he punishes guys who dare to tackle him. Lynch is the best RB gaining yards after contact; explosive gains after contact as well as short. Defenses just can't bring him down. He's the toughest RB in the league and puts beatings on defenses wearing them down.

 

4. Leveon Bell - Bell's skill set is amazingly lethal. Bell was easily one of the most entertaining backs to watch this year. He has good patience, great stop and start agility with crisp cuts and a major threat in the receiving game. He was hands down the most dangerous dual threat back in the league last year leading the league in yards from scrimmage. He has the skill set of Matte Forte but an enchanced more talented version. I'm totally disregarding my consistency stripe rule putting him this high after only one good season. If he keeps it up next year, he can move up this list.

 

5. Arian Foster - All this guy does is produce. He may not have as many moves as some of the other elite backs but he makes guys miss and gets explosive gains after contact. Despite his injury issues, he still racked up great production in the games he was available in. He only trailed Demarco Murray in 100 yard games having 7 of them. For some reason, people seem to forget about Foster.

 

6. Demarco Murray - Had an amazing year; a historic one. He played tough football and his motor never seemed to stop. He lead the league in big plays with 45 plays over 10+ yards. The support of his offensive line was of elite talent and opened up some big holes for the RB. Hopefully he can keep up the production with the Eagles. One big issue for Murray is his fumbling problem. He fumbled 5 times and lost each one which is a really bad statistic and won't contribute to winning games (see packers playoff game).

 

7. Lesean McCoy - I've ranted about McCoy well before we traded him. Still an elite back in this league but last year he appeared to be a half second to slow when it came to juking defenders and making guys miss. No stat exposes that more than him being one of the worst RBs in the league in yards after contact. McCoy wasn't as explosive as the year prior. I don't know if it was because of his increased work load getting over 300 carries the year prior, but he didn't appear the same. His decision making was suspect as well. Instead of going through the open gap, he'd tried to dance outside which resulted in him being the #1 stuffed RB in the league. Ccan't wait to see how he does with the Bills though.

 

8. Matte Forte - Still one of the most dangerous dual threat RBs in this league. He struggled in the running game but still made big plays in the passing game. Still had over 9 games of 100 yards from scrimmage so he's always a threat to impact a game.

 

9. Eddie Lacy - Beast mode 2.0 in the making. Had a slow start off to the season but picked it up towards mid season. Another tough guy to bring down and fits into the mold of that smash mouth football.

 

10. Jeremy Hill - I love this kid. He was my favorite back coming out of the draft. He played great this past season and made a lot of plays. He demonstrated great vision and made a lot of explosive plays after contact. I think his vision though was elite and he made great decision. I'm very excited to see him moving forward.

[Cheesehead4life 6]

I don't know but I'd give way more props to Eddie Lacy. I see him at least in the top 4 RB's.

 

Jeremy Hill is another RB that is very intriguing and I think he is going to be something special very soon.

[Bay 2,003]

Not in order:

 

JC

 

Forte - Would like to see him become a little more effective running the ball tho...

 

Murray

 

Bell

 

McCoy

 

Lynch

 

 

Lacy

 

Foster

 

Gore

 

Morris

 

Please no one put Forsett in your list.

 

AP - out of my top 10 atm

 

Really interested in Lamar Miller's progression.

 

Can't put Jeremy Hill in after one season.

[theMileHighGuy 656]

CJ Anderson is gonna out produce almost all the guys mentioned, short of maybe two. He ran for more yards during the last 6 weeks of the year than anyone else, and did it when the offense was absolutely struggling to pass the ball. He should definitely be in peoples' top-10 lists. Peypey wouldn't have had the chance to go 1 and done again without him. The two-legged bowling ball is gonna surprise everyone again

[BwareDWare94 723]

1. Bell--I like that he brings more size than Charles.

2. Charles--Like everybody else has said...

3. Lynch--the Beast

 

more to come

[BwareDWare94 723]

4. Murray--he is above Peterson because he always gains positive yardage, which is something Peterson has never done. He might break one for 80 one drive, then follow it up with two -1 yard runs and kill the next drive.

 

5. AP--Look, the dude is 30 years old. It's time to get realistic about how good he still is.

 

6. McCoy--I'm looking forward to how he changes Buffalo's offense. Him and Fred Jackson are going to be a deadly, deadly combo.

 

7. Foster--I've never been as high on this guy as others

 

8. Forte--A lesser LeVeon Bell, but that's still a great running back.

 

9. Lacy--Let's see if his struggles out of the gate last season were a mirage.

 

10. Tashard Choice I don't think he's even in the league anymore.

[seanbrock 1,684]

I have to base this one what I saw last from all these players so this list will change once we see how these players return from injury.

 

1. Jamaal Charles, as a receiver and a runner this guy can break any given play

2. Adrian Peterson, You can stack 8 in the box all game and just hope to stop the guy. Going to be interesting to see if he's the same at 30 years old and coming off a year suspension but maybe a year off without injury will make him fresher

3. LeSean McCoy, People forget he still rushed for 1300 yards behind 2nd and 3rd string offensive linemen last year

4. LeVeon Bell, He improved so much last year. He's got a rare combination of size and physicality but also receiving skills. Sucks that he got suspended

5. Arian Foster, I've never been one to give him much credit and I keep expecting him to slow down, I've been one to say he's the product of the zone blocking scheme but all he does is prove me wrong and keep producing. He's just so versatile.

