5. Ryan Mathews, San Diego Chargers

What’s even more surprising than the 9-7 San Diego Chargers backing into the playoffs? Ryan Mathews playing a part in taking them there. Heading into the season, Mathews was thought of as nothing more than a flex option in standard leagues but turned out to be a valuable back. For the first time in his career, Mathews appeared in all 16 games, with health being the biggest knock on the fourth-year back. There’s still a number of questions surrounding Mathews and his health heading into next season because of his history of missing games, but Mathews’s second 1,000-yard season of his career should give potential fantasy owners hope for the future.

2013 Statistics: 285 carries, 1,255 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, 26 receptions, 189 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown

4. DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys

Another back who traditionally struggled playing a full season, DeMarco Murray showed that he can be the feature back in Dallas, and be effective doing it. Although he missed two games, Murray recorded the first 1,000-yard season of his three-year career, and added on nine touchdowns. After playing in just 10 games in 2012, Murray was only going as the 19th running back in most drafts prior to the start of this season, according to FantasyPros. He ended up finishing the season as the seventh best back in the league in terms of total fantasy points, including seven games in a row in which he scored 14 or more fantasy points in each game. Murray used the 2013 season to catapult himself into the conversation of a No. 1 fantasy back for next year.

2013 Statistics: 217 carries, 1,124 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns, 53 receptions, 350 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown

3. Fred Jackson, Buffalo Bills

Any time a guy ends up performing better than the guy he was supposed to back up, it’s worth paying attention to. C.J. Spiller was one of the hottest names heading into this year, going as one of the first four or five backs in most drafts, but Jackson ended up surprising all fantasy owners by becoming far more than a handcuff. Jackson didn’t break the 900-yard mark, but he did score 10 total touchdowns, appearing in every game for the first time since the 2010 season. Meanwhile, Spiller had seven games of six or less fantasy points and only had two rushing touchdowns. With Jackson’s age, he’s anything but a lock for nine touchdowns again next season, but for 2013, he turned out to be a factor fantasy back.

2013 Statistics: 207 carries, 896 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns, 47 receptions, 387 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown

2. Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers

Eddie Lacy went into training camp with fans worrying that he was overweight. He came out of the season as the possible Rookie of the Year. According to FantasyPros, Lacy was going as the 21st back in fantasy drafts heading into the season, behind the likes of Stevan Ridley, David Wilson and Darren McFadden. But the rookie used a strong second half to finish as the sixth-ranked fantasy running back. After Week 10, Lacy only had one game when he didn’t score double-digit fantasy points, and finished the year with four games of 20-plus fantasy points. Lacy is undoubtedly a candidate to be a first-round selection next season.

2013 Statistics: 284 carries, 1,178 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, 35 receptions, 257 receiving yards

1. Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos

Really, who saw this coming? There were two other Denver backs going ahead of Moreno in drafts, Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball, yet Moreno ended up scoring the fifth-most fantasy points among running backs this season. Hillman eventually was demoted to the practice squad, while Ball took some of Moreno’s carries in the second half of the season, but Moreno was the feature back in the Broncos’ record-setting offense. After Week 3, Moreno never put up less than five fantasy points in a single game, and played in all 16 games for the first time since his rookie season in Denver. Given Moreno’s injury history, it’s tough to predict a similar season for next year, but he should be drafted as a starting fantasy back next year.

2013 Statistics: 241 carries, 1,038 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, 60 receptions, 548 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns