My Jamaal Charles Blog

I always find it helpful to break down specific positions into tiers. As always, the RB pool has some pretty distinct tiers. If you get any of these guys in the Top Tier, you've got a solid anchor to your squad.

Top Tier:
Chris Johnson $$72

Adrian Peterson $69

Maurice Jones-Drew $68

Ray Rice $66

Michael Turner $58

Frank Gore $55

Of course for every tier you can argue if certain players should be included or not and there is a pretty big swing in auction value from CJ to Gore ($17), but I believe these are all top tier talent.

Breakout candidate: Ray Rice

He had a great year last year, is very young and looks to be getting even better. Baltimore loves to run and Rice is a great receiving back as well. I don't think he's come anyway near his ceiling yet.

Safest Play: Maurice Jones-Drew

CJ and AP are also very safe, but you're going to have to pay for them. It feels like last year could be CJ's ceiling, well, you would think. AP looks steady to, but the fumbles are somewhat concerning if he keeps slipping up. Jones-Drew is the every down back who gets goal line work and 3rd down receptions. The Jags aren't a great team, but he is their best asset and they have to feed him.

Bust Potential: Chris Johnson*

It's tough to pinpoint a bust in the top tier this year. I love Chris Johnson, but so many things went right last year, it's just difficult to imagine he pulls it off again. Let me be clear, I don't think Chris Johnson is necessarily a bust (hence the asterisk), he's an awesome player and will have a great year. I just think that you might not get as much value out of him given his price tag this year, which could make him a bust relative to the % of your auction dollars you need to allocate to him to retain his services.

Best Value: Michael Turner

Last year he was a #2 overall guy going for the mid $60 range. He was having a very solid year and then got hurt. He came back very late a couple times but was never really ready nor was he effective. He's had time to heal now and get into better shape. Remember last year he had put on "muscle" coming into a camp. That is a code word for someone who got fat in the off-season. I can't ever think of a time when someone in a skill position puts on a bunch of weight, or "bulked up" as they sell it and it end up being a good thing. Turner will be back, slimmer and ready to return to form from his breakout campaign. His value has been knocked way down because of last year and I'm buying him if his price stays reasonable, like it looks on the board.

2nd Tier:

Steven Jackson $44

DeAngelo Williams $42

Rashard Mendenhall $41

Cedric Benson $40

Ryan Grant $35

Jamaal Charles $35

Ryan Matthews $35

Pierre Thomas $34

Shonn Greene $33

Beanie Wells $32

I almost cut off the tier after Grant, but opted to include the next 5 RB's after that as well. There is definitely a difference; I just don't think it's that huge.

Breakout Candidate: Shonn Greene

I think we were more timid about anointing this guy as the next RB god originally. Sure it was tough not to be high on him after his playoff performance, but once the Jets brought in LT, (even if you think he is done) it was a little worrisome. Given all that I am starting to think this guy could be a monster despite any value LT might shift away from him. The Jets run the ball so much and this guy looks like he can handle the load. It's tough to imagine LT getting any better than he was last year and if Greene is dominating, it's not going to take the Jets long to figure out that superior talent wins out and will get the bulk of the carries and goalline work. Look for Greene to move up our board on the next update.

Safest Play: Ryan Grant

He is the ultimate not-sexy running back. That's good though, because the tempting RB's are usually the ones that burn you. His offense is loaded, moves the ball and scores points. Nobody cuts into Grants workload and he's been producing at a solid level for a good stretch now.

Bust Potential: Rashard Mendenhall

I don't know if it's just me, but whenever I watched this guy play last year I was never overly impressed. I just think he's going way to high right now in drafts and auctions. The Steelers offense is in complete disarray with Big Ben out 6 weeks (maybe 4), Holmes gone and Hines Ward is supposed to be getting old for the tenth consecutive year.

Best Value: Ryan Matthews

I know, I know, how can a rookie have the best value when he's completely unproven. Based on Norv's statement of how much he wants to use this guy, I'm slightly bullish on him. Vincent Jackson might be holding out for a while after his suspension, which hurts the passing attack slightly. LT was such a disaster last year they had to get away from running it. I look for them to bring a more balanced attack again and Matthews will be the top dog in an offense that produces year in year out.

3rd Tier:

Moreno $26

Addai $24

Brown $23

McCoy $17

Stewart $17

Forte $14

Best $14

Tate $13

Jacobs $12

The third tier is the place where a person who did the opposite and went after WR's and QB's first lives. Sure you might get lucky on a couple of these guys if you get a few, but if one, or God forbid, two of them are your starters, I hope you got a really stacked WR corp and/or a premium QB.

Breakout Candidate: Everyone not named Joseph Addai

Seriously, you could make an argument for everyone on the list other than Addai that says each guy could have a breakout first season or rebound season. I just don't see a lot of upside with Addai.

Safest play: Joseph Addai

Huh? No, I'm not really a big fan of Addai, but the guy has produced at a moderate level the past few seasons, including 13 TD's last year. The Colts offense is always steady. The only concern is Donald Brown taking the job from him. Addai is not as old (27) as he feels like. When you're looking at the 3rd tier, it's tough to find safety, but Addai is the closest thing to it.

Bust Potential: Jahvid Best

How many rookie RB's from the Lions are you going to talk yourself into before you just give up and realize that anyone that is on the Lions is probably doomed for failure. Kevin Jones was the last one for me....never again. Let me summon my inner-Pitino...."Barry Sanders is not walking through that door!"

Best Value: Jonathon Stewart

Carolina is so run heavy, even the #2 guy (or depending how you view it, 1A guy) Jonathon Stewart is a beast. He posted starter-like numbers last year despite not being "the guy". He's a great value because if anything happens to DeAngelo, Stewart is probably a top 5 back, providing he doesn't get injured himself.

It's almost time for Fantasy Football season! Let the second guessing and over analysis begin!

It could be the best strategy for auction enter the 2010 fantasy football season to blow his wad in 2 of the top 5 Running Backs bet rather then on smaller spots back production. This comment applies only to the running backs. QB fields and TE seem very deep that could make it more easy to overpay for regular budget talent, since you can get a good cheap QB and TE. WRs seem to be the same bag mixed seasons as the majority, are notoriously difficult to identify who is going to be huge, and who is going to bust.

There will be levels of second and third level running backs, which have large years just believe that it is difficult to predict it will be this year.Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Michael Turner seem far more likely candidates for large temporadas.Creo that should command a price premium on auctions 2010 fantasy football.

The remaining running backs who all seem to have some very large mark signs around them.Next normally above 5 are Frank Gore (injury prone and a suspected offence), Steven Jackson (terrible offense and bad production 2009), Cedric Benson (perhaps to the 5 most upward but still is Cedric Benson), Ryan Grant (decent production, but it is an offence of first step) and last Jamaal Charles (terrible offense and still a bit of a talent not tested with a likely time share hope to get degraded below update.)

Chris Johnson is the number 1 pick any project of fantasy in the planet Earth. Any selection otherwise it would be a classic case of thought through. Johnson was a value of approximately 68 points more than Adrian Peterson and Maurice Jones-Drew had the following back running backs. With nearly 2300 yards and 14 touchdowns, Johnson only itself had many teams to the playoffs.

His next election is equivalent to Jones-Drew Peterson. Both ended with approximately 270 points of fantasy in 2009 are due for another great year in 2010, but there are some concerns. Jones-Drew score was up and down that all season. Peterson's explosion was constrained for the brilliance of Brett Favre.Its desatinados also has become something more than a cause for concern. No.2, I give the edge to Adrian Peterson.

At number four, Ray Rice is an easy choice. With over 1900 yards and eight total touchdowns, he recorded himself at a level by himself.Rice is a bolt of reach as evidenced by its double digit in all but two points juegos.Como an additional advantage, proved durable, never missing a game. With a good nose for the endzone, wait a couple of scores more characteristic of Baltimore back along with the same amount of yards.

Thomas Jones finished the season of fantasy that is ranked fifth in points, but its value falls for next season as the emergence of Shonn Greene can not be ignored. Also, Jones will reach 32 time next season begins.

A move in the other direction is Darren Sproles or possibly another replacement for Ladainian Tomlinson. San Diego will almost certainly returned the former great for greener pastures.With a powerful offensive and a gift wrapped running game, who takes most of the snaps will be a star fantasy.

Of course, the prolific running game Miami can not be ignored.Before they descended, Ronnie Brown was on a tear feroz.Con team depending on him, the rest of the way, Ricky Williams was impressive, and somehow finished sixth overall.Any player would be a nice addition to your fantasy Squad, but of course are accountable for the workload of the Division. If both are healthy, nor should fall below the fourth round.

Other key considerations include Frank Gore, Cedric Benson, Steven Jackson, DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Michael Turner, Pierre Thomas and Jamaal Charles. make sure you keep an eye on the movements of the offseason changes in the ranking.