Tier One
1-1(1). Adrian Peterson – Peterson led the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 1,885, 100 yard games with 10, and is coming off of his first rushing title in 2008. He’s big, he’s fast, he’s bad to the bone. The league’s all round best back and the safest pick you will get. He played in all 17 games (including playoffs), and had 11 games with 20 or more carries. Pick him at 1 and enjoy!
1-2(2). Michael Turner – It’s hard to ignore Turner’s league high 376 carries last season, along with his 17 TDs. The Burner led the league in red-zone carries in 2008 and was near the top of the league in goal-line touches. This is only good news for fantasy owners. Some might say with the emergence of Matt Ryan he will get less carries, which in theory is true. But, defenses will have to focus on Ryan and his new toy Tony Gonzalez, which will open the field for Turner. He may not be able to catch the ball, or he just doesn’t. So don’t expect much in the reception department, but be happy with his 1600 yards and 13-15 TDs this season.
1-3(3). Maurice Jones-Drew – Little Hercules is about to blow up the game in a big way. With Fred Taylor out of Jacksonville, it is now Drew’s chance to show what he’s got. He only had 197 carries in 2008, but had 12 TDs on the ground. Add to that his 62 catches for another 2 scores, and this guy cranks out a TD every 18 touches! Being the clear number one option for the Jags you can expect more than 12 carries a game which he averaged in 2008. Give em 18 carries and that should equal about 16 TDs.
1-4(4). Matt Forte – Forte had a very impressive rookie year in 2008. He led all RBs with 63 receptions, and had 1,715 total yards with 12 TDs. The addition of Jay Cutler sprung Forte up the ranks since defenses will have to pay much more attention to the passing game. Matt is the essential every down back, he can run, catch, and block, which means he will barely leave the field.
Tier Two
2-1(5). Steven Jackson – OK fine. So the guy gets hurt every year. He only played all the way through in like 10 games last year. In 2007, he missed 4 games. Whatever. He’s back. In the last 5 games of ‘08 S-Jax had 641 yard and 4 scores. He will also enjoy a whole new blocking experience with a new center in Jason Brown, number 2 pick Jason Smith, and FB Mike Karney. If it wasn’t for the misery that is the rest of the Rams, and his injury tendencies (knock on wood), he would be in the top tier. If Jackson stays healthy, he cold be the number 1 fantasy option come season end. WARNING: Not for the faint of heart! [click to continue…]
