De Angelo Williams: great yardage and long distance TD Machine
Micheal Turner: Monster, but was more of a home game monster.
Adrian Peterson: Always a threat to carry the team on his shoulders.
Matt Forte: high on this list even without all the points for catches.
Thomas Jones: became a TD machine with the Threat of Favre passing
LaDainian Tomlinson: Hung pretty tough with the injuries.
Steve Slaton: Banged it home all year long, amazing.
Clinton Portis Tailed off a bit but solid production was his key.
Maurice Jones-Drew:Hot and cold, won you some, lost you some.
Brian Westbrook: Constant injury watch but great on the field.
Ok, recent fantasy history says 4-5 of these guys won't be on this years Top Ten list. Name some guys that will be out this year, Name some that will be in. Some that could be in Steven Jackson with a new Tackle in the draft? Chris Johnson, probably on the list last year in a PPR league? Brandon Jacobs with less Ward action? Frank Gore with some better passing around him? Ronnie Brown with a higher % of touches?
- DeAngelo Williams will still be a solid back, but he will likely not be a top ten back. Johnathan Stewart is a beast and runs north south. He will see alot of the third down and goal line carries. Remember, he was a rookie last year that exceeded expectations. He's shown he is capable of being an integral part of this offense, and with Delhomme's abilities fading, this is going to be a run heavy offense. Dont be surprised is Stewart has half of Williams yardage, but double the TDs.
- Michael Turner was out to prove that he could be a premeire back in this league. Alot of focus was given initially to Turner so that Ryan could get some experience. With Ryan doing a great job as a rookie, I'd expect that we'll see Turner's numbers trail off a little bit, only because the offense will expand more with throwing in light of Ryan's success as the season progressed. But I still think Turner will be a top 10 back this year.
- AD will be a top ten back, except for all the wrong reasons! His offense has no leader at the QB position and he'll be expected to carry the load. Therein lies two problems. First, all pro center Matt Birk left, and Minnesota will have to either address that in FA or the draft. Secondly, with no proven commodity at QB, you'd expect defenses to load 8 in the box and stop the run, forcing Rosenfels or Jackson to win the game in the air. With two solid defenses in the NFC North, they might have trouble. My only other concern has been AD's durability. He'll be a lower end top 10 back for the reasons I've stated, but he is an immense talent that runs violently and will still get his, especially against Detroit if they dont shore up that D line.
- I think Thomas Jones could very well be a top 10 back again, but he's also an enigma at this point. He's unhappy with his contract, so what does that mean? Does that motivate him to put up his AFC leading numbers again, or is he slowly removed from the equation by Leon Washington? Lets not forget that the draft could very well answer this for us too. If NY takes a back in the first three rounds, Jones is done as a Jet.
- I think LaDainian will benefit from this drama ending behind him. He took a pay cut to keep things solid on the team and Darren Sproles stuck around. LT is still the man there and will be for several more years. He has run for over 1000 yards every year he's been in the league and wants a title and the record for rushing before its all said and done. I'd say he turns back into a top three back this year.
-Steve Slaton surprised some people this year by being able to be a consistent back. I think he'll continue to put up solid numbers. I dont think he'll be a top 5, but I think his production and the team's use of him out of the backfield as a reciever will make him a 6-7 overall back.
- I think Clinton Portis may be due for an off year this year. He is much like Jones here. He could put up to make others shut up or look for a new home shortly. He has all the tools to be consistently a top 5 back, but I think his attitude sometimes gets in his own way and before all is said and done, I think he gets dealt out of DC sometime soon. Campbell still is an average QB, so they'll lean on him more this year, but I think he's a trade waiting to happen.
- I think Jones Drew could go to the Pro Bowl this year. He's compact, fast, shifty, and intelligent. He was spelled by Fred Taylor last year and now that he is the premiere back, I think he'll step it up. His top 5 billing hinges solely on the Jags getting younger and better on O line and finding a true #1 WR to keep defenses from loading up to stop the run.