6. DeMarco Murray, Overrated by some and underrated by others. Murray has never been much of a receiver but he's very physical and very decisive when running the ball

7. Marshawn Lynch, Not sure how long he can keep this running style up, but man it's hard knock this guy. All he's done since he's gotten to Seattle is produce and he's done it in the playoffs too.

8. Eddie Lacy, He's up and coming. He's a pretty good receiver, but for his size and speed he goes east and west too much. When he runs down hill he's very hard to stop.

9. Matt Forte, Really like Forte as a receiver but he's not all that impressive as a runner in my eyes. He is pretty tough to take out of a game though with his skill as a receiver.

10. Jeremy Hill, Once this guy took over as the main back he was one of the better runners in the league. He's a huge guy and tough to stop around the goal line which makes him very very valuable.

[BwareDWare94 723]

I'm going to make Chris Ivory my #10 back. He was great last year and I look forward to seeing if he can replicate that.

[Bay 2,003]

I'm going to make Chris Ivory my #10 back. He was great last year and I look forward to seeing if he can replicate that.

Don't see how this equals great.

 

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/I/IvorCh00.htm

 

4.1 a carry. I had him in fantasy and there were some terrible duds.

 

This is coming from an Ivory fan since day 1.

 

Check it out http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/I/IvorCh00/gamelog/

Edited July 31, 2015 by Green Bay

[OSUViking 505]

4. Murray--he is above Peterson because he always gains positive yardage, which is something Peterson has never done. He might break one for 80 one drive, then follow it up with two -1 yard runs and kill the next drive.

 

5. AP--Look, the dude is 30 years old. It's time to get realistic about how good he still is.

 

 

 

You don't get 2,000 yards by popping off a few 80 yard runs and then getting mostly negative yard plays. You also don't get a career yards per attempt of 5 with mostly negative plays. Adrian Peterson has been an incredible running back, and while yes he's getting older, he still has the potential to be the best in the game.

 

I really don't know from where this hatred of AP has come. He's an amazing running back, and even if you (understandably) loathe him as a person, that's no reason to denounce the fact that he's been easily the best running back the past 5-6 years.

Edited July 31, 2015 by OSUViking

[seanbrock 1,684]

Peterson is the best pure runner since Barry Sanders tbh. Tomlinson (I know he's a douche) is the only guy I'm taking over Adrian Peterson since Sanders played and that's a 15 years period at this point. Only reason I'd take LT over Peterson is he was a really dangerous receiver too.

[BJORN 679]

1. Jamaal Charles

2. Marshawn Lynch

3. LeVeon Bell

4. Demarco Murray

5. Shady McCoy

6. Eddie Lacy

7. Arian Foster

8. Justin Forsett

9.Lamar Miller

10. CJ Anderson ---- See MHG's post

Honorable mention: Jeremy Hill

 

AP didn't play last year, is one year older, & wasn't exactly that much better than a few guys on the list in 13/14 so he won't be featured. Going off of history, I'd put him in second behind Charles. Forte, I might get negged for not including him but simply put 3.9 yards per carry isn't good enough. I don't know if Chicago's run blocking was just awful or what but all I know is other guys greatly outproduced him last year. Might be a few trendy/short sighted picks but oh well. Love me some Jeremy Hill, he'll definitely make my list next year if he keeps it up.

[BwareDWare94 723]

Don't see how this equals great.

 

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/I/IvorCh00.htm

 

4.1 a carry. I had him in fantasy and there were some terrible duds.

 

This is coming from an Ivory fan since day 1.

 

Check it out http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/I/IvorCh00/gamelog/

 

He had duds because there were random games when the Jets ran Chris Johnson over and over and over again. It made no sense.

[Bangy 19]

1. Marshawn Lynch

2. LeVeon Bell

3. Demarco Murray

4. Jamaal Charles

5. Eddie Lacy

6. LeSean McCoy

7. Adrian Foster

8. Matt Forte

9. Jeremy Hill

10. Frank Gore

 

Due to missing the year I dont have AP.

[oochymp 2,393]

4. Murray--he is above Peterson because he always gains positive yardage, which is something Peterson has never done. He might break one for 80 one drive, then follow it up with two -1 yard runs and kill the next drive.

let me think a minute, oh yeah, it's Chris Johnson, that's who you're thinking of

[seanbrock 1,684]

Call me crazy, but an athlete like Peterson, the way he runs. 1 year of health and not taking big hits could be a boon for the guy. I think there's a strong chance that Adrian Peterson looks a lot more fresh.

[Sarge+ 3,436]

He's also getting older too though. AP is still going to be good this year, but AS great as before? I think it's fair to be skeptical of that. I think that's a lot to expect out of anyone, even a guy like him.