Who Should You Draft First in Your Fantasy League?

When drafting your fantasy football team, the golden rule is to draft a stud RB with your first round pick. In standard scoring leagues such as Yahoo! and NFL.com, running backs will gain more points per yardage than Wide Receivers and Quarterbacks, since a running back will gain yardage via rushing, receiving, and in a rare case, passing. Good running backs are not hard to find in fantasy football, but good teams don't win leagues. Great teams win fantasy leagues.To build a great team that will dominate your league, you need to draft dominating players in the first rounds then progress to those who will still be consistently good and provide you with servicable numbers. Now, to the top 10 -

1. Larry Johnson - Kansas City :

If you're suprised by this pick than you obviously didn't watch any football during the 2005 season. In only 9 starts this season, 'LJ' rushed for 1,750 yards and 20 touchdowns. Only Shaun Alexander and Tiki Barber rushed for more yardage and each started 8 more games! Although starter Priest Holmes may or may not be back next season, there is no doubt that Larry Johnson is the top prospect for Fantasy Football in 2006. His talent, combined with the Chiefs offensive line, have the potential to produce a 2000+ yard season with 25+ touchdowns.

2. Shaun Alexander - Seattle :

Alexander was this years MVP of the NFL, and was well deserved of the accomplishment. He is 'Mr. TD', its all he does baby! His stock has is sky high after this season. He rushed for a league-leading 1,880 yards and a staggering 27 touchdowns. Though he had a career best season in all aspects in 2005, he was also in the final year of his contract and playing with motivation for a new contract in 2006. You have to watch whether or not he resigns next year in Seattle, as he is running behind Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson, whom are the best tackle-guard tandem in the league. Even if he re-signs with Seattle next season, his numbers may slightly decline once he gets his new contract. Regardless, he still is a top notch player and if he is available to draft, do not pass him up.

3. LaDainian Tomlinson - San Diego :
'LT' started off en fuego in 2005, and then completely flopped when in mattered most for fantasy leaguers, scoring only one touchdown the entire month of December! Still, he has the potential to be the best and should rebound strong in 2006. He had some nagging injuries last season but once he gets healthy this offseason, he will once again be a force to reckon with. He not only should rush for around 1500 yards next season, he should also nab about 450 receiving yards as well.

4. Edgerrin James - Indianapolis :
He may be overshadowed by his gunslinger at QB Peyton Manning, but last season he matched his career high in rushing TDs with 13. He is one of the most consistent running backs in the league and for the last 3 seasons has averaged over 4.0 yards per carry. He may not return to Indy next season, as he is a free agent this offseason, so watch where he winds up as it may affect his numbers. For the time being however, he is still a premier back in the NFL.

5. Clinton Portis - Washington :
With the Redskins QB situation up in the air, Portis will once again be the focus of their offense. He has surpassed 1500 yards in three of his first four seasons, and now that Washington has brought in former Chiefs OC Al Saunders, he should at the least be able to put up the same numbers from this season - 1516 yards and 12 touchdowns. I wouldn't be suprised if he surpasses both those numbers in 2006.

6. Rudi Johnson - Cincinnati :
Here we have another one of the most underrated backs in the league. Rudi quietly had the best season of his career in 2005 yet was outshined by Carson Palmer. If Palmer cannot return to Cincinnati by the start of the regular season, look for Rudi to pick up the slack for the Bengals. Chris Perry may take away some of his stats but I'm not too concerned about that. Rudi will still be solid.

7. Lamont Jordan - Oakland :
Jordan barely topped the 1000 yard marker with 1025 rushing yards, but pulled in an eye-popping 70, yes, seventy receptions for 563 yards. Although the coaching situation in Oakland is up in the air right now, Jordan still has a very bright future ahead of him in Oaktown and should improve his rushing total next year, although I wouldn't count on him grabbing 70 receptions again.

8. Tiki Barber - New York Giants :
Barber is quite possibly the most underrated running back in the league. He rushed for a league second-best 1,860 yards, but only 9 touchdowns. You have to factor in the age factor for 2006, as he will be 31 in 2006, which is a concern as RBs typically fall off the face of the earth after age 30. Never the less, he is going to help carry the load off Eli Manning's shoulders and should produce again next season.

9. Steven Jackson - St. Louis :
Many thought last year would be the year that Jackson would have a breakout season. That wasn't exactly the case, although he still was solid. The Rams had a horrible season last year in every aspect, but next season looks alot brighter already with Scott Linehan as head coach. Marc Bulger should be healthy for next season which will help open up the running game, which Linehan loves so much. Jackson has two outstanding tackles to run behind in Orlando Pace and Alex Barron, so I expect Jackson to have around 1600 all purpose yards next season and around 12 touchdowns.

10. Cadillac Williams - Tampa Bay -
Jon Gruden loves his running backs and has always turned them into solid options for fantasy owners. Williams had a terrific rookie year, however he was struck with the injury bug early in the season. He started off solid and if he can stay healthy he should have much better numbers in his sophmore season in the NFL. Gruden loves to run in the red zone and with fullback Mike Alstott considering retirement, Williams should see more goalline carries next season, thus I expect him to post around 11 rushing TDs.

Thats it for the stud Running Backs. After these guys you have to be careful about who to pick. You have to consider alot of things when drafting in fantasy football. Look at the team as a whole. Look at the coaching staff. Is this player the centerfold of the teams offense? Does he have a quarterback who can help carry the team? What style of offense does the team run? I'll give you some examples -

Willis McGahee - Buffalo
He still had a decent season in 2005, finishing with 1247 rushing yards, but only 5 touchdowns. He is a perfect example of a great talent with a scrappy team around him. Buffalo QB JP Losman doesn't scare any defenses so they will load up to stop McGahee. Bad news for Willis, as his offensive line blocks like they're in Pop Warner. Buffalo has a new coach in Dick Jauron, but I still have concerns about McGahee's production. He is still a decent choice for a 2nd or 3rd RB.

Thomas Jones - Chicago
Breakout season in 2005 but Cedric Benson brings the question of a RB by commitee approach by the Bears. This is another factor to consider when choosing who to draft. Several other RBs in the league have this approach. I will write more articles as the offseason progresses on these topics after the NFL Draft in April.

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