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Here's our 2011 RB Rankings - TOP 40
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UPDATED: October 9, 2010
Now that we're through 1 quarter of the season, it's time to take a look at how the rankings have changed. We've seen quite a few surprises so far. Chris Johnson and Ray Rice have not lived up to expectations yet, while LaDanian Tomlinson has been resurrected in New York. In Cleveland it's not Montario Hardesty or Jerome Harrison, but rather Peyton Hillis, the team's full back, who is handling the load. High expectation youngsters Shonn Greene and Ryan Mathews have been busts through 4 weeks... and now we start the 2nd quarter with Marshawn Lynch in Seattle...
With Ryan Grant down for the count in Green Bay and Brandon Jackson not up to the task, could we see John Kuhn step up, or is there a trade still coming?
And is Arian Foster for real? Yes he is!
( ) = previous ranking
= significant climb
= significant drop
Tier One ~ Best bets
RANK PLAYER TEAM BYE ONE LINER 1 Adrian Peterson MIN 4 Still at the top of the pile. 2 (24) Arian Foster HOU 7 The kid is simply a beast. 689 yards through 4 games 3(2) Chris Johnson TEN 9 Off to a slow start but should pick it up. At #9 right now. 4 Frank Gore SF 9 As expected, he's quietly producing top 10 numbers 5(9) Rashard Mendenhall PIT 5 2nd in rush yards and attempts
Tier Two ~ Relatively safe bets
RANK PLAYER TEAM BYE ONE LINER 6 (5) Maurice Jones-Drew JAX 9 Lots of touches and yards, just missing TDs 7 (NR) Peyton Hillis CLE 8 Every year an unexpected beast surfaces 8 (NR) Darren McFadden OAK 10 D-Mac finally living up to the hype, but now he's hurt 9 Ray Rice BAL Don't count him out, he's still a stud. 10 (20) LeSean McCoy PHI 8 To think I doubted him. 11 (21) Jahvid Best DET 7 If he stays healthy, he's going to exceed expectations 12 (28) Ahmad Bradshaw NYG 8 Has choked Jacobs out of fantasy relevance 13 (42) LaDanian Tomlinson NYJ 7 LT is back, and a struggling Greene is making it easy 14 (6) Michael Turner ATL 8 Hasn't been 100% yet 15(25) Matt Forte CHI 8 Has been surprisingly effective so far. Can he keep it up?
Tier Three ~ Here's where the questions begin
RANK PLAYER TEAM BYE ONE LINER 16 Jamaal Charles KC 4 He has done exactly what I expected so far with Jones in the mix. 17 (16) Joseph Addai IND 6 Overlooked and under appreciated, still 18 (7)
Steven Jackson STL 9 Lots of yards, minimal endzone opportunities 19 (18) Beanie Wells ARI 6 Injuries stole his start, but he should start rolling. 20 (23) Ronnie Brown MIA 5 Still healthy, so that's a plus 21(26) Fred Jackson BUF 6 With Lynch out, he's the man again 22 Cedric Benson CIN 7 Productive but unimpressive. may be replaced by Scott. 23 (10) Knowshon Moreno DEN Injuries are once again hurting his value 24 (12) Shonn Greene NYJ 7 Don't count him out. He's simply too good. 25 (38) Marshawn Lynch DAL 5 Look for Lynch to make his presence known early and often
Tier Four ~ Looking for upside and sleepers
RANK PLAYER TEAM BYE ONE LINER 26 Mike Tolbert SD 10 Until Mathews shows something, he's the man 27 (14) Pierre Thomas NO 10 The injury bug has bitten 28 (NR) BenJarvis Green-Ellis NE 5 The Pats finally have an RB who can lead the team 29(34) Thomas Jones KC 4 He's not done yet. 30 (8) DeAngelo Williams CAR 6 I predicted him to bust this year, but this is ridiculous 31 CJ Spiller BUF 6 Lynch trade makes him more relevant 32 (11) Ryan Mathews SD 10 He's got the opportunity if he can get in a groove 33 Michael Bush OAK 10 McFadden and injuries stand in his way 34 (19) Jonathan Stewart CAR 6 He always starts slow 35 (NR) Ryan Torain WAS 8 Portis is hurt. Big shock. It's Torain's job now.
Tier Five ~ Last of the Brohicans and the deep sleep
RANK PLAYER TEAM BYE ONE LINER 36 (26) Ricky Williams MIA 5 Should see a lot of touches moving forward 37 (40) Tim Hightower ARI 6 Viable even with Wells in the line up 38 (25) Marion Barber DAL 4 The Cowboys have to get the running game going, right? 39 LaGarrett Blount TB 4 More promise than Cadillac Williams 40 Felix Jones DAL 4 See #38 41 Jerome Harrison CLE 8 Hillis still has this guy in the wings waiting to take his job back 42 (NR) Brandon Jackson GB 10 For now he is the Pack's primary back 43 (37) Cadillac Williams TB 4 Slow start and Blount and Huggins want his job 44 (NR) Correll Buckhalter DEN 6 Despite Moreno and Maroney, Buckhalter is still a target in Denver 45 Justin Forsett SEA 5 Lynch arrival brings his value down. 46 (NR) Chris Ivory NOS 10 Bush is out, Thomas is hurt, Betts is fragile. 47 Darren Sproles SDC 10 Has done about what I expected, which so far is almost nothing 48 Laurence Maroney DEN 6 Different team same lame results 49 Bernard Scott CIN 10 Could really surprise for the Bengals this season 50 Donald Brown IND 7 He hasn't done anything to shake Addai lose
