With the NFL regular season set to begin in eight days, we are going to have to get accustomed to predictions, previews and analysis of all 32 teams around the league. While worthless, these predictions can bring a certain level of entertainment as we all prepare for what promises to be another exciting season.
eDraft will focus on fantasy football rankings with a soon-to-be released magazine. For now, we will run a series of articles ranking top-10 positional units around the league.
We continue with running backs...
1. San Francisco 49ers: Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, LaMichael James, Anthony Dixon, Bruce Miller and Marcus Lattimore
By far the best running back group in the NFL, San Francisco has made a point of building a young group behind Frank Gore over the past couple seasons. It exhausted a fourth-round pick in the 2011 draft on Kendall Hunter, who has played some damn good football in his first two seasons. The Oklahoma State product is averaging 4.6 yards per rush in 184 attempts during that span. Some say that Hunter doesn't have the capability to shoulder the load, but at 5'7" and 200 pounds, he has nearly the same frame as Ray Rice.
In order to create another dimension on offense, San Francisco spent a second-round pick on former Oregon standout LaMichael James back in 2012. The "smallish" back was a healthy inactive for the majority of his rookie season, but came on strong towards the end and in the playoffs. James has the capability to be a change-of-pace guy in the NFL. The addition of Marcus Lattimore this past April may not have an impact in 2013, but the South Carolina product figures to be the long-term replacement for Gore as San Francisco's starter. If it wasn't for another torn ACL, Lattimore would have been a top-15 pick. Anthony Dixon is a great special-teams player and can get that tough yard between the hashes. In addition, Bruce Miller is a Pro Bowl-caliber fullback.
This doesn't even take into account San Francisco's all-time leading rusher, Frank Gore. While on the wrong side of 30, San Francisco has done a solid job of limiting his attempts over the past couple seasons. The Pro Bowler still has a lot left in the tank and is a top-10 running back in the NFL.
2. New England Patriots: Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, LeGarrette Blount, Leon Washington and Brandon Bolden
Both Ridley and Vereen have the talent to be starting running backs in the NFL. That's one of the primary reasons that New England took them back-to-back in the 2011 NFL draft. Now that the latter is healthy, this could be one of the better one-two punches in the entire league. Ridley put up over 1,300 total yards and 12 scores in his first full-time running back duties last season. With a renewed emphasis on the running game in New England, there is no reason to believe he can't add to those totals. Meanwhile, Vereen was relatively healthy for the first time in his two-year career. He tallied over 400 yards on just 70 touches. With Danny Woodhead and his 116 touches from last season out of the way, Vereen will make a major impact in 2013. As evidenced by the Patriots playing him all over the field, the former CAL product should also put up some solid receiving numbers.
Some seem to forget that Blount did tally nearly 2,000 yards and 11 scores in his first two seasons with Tampa Bay. The selection and emergence of Doug Martin disabled Blount's ability to make much of an impact last season. That being said, he has to be one of the top No. 3 running backs in the entire league, probably right up there with LaMichael James in San Francisco. Washington is a pure return specialist, while Bolden did average nearly five yards per attempt for the Patriots in limited playing time last year.
3. Seattle Seahawks: Marshawn Lynch, Christine Michael, Robert Turbin, Michael Robinson and Spencer Ware
Many experts were stunned that Seattle used its first pick in April's draft (second round) on a running back when it already had Lynch and Turbin on the roster. From what we have seen in camp, John Schneider's decision seems to make perfect sense. Michael, a ridiculously strong running back, will eventually take over for the aging Lynch and form a solid one-two punch with Turbin behind Russell Wilson in Seattle. For now, it appears that the Pro Bowler (Lynch) will be spelled by Michael with Turbin getting a few reps here and there. Talk about having a strong trio of running backs to choose from.
Ware was selected to eventually take over for Robinson as Seattle's fullback, but he provides much more than the former when it comes to ball-carrying skills. The LSU product could team up with Michael to form one of the strongest backfield tandems in the NFL a couple of years from now.
4. Buffalo Bills: C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson, Tashard Choice, Zach Brown and Frank Summers
From 2009 to 2011, Fred Jackson put up a total of nearly 4,000 yards and 17 touchdowns. Due to injury and an increase in terms of age, Buffalo made the decision to spend a first-round pick on C.J. Spiller back in 2010. While that selection was criticized initially, Spiller has become one of the most dynamic young running backs in the NFL. He put up over 1,700 yards on just 250 touches last season. Let that sink in for a second.
