I hear from guys at this time of year looking for players to pick up for 2016. They’re in keeper and dynasty leagues, and they’re looking for guys that will be a lot better NEXT YEAR. With that in mind, I’m working my way through each position, ranking them not for how they’ll perform right now, but over the long haul, with players’ ages in mind. I did the quarterbacks last night. Now I’m turning my attention to the running backs.
There are not a lot of “can’t-miss” guys. There are only two, I think, that everyone will be excited about – Todd Gurley and LeVeon Bell. After that, you’re down to Devonta Freeman, I think, who has put up great numbers this year but isn’t necessarily a great talent.
Carlos Hyde on a couple of occasions has looked really, really good but he’s been hurt and is on a lousy team.
Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch and Matt Forte are all really good, but they’re all old backs, and this is supposed to be a long-term list.
Anyway, with the Bengals-Cardinals game still in progress, here is my current top 80 at the position.
I’ll try to get the pass catchers – tight ends and wide receivers – next weekend.
DYNASTY LEAGUE RUNNING BACKS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rk | Team | Player | Age |
1. | STL | Todd Gurley | 21 |
2. | PIT | LeVeon Bell | 23 |
3. | ATL | Devonta Freeman | 23 |
4. | SF | Carlos Hyde | 24 |
5. | NO | Mark Ingram | 25 |
6. | MIN | Adrian Peterson | 30 |
7. | WAS | Matt Jones | 22 |
8. | CIN | Giovani Bernard | 23 |
9. | NE | Dion Lewis | 25 |
10. | JAC | T.J. Yeldon | 22 |
11. | TB | Doug Martin | 26 |
12. | OAK | Latavius Murray | 25 |
13. | NYJ | Chris Ivory | 27 |
14. | MIA | Lamar Miller | 24 |
15. | BUF | LeSean McCoy | 27 |
16. | KC | Jamaal Charles | 28 |
17. | GB | Eddie Lacy | 25 |
18. | PHI | DeMarco Murray | 27 |
19. | CHI | Jeremy Langford | 23 |
20. | BUF | Karlos Williams | 22 |
21. | SEA | Thomas Rawls | 22 |
22. | CIN | Jeremy Hill | 23 |
23. | PHI | Ryan Mathews | 28 |
24. | CHI | Matt Forte | 29 |
25. | CAR | Jonathan Stewart | 28 |
26. | SEA | Marshawn Lynch | 29 |
27. | SD | Melvin Gordon | 22 |
28. | DEN | Ronnie Hillman | 24 |
29. | CLE | Duke Johnson | 22 |
30. | ATL | Tevin Coleman | 22 |
31. | MIA | Jay Ajayi | 22 |
32. | NE | LeGarrette Blount | 28 |
33. | CLE | Isaiah Crowell | 22 |
34. | KC | Charcandrick West | 24 |
35. | HOU | Arian Foster | 29 |
36. | BAL | Javorius Allen | 24 |
37. | SD | Danny Woodhead | 30 |
38. | ARI | David Johnson | 23 |
39. | TB | Charles Sims | 24 |
40. | DET | Ameer Abdullah | 22 |
41. | GB | James Starks | 29 |
42. | ARI | Andre Ellington | 26 |
43. | WAS | Alfred Morris | 26 |
44. | NYG | Shane Vereen | 26 |
45. | KC | Spencer Ware | 23 |
46. | DEN | C.J. Anderson | 24 |
47. | ARI | Chris Johnson | 29 |
48. | DAL | Darren McFadden | 28 |
49. | MIN | Jerick McKinnon | 23 |
50. | JAC | Denard Robinson | 24 |
51. | IND | Frank Gore | 32 |
52. | DET | Theo Riddick | 24 |
53. | BAL | Justin Forsett | 30 |
54. | STL | Tre Mason | 22 |
55. | NO | C.J. Spiller | 28 |
56. | HOU | Alfred Blue | 24 |
57. | TEN | Antonio Andrews | 23 |
58. | CAR | Cameron Artis-Payne | 25 |
59. | NYG | Orleans Darkwa | 23 |
60. | SF | Mike Davis | 22 |
61. | DAL | Robert Turbin | 25 |
62. | IND | Ahmad Bradshaw | 29 |
63. | TEN | David Cobb | 22 |
64. | SD | Branden Oliver | 24 |
65. | PIT | DeAngelo Williams | 32 |
66. | DET | Joique Bell | 29 |
67. | NYJ | Bilal Powell | 26 |
68. | DAL | Lance Dunbar | 25 |
69. | HOU | Jonathan Grimes | 25 |
70. | NYG | Rashad Jennings | 30 |
71. | NO | Khiry Robinson | 25 |
72. | NYJ | Stevan Ridley | 26 |
73. | NE | James White | 23 |
74. | NYG | Andre Williams | 23 |
75. | DET | Zach Zenner | 24 |
76. | BAL | Lorenzo Taliaferro | 23 |
77. | TEN | Dexter McCluster | 27 |
78. | WAS | Chris Thompson | 24 |
79. | CAR | Mike Tolbert | 29 |
80. | OAK | Jamize Olawale | 26 |
—Ian Allan