RB Tiered Fantasy Football Rankings: 2011 Draft kit
July 31, 2011 by luckylester
Because there are still additions and cuts going down, the list might change a little bit here and there, but don’t expect anything drastic – we’re feeling pretty good about our rankings. I posted my QB Tiers late last night, and will have WR Tiers, TEs, and Ds up by Tuesday.
If you don’t know about tiered rankings, read this, it might help. “How To Use Tiered Rankings”
The most important position on your team, Running Back!
RB Tier I
| Chris Johnson |
|---|
| Adrian Peterson |
| Arian Foster |
Tier II
| Maurice Jones Drew |
|---|
| Jamaal Charles |
| Ray Rice |
| LeSean McCoy |
| Frank Gore |
Tier III
| Michael Turner |
|---|
| Rashard Mendenhall |
| Matt Forte |
| Steven Jackson |
| Darren McFadden |
| Peyton Hillis |
Tier IV
| Ryan Matthews |
|---|
| Legarrette Blount |
| DeAngelo Williams |
| Jahvid Best |
Tier V
| Ahmad Bradshaw |
|---|
| Shonn Greene |
| Ryan Grant |
| Felix Jones |
| Jonathan Stewart |
| Knowshon Moreno |
Tier VI
| Ben-Jar Green-Ellis |
|---|
| Cedric Benson |
| Fred Jackson |
| Mark Ingram |
| Marshawn Lynch |
| Joseph Addai |
| Reggie Bush |
Tier VII
| LaDainian Tomlinson |
|---|
| Ryan Torain |
| Daniel Thomas |
| Ryan Williams |
| Ronnie Brown |
| Mikel LeShoure |
| Mike Bush |
Tier VIII
| Brandon Jacobs |
|---|
| Beanie Wells |
| James Starks |
| Thomas Jones |
| Roy Helu Jr. |
| Willis McGehee |
| Mike Tolbert |
Tier IX
| Tashard Choice |
|---|
| Rashad Jennings |
| CJ Spiller |
| Toby Gerhart |
| Pierre Thomas |
| Ben Tate |
| Demarco Murray |
| Darren Sproles |
| Montario Hardesty |
| Justin Forsett |
| Anthony Dixon |
| Javon Ringer |
| Shane Vareen |
| Kendall Hunter |
| Donald Brown |
| Delone Carter |
| Jaquizz Rodgers |
For the first time in all my years of doing this, there were 4 different #1 overall picks amongst the staff. Nobody made a good enough argument to keep Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, or Arian Foster out of our top overall tier, but we did thwart Papa Weimer’s efforts to get Jamaal Charles’s name in the top tier. With CJ, AP, and Foster topping 3 different lists, as well as going in the Top 3 (or Papa’s case, 4) in each of our individual rankings, the top tier was easy. Nate liked Chris Johnson, Red and Arse liked AP, and with Houston headed more towards running the ball, I went with Foster. Nate’s argument was the best, so we agreed to put CJ atop the list. His upside, no doubt, is incredible.
Maurice Jones-Drew heads Tier 2, but this is a close race. I could easily see Frank Gore staying healthy and ending up ahead of anybody on this list, but when we factor in health risk, the offense they play in, our projections for their respective teams and their importance to their offense, MJD is the best back you can get outside of the top tier. Charles might have the most upside, and my personal favorite is Ray Rice (especially now with Leech signing in Baltimore), and McCoy, in his 3rd season, could conceivably make the biggest jump from yesteryear. Bottom line, Tier 2 is legit.
Tier 3 is also very solid, but there are more questions. With Turner, it’s age, and the perception that he’s slowed down if only a tiny bit. Mendenhall is a very good runner, but his fumbling woes have turned his coach off to goal line carries – that’s never ideal. Forte is another stud runner, but Cutler rarely checks down and goal line carries have been rare. With Marion Barber signing in Chicago, the goal line just got farther away. Steven Jackson is an elite talent, no doubt, but his consistent numbers haven’t been exciting the last couple years. He doesn’t score much and rarely puts up great days. McFadden has injury woes and he’s a Raider – he really impressed at times last season, but I’m not ready to rank him ahead of the rest of Tier 3. Peyton Hillis was great, a real fantasy sweetheart last year. He took the job and ran with it, but Cleveland gets Montario Hardesty back this season, a youngster they really liked heading into 2010 prior to his injury. With a very young team, no passing attack, and a runner to share the load, even the Madden cover boy has his questions (plus, Madden Curse, right?). All in all, these are great #2 options, and even walking away from your draft with Turner and Steven Jackson as your starters wouldn’t be terrible.
Tier 4 is small, but all guys have big time upside. We’ve already seen what DeAngelo can do when his team is winning games and he stays healthy, he was the best fantasy back a few years ago. He’s only 28, and his big signing means the Panthers are dedicated to him. Blount and Matthews (two guys we rank just ahead of Williams) haven’t reached their potential yet, but with both getting the starting job for their improving teams, 2011 could be a great year to invest in the youngsters. Best is another sophomore, but he’s not being hyped around fantasy circles as much as we like him. We understand the risk, and he’s definitely the last back in this tier, but he’s closer to these guys than Tier 5, so he belongs.
The 5th Tier has a bunch of solid upside guys. I like the Top 4 more than the bottom 2, but both J-Stew and Moreno have their arguments. Jones is an interesting case, but we’ll like him a lot more if he’s back to his svelte body weight prior to 2010. Grant is coming off injury, but Starks didn’t impress me much, and if you take a risk here and get a starting RB for the Packers, you win big. Greene and Bradshaw are both semi-time-share back, but I expect both to get the majority of carries for run-first teams.
Tier 6 is full of guys with starting jobs that you can get on the cheap. The only guy with not much upside is Joseph Addai, but he’s probably the most consistent of the group. Many questions surround these guys, but I’d love to have any of the 7 on my team as #4 running backs. Ingram, Jackson, Benson, and Ellis could all pass as #3′s.
Tier 7 has some very talented youngsters, and a couple back-ups in LT and Michael Bush that I think could really impress if they ended up with starters’ carries. Torain should be the starting RB for a team that will get better up front and rely on the run more. Daniel Thomas, Williams and LeShoure are all very talented rookies that could end up with the lion’s share of touches for their teams. I’m not sure where Ronnie Brown will be just yet, but I’ve always thought the Dolphins misused him a bit. He’s a great receiver with good moves in the open field. If he finds a starting gig, he’ll run with it.
Tier 8 and 9 have some options, but I’d only want to take deep chances at this point. Fill your RB slot with the upper tiers, and buy some insurance low with these guys.
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