Top 10 Fantasy Football Running Backs for 2008

Traditionally, fantasy football owners have drafted at least two running backs, and many times three, in the first three rounds every year since the game has become popular. However, that strategy may need to be checked again this year with so many platoon situations in the NFL.

Most fantasy football leagues have around 10 teams, so these rankings should pretty much be similar to your first round of the draft as Tom Brady is probably the only player that would potentially crack the first round as a non-running back.

Let's get to My Top 10 RBs:

1) LaDanian Tomlinson

This one is a no-brainer. How can LT not be the number one pick overall? Last season Tomlinson totaled 1474 rushing yards, 475 receiving yards on 60 catches, and 18 total touchdowns. He has missed only one game in his 7 year career and now that Michael Turner is gone, there is no need to worry of LT losing any carries.

2) Brian Westbrook

Many experts have Adrian Peterson ranked number two. However, Westbrook is an established player who has managed to remain healthy for the last two seasons. In 2007, his final statistics were 1333 rushing yards, 771 receiving yards on 90 catches (yes, 90, and he is a running back), and 12 total touchdowns. He is the Eagles biggest threat, and they will do whatever it takes to get him the ball.

3) Adrian Peterson

Peterson dropped to third in my rankings for two reasons: injuries and his team's offense. While Peterson got off to an unreal start in his rookie campaign, defenses began to shut him down towards the end of the seasons with ineffective Tavaris Jackson running the show. With no signs of Brett Favre coming to Minnesota, Jackson is still at QB. Peterson also has had a lot of knee trouble in his career and was forced to miss two games last season due to a sprain. In the fourteen games he did play, Peterson rushed for 1341 yards and hauled in 19 passes for 268 yards. He also crossed the goal line a total of 13 times.

4) Steven Jackson

Jackson is coming off of a season that he was only able to play in 12 games. He was still able to be productive and is primed to have an excellent 2008 campaign. His 2007 statistics are lower then they should be as the Rams lightened his load near the end of the season to make sure he stayed healthy. He still ran for 1002 yards, caught 38 passes for 271 yards, and scored 6 times. Owners should expect a year more similar to Jackson's 2006 season when he accumulated 2334 total yards and scored 16 times.

5) Joseph Addai

The biggest concern with Addai is whether he can make it through the grind of the 16 game NFL season. He rushed for 704 yards in the first half of the season (which includes a game he missed cause of injury) and only ran for 368 in the second half. The touchdowns were consistent the whole season though as he scored 15 times (split 9/6). I recommend owners to also pick up Dominic Rhodes as insurance for Addai.

6) Clinton Portis

The Clinton Portis of old returned in 2007. Portis broke out for a huge season after playing only 8 games in 2006. He ran for 1262 yards and 11 touchdowns. Portis also had 389 receiving yards on 47 receptions. The talk in Washington is that Portis should have even more big plays this season with Jim Zorn's offensive scheme.

7) Marion Barber

The good news for Barber owners: Julius Jones has finally left Dallas. The bad news: Felix Jones is in town. This Jones has electric speed and may steal several carries from Barber, but Coach Wade Phillips wants Barber to receive a heavy workload this season. Barber's bruising style lead him to 975 yards on the ground with 10 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 44 passes for 282 yards and another 2 touchdowns. He just seems to be a better choice than Frank Gore in a Mike Martz pass happy offense.

8) Frank Gore

Gore owners did not receive as big of a season in '07 as they may have hoped for after Gore's '06 campaign (1695 rush yards, 61 receptions, 485 receiving yards, and 9 total TD's). Not only did Gore receive 50 less carries in '07, but he also went from 5.4 yards per carry (YPC) to 4.2 YPC. As previously stated, Mike Martz running the offense probably won't help too much, but he is definitely a first round pick and can be a force to be reckoned with.

9) Willis McGahee

McGahee had arguably his best season in his 4 year career (most yards per game, 80.5 and yards per carry, 4.1) last season after joining the Ravens. McGahee scampered for 1207 yards and 7 touchdowns. He also caught 43 passes for another 231 yards and one more touchdown. The future looks even brighter for McGahee as Cam Cameron is the new offensive coordinator, a man that loves to feed the #1 back the ball.

10) Marshawn Lynch

While Lynch only played in 13 games in his rookie seasons, it was certainly one to be remembered. He ran for 1115 yards and 7 touchdowns. His receiving numbers were a little lower than expected with only 18 catches for 184 yards, but that part of his game still has time to develop. Lynch only improved once Trent Edwards took over at QB rushing for 2 100 yards games (he only had 1 with Losman in the first 11 games) which is a great sign for 2008.