Not gonna lie, as of this typing, there are a lot of Running Backs I’d like to own in 2013. Like A LOT of them if you didn’t get the cut of my jib the first time. The position feels oddly, dare I say it, deep this year. Of course, injuries haven’t happened yet and neither has suckitude so saying it’s deep might be premature. That’s what she said! What? Anyways, we just keep trucking along on our 2013 Fantasy Football Rankings and after bringing you the Top 20 Quarterbacks yesterday, we’re glad to have you along. So with that, let’s dive in to the top 20 Running Backs and how they’re ranked for the 2013 fantasy football season…
Stats based on rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Rankings based on a PPR setting.
1. Doug Martin – See Top 10 for 2013 Fantasy Football for Doug Martin projections.
2. Adrian Peterson – See Top 10 for 2013 Fantasy Football for Adrian Peterson projections.
3. Jamaal Charles – See Top 10 for 2013 Fantasy Football for Jamaal Charles projections.
4. Marshawn Lynch – See Top 10 for 2013 Fantasy Football for Marshawn Lynch projections.
5. Trent Richardson – See Top 10 for 2013 Fantasy Football for Trent Richardson projections.
6. Arian Foster – See Top 10 for 2013 Fantasy Football for Arian Foster projections.
7. Ray Rice – See Top 10 for 2013 Fantasy Football for Ray Rice projections.
8. CJ Spiller – See Top 10 for 2013 Fantasy Football for CJ Spiller projections.
9. Steven Jackson – See Top 10 for 2013 Fantasy Football for Steven Jackson projections.
10. Alfred Morris – See Top 20 for 2013 Fantasy Football for Alfred Morris projections.
11. Maurice Jones-Drew – See Top 20 for 2013 Fantasy Football for Maurice Jones-Drew projections.
12. LeSean McCoy – See Top 20 for 2013 Fantasy Football for LeSean McCoy projections.
13. Frank Gore – Frank is the start of the first tier after a string of ‘see this link for projections’ stuff. His tier goes from here to Forte. I call this tier ‘Tried And True’ as both backs have been reliable in their careers and get overlooked for such reasons. They’re also not sexy picks so everyone forgets these guys come draft day but both are fully capable of finishing the year as a top 10 back. You’re not making a flashy pick here but you’re also not getting a flash in the pan, either. 2013 Projections: 1125/9/30/252/1
14. Matt Forte – He doesn’t score many touchdowns and as I said last year in the Top 20 Running Backs review about Forte, ‘Readership help me remember an awesome game from this man. It’s ok if you can’t remember one, I can’t either but for good reason. He only had three 100 yard rushing games on the year – with the last one coming in game 17 – and a measly 6 touchdowns. Boring but useful…’. That’s what I said and I said what I meant, Horton, that Forte might lull you to sleep but he’s gonna finish up and around these parts of the running back rankings whether you like it or not. 2013 Projections: 1196/5/55/440/2
15. Reggie Bush – Reggie is the start of a new tier and it goes down to Bradshaw. I call this the ‘slippery when wet’ tier because any of these three might leave you lying on your back because you didn’t read the caution sign or might make you sploosh because they’re so awesome. I went over my Reggie Bush Fantasy this off-season when he was traded to the Lions. I did it while shooting spitballs at a picture of Clay Buchholz. 2013 Projections: 1081/5/65/487/4
16. Chris Ivory – Well hello there, stranger. I’m not used to seeing you around these parts. Care to dance? I gave you a Chris Ivory Sleeper post back in 2012 and you scoffed. Then he had two or three really good weeks in a row and you believed. Then the Saints went back to destroying the fantasy value of their running backs like they always do and Ivory was forgotten. Well I didn’t and I went over how excited I was about him landing with the Jets this off-season with my Chris Ivory Fantasy. Then I went the rest of the way and wrote my Chris Ivory Sleeper post for 2013 for good measure. If they don’t start the season soon, I might have to write 500 words again about him and it’ll just be kissing emoticons and <3’s…help me, I have a problem! 2013 Projections: 1222/8/15/105/1
17. Chris Johnson – You all really hated him last year and along the way, he almost finished the year as an RB1. The offensive line should improve this year and if he gets a bit more stable play from the QB position, he has a shot to outplay this ranking by a long ways. For those of you worried about the Shonn Greene signing this off-season, don’t. He’s the short yardage and goal line back. But won’t he steal CJ2K’s goal line attempts?!? Yes but that would require Tennessee to get close enough to the end zone for that even to matter. Trust me when I say, it won’t. 2013 Projections: 1144/5/40/280/1
18. Ahmad Bradshaw – I’m very thankful he signed before this post went live. I hate ediding as u can know doubt till. I went over the move a bit with my Ahmad Bradshaw news and now I’m here to give you the fantasy spin of it. Play that music DJ! 2013 Projections: 1034/8/30/240/1
19. Darren Sproles – Darren is the start of the next tier which goes to Ridley. I call this tier the ‘Oddity’ tier because they don’t really fit anywhere so I, uh, made a tier about’um. Yeah, that says it all. Sproles amounts to being Brees’ slot receiver where he’s been PPR gold now for two years with the Saints and I’m not gonna fight it. 2013 Projections: 420/1/85/722/8
20. Stevan Ridley – I think it’s safe to say Ridley won’t end up on my team with where I’m ranking him this year. I don’t hate him but I don’t love him either. Given the two tiers above him, there’s either more stability or more sexy and I don’t think he provides either this season due to how New England might utilize Vereen. That’s me throwing you a warning if you draft him not to gaze lustily back into 2012’s eyes. 2013 Projections: 1215/9/5/40/0
