Today I will break down my top fantasy football top 12 running backs of 2015. The running back position often defines a make or break fantasy season. All too often, a team of limitless potential is crushed by the overwhelming turnaround at the running back position; not just year by year but often from week to week. Building a strong running back squad to lead your team to victory is difficult and tumultuous but not impossible.
I will help you break that trend. You will not get a tired list of the obvious selections from me. Risk and reward IS fantasy football. You must weigh the risks with fantasy running backs far more than any other position since they are so few in terms of constant success. This is how I’m ranking the top fantasy running backs before preseason begins.
- Eddie Lacy, RB, Green Bay Packers – With a prolific offense in front of him, this is the year of Lacy. There will be no shortage of fantasy points to go around for the Packers. Signal calling changes will give Lacy a lot more opportunity for points. I’m predicting 18 touchdowns.
- Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings– I would put him at the one spot if he were not a year removed from football. That being said, he could easily take the top spot away. Peterson is the best running back in game.
- Le’veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers– I expect his suspension to come down to at least two games (maybe one). Bell is in a high octane offense that centers around a power running game. Bell will lead that charge the moment he is back on the field.
- Jamaal Charles, RB, Kansas City Chiefs– A mainstay in everyone’s rankings, and for good reason. Charles is the crutch of the Chiefs offense, without him there is no Chiefs offense. While Knile Davis is a good back jockeying for carries, he is only a handcuff for one of the best fantasy running backs in football.
- Marshawn Lynch, RB, Seattle Seahawks– I am on the island where we believe the Seahawks will trend downward in 2015. Currently, I am still waiting for someone else to join me on this island. Even with offensive production declining, Lynch is a top 5 RB without question.
- Lesean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills– I was skeptical of Fred Jackson eating in to McCoy’s totals in 2015 but McCoy is no CJ Spiller. Rex Ryan is going to find every reason under the sun to use McCoy to compliment the Bills devastating defense.
- Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears– With the coaching changes on the Bears, Forte is the wildcard on my list. No longer will Trestman be finding every way possible to get him the ball. As long as Cutler is still the guy, he will be looking to dump it off to Forte and produce fantasy points.
- Melvin Gordon, RB, San Diego Chargers– I have Gordon higher than any list I’ve seen yet. He is in a perfect spot to step in and capitalize as a true number one back. Get Gordon on your team this year.
- CJ Anderson, RB, Denver Broncos– I don’t like ranking guys with meteoric rises late in the season this high on my lists the following year. Yet Anderson is in a special situation. A Manning run offense and the addition of Kubiak gets him a top-10 spot on my list.
- Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers– Hyde is in a great spot to be a number one back in fantasy football next year. In an offense that needs to run to succeed, he is by far the best option. Bush being there only means Hyde will have a chance to rest between mowing down defensive fronts.
- Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans– Just as the addition of Kubiak to the Broncos helps CJ Anderson, the loss of Kubiak will hurt the value of Foster. He is still one of the better backs in football but look for a decline in production from previous years.
- DeMarco Murray, RB, Philadelphia Eagles– I have no faith in Chip Kelly’s diabolical schemes. I don’t foresee success for the team or many fantasy players on it. Murray is better than the credit he got in Dallas. He will still put up good numbers if he remains healthy.
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