Fantasy Football RB Rankings for 2016
It’s July. It’s time to start turning our attention towards the upcoming NFL season, and of course, our fantasy football teams.
Over the course of the next two months, the Cover 32 Jaguars page will be rolling out several fluid rankings for various positions to serve as research points for your fantasy drafts.
Today’s post will focus on running backs, based on .5 points per reception scoring. And without further ado, here we go.
1. Le’Veon Bell: Bell is my number one fantasy running back heading into the 2016 season. Sure, his health is a bit of a question mark, but when he’s healthy, he’s the most productive running back in the NFL. He’s an exceptional runner that’s hard to tackle, a great pass catcher out of the backfield and even split out wide, and he plays on a team that moves the ball well and scores a ton of points. He’s also entering the prime of his career. An easy choice for number one.
2. Todd Gurley: Gurley exploded onto the NFL scene during his rookie season, rushing for over 100 yards four times, and scoring 10 touchdowns. Despite playing in only 13 games in 2015, Gurley finished 3rd in rushing yards with 1,106. According to Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, Gurley will be the focal point of the Rams’ offense in 2016, stating that the offense “It’s going to all focus off the run game.” Fantasy football is very much a volume game, and Gurley may receive more volume than any other running back this season.
3. David Johnson: Johnson emerged as a fantasy star in the second half of 2015, showcasing a bevy of skills that have some comparing him to Marshall Faulk. While that comparison is probably unfair to Johnson, he could very well produce at a Faulk-like level in 2016 at least. Johnson is one of the best pass catching RB’s in the NFL, and his stats from last season back that up. After 2015 Week 6, he had multiple reception games in all but one contest. He plays in one of the best offenses in the NFL and will be a focal point for the Cardinals. Draft Johnson with confidence.
4. Ezekiel Elliot: Opportunity. Opportunity. Opportunity. Elliot is running behind the best offensive line in football. If they can make Darren McFadden look good, just imagine what they’ll do with Elliot.
5. Adrian Peterson: A lot of wear on AP’s tires, but he’s simply too talented to be outside of the top five.
6. Mark Ingram
7. Jamaal Charles
8. Eddie Lacy
9. Lamar Miller
10. Doug Martin
11. Dion Lewis: I’m going to take some flak for this one probably. But hear me out first. Historically, can you trust the New England Patriots backfield for consistent fantasy production? No, but I don’t think Belichick has had a talent quite like Lewis before. And there’s not exactly any competition to push Lewis for playing time. If Lewis can stay healthy, he’s one of the more dynamic backs in the league. He led the NFL in broken tackles before he got injured last season, and no one is shiftier than him in the open field. See below.
12. LeSean McCoy
13. C.J. Anderson
14. Carlos Hyde
15. Thomas Rawls: Rawls is slated to be healthy for the Seahawks season opener, which is huge news for his fantasy stock. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has repeatedly stated his desire to focus on ‘running the ball’ more on offense this season. If that’s the case, Rawls could greatly outperform his average draft position.
16. Jay Ajayi
17: Jeremy Hill
18. DeMarco Murray
19. Matt Jones
20. Jonathan Stewart
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