Tashard Choice is a solid No. 3 running back with starting experience. If Jackson or Spiller goes down to injury, Choice will be able to come in and make an impact. He is averaging nearly five yards per touch in his career.
5. Houston Texans: Arian Foster, Ben Tate, Deji Karim, Greg Jones, and Dennis Johnson
Whether Foster is 100 percent to start the season isn't a big deal here. As long as he hits his stride early in the season, Houston will be in a good place. This place gets much better if Ben Tate is able to actually see the rock more. He attemped 110-less rushes than the prior season, but still put up a solid 4.3 yards-per-carry average. Remember, these two are just a season removed from combining for nearly 3,000 total yards. The addition of Greg Jones is also going to be huge here. Jones has been one of the best blocking fullbacks in the NFL over the past three seasons and will make a huge impact.
6. Philadelphia Eagles: LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown, Chris Polk and James Casey
Shady needs to perform up to the level that we saw in 2011 if Philadelphia's offense is going to make up for what promises to be a lackluster defense. The good news here is that he is healthy and ready to go. Even better news for Philadelphia, second-year players Bryce Brown and Chris Polk offer solid back-up options. Despite fumble issues last year, Brown did averaged 4.9 yards per attempt. If he can hold on to the ball on a consistent basis, Brown will be a solid weapon. Polk was set to become a second-day pick back in the 2012 NFL draft, but issues with injuries caused him to go undrafted. If healthy (a big question mark), Polk brings a whole heck of a lot to the table.
7. Baltimore Ravens: Ray Rice, Bernard Pierce, Anthony Allen, Vonta Leach and Kyle Juszczyk
I couldn't care less if Baltimore decides to go with more of a commitee approach this season, both Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce bring a lot to the table. The idea of giving Pierce more reps is to keep Rice fresh throughout the course of the season. We have seen this work with Frank Gore in San Francisco, and it could help Baltimore down the stretch run. The two combined for 2,200 total yards last season, numbers that will increase with more of an emphasis on the run game this year. One of the best under-the-radar re-signings of the offseason was when Baltimore brought Vonta Leach back after releasing him. He has been the downright best blocking fullback in the NFL over the past five seasons.
8. Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson, Toby Gerhart and Jerome Felton
All AP, all the time. You could put any group of running backs behind him, and Minnesota would still rank in the top 10. What Peterson did last season nearly went down in the record books, but was likely the best single-season running back performances we have seen in the history of the NFL. Not only did Peterson put up over 2,300 total yards, he averaged six yards per attempt on nearly 348 attampts. That's simply insane. Toby Gerhart is a solid No. 2 running back and gives Minnesota exactly what it is looking for behind AP. While Jerome Felton will be suspended to start the season, his existence on this offense cannot be discounted, mainly as a blocker.
9. Washington Redskins: Alfred Morris, Roy Helu, Evan Royster, Darrel Young and Keiland Williams
Lost in the performances of Adrian Peterson and Doug Martin last season was that Alfred Morris had himself a ridiculous campaign in D.C. The former sixth-round pick out of Florida Atlantic rushed for over 1,600 yards (a franchise record) in teaming up with fellow rookie Robert Griffin III to form a great young tandem in the backfield. There is no reason to believe that Morris' success was a mirage. While his stats may go down a tad due to the return to health of one Roy Helu, Morris will be just fine. Speaking of Helu, he is just one-year removed from putting up over 1,000 total yards himself.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars: Maurice Jones-Drew, Denard Robinson, Justin Forsett, Jordan Todman, Will Ta'ufo'ou and Lonnie Pryor
This is all about upside here. The way Denard Robinson has looked during camp and in the preseason, he's making a strong case to eventually take over for Maurice Jones-Drew as Jacksonville's starter at some point in the not-so-distant future. The Michigan product, who has only been playing running back for a little over eight months, has the field vision and cut-back ability you rarely see from a youngster at this position. If Jones-Drew returns to form, there is no reason to believe that the Jaguars can't possess a top-10 running game in 2013. This projection is solely based on him being able to return to form and Robinson continuing to excel.