Experts’ Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings and Projections for 2014-15 NFL Season

Running backs are the hottest commodities in fantasy football, and with running back committees becoming the norm in the NFL, it’s a harder position to draft than ever before. For that reason, it’s worthwhile to review what the experts–who spend their hours pouring over their screens and training camp reports–think might happen this season.

Read on to see how the experts over at Yahoo Sports, ESPN, and FantasyPros.com have ranked the NFL’s running backs in terms of fantasy value, and don’t miss our collection of experts’ fantasy sleepers picks for the 2014-2015 season.
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Fantasy Football Experts’ Running Back Rankings

Depending on which media outlet you consult for its fantasy rankings of running backs, you’ll find that they all have LeSean McCoy of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jamaal Charles of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings.

Yahoo Sports

[sc:NFL240banner ]For Yahoo Sports’ five-man panel of fantasy football experts – composed of Brandon Funston, Andy Behrens, Brad Evans, Scott Pianowski, and Dalton Del Don–, they’re installing McCoy as the top running back to pick in the draft.

Of the five, three have McCoy as the No. 1, including Funston, who believes Chip Kelly’s system will see to it that the running back’s numbers will be as good, if not better, than what he had last season (1,607 yards, nine touchdowns/ 539 receiving yards, two TDs). Perhaps the only logical reason why McCoy should not be No. 1 is the addition of Darren Sproles to the roster, which could somehow diminish Shady’s production next season.

Here’s the complete list.

Running Back | Brandon Funston | Andy Behrens | Brad Evans | Scott Pianowski | Dalton Del Don
LeSean McCoy | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1
Jamaal Charles | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2
Adrian Peterson | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4
Eddie Lacy | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3
Matt Forte | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5
Marshawn Lynch | 6 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 8
DeMarco Murray | 9 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 7
Montee Ball | 8 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 6
Giovani Bernard | 7 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 14
Le’Veon Bell | 14 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 9

Perhaps most interesting here is the placement of Marshawn Lynch. Beast Mode has been getting knocked for the amount of touches he’s had in his career, especially after a mammoth season last year where he clearly started to wear down in the latter half and into the playoffs.

ESPN

Meanwhile, in Bristol, the trio of Matthew Berry, Eric Karabell, and Christopher Harris have Adrian Peterson as the consensus top pick, as only Karabell has a different No. 1 back in Jamaal Charles. ESPN’s extensive fantasy analysis can be found here.

In 2013, Purple Jesus had a down year by his own standards last season, rushing for 1,266 yards with 10 TDs.

Those numbers came after an MVP season in 2012, where he burned rubber for 2,097 yards to go along with 12 touchdowns. For those keeping tabs, All Day has recorded double-digit TDs in each of his seven years in the NFL. He can easily make it eight in a row, and could leapfrog McCoy and Charles in terms of output. However, that may lean heavily on whether AP can thrive under Norv Turner’s system.

Running Back | Matthew Berry | Christopher Harris | Eric Karabell
Adrian Peterson | 1 | 1 | 3
LeSean McCoy | 3 | 2 | 2
Jamaal Charles | 2 | 3 | 1
Matt Forte | 4 | 4 | 4
Marshawn Lynch | 9 | 6 | 6
Eddie Lacy | 5 | 5 | 5
Arian Foster | 7 | 12 | 7
Doug Martin | 14 | 7 | 14
Zac Stacy | 10 | 8 | 12
DeMarco Murray | 8 | 13 | 8

FantasyPros.com

Like McCoy, Charles flourished under a new coach last season. It’s something that experts at FantasyPros.com have certainly considered in making Charles their overall top running back.

With Andy Reid at the helm, Charles saw his overall offensive production skyrocket. Even though Charles rushing yards decreased from 1,509 yards in 2012 to 1,287 the following season, he still managed 12 rushing touchdowns, matching his total in the previous five seasons. What’s more, Reid knew fully well how to integrate Charles in the passing game.

Charles led all running backs with 70 catches in 2014 on his way to 693 receiving yards and seven TDs.  Nineteen total touchdowns won’t come as easy for Charles this season, as he’ll have a target on his back for opposing defense. However, the Chiefs’ offense will still largely run through him.

Rank | Running Back | Average Draft Position
1 | Jamaal Charles | 2.0
2 | LeSean McCoy | 1.0
3 | Adrian Peterson | 3.0
4 | Matt Forte | 4.0
5 | Eddie Lacy | 5.0
6 | DeMarco Murray | 7.0
7 | Montee Ball | 9.0
8 | Marshawn Lynch | 6.0
9 | Le’Veon Bell | 10.0
10 | Giovani Bernard | 11.0

Top Bet

Here at Top Bet, we believe that Jamaal Charles will generate the most fantasy points among all running backs next season. We’ve ranked our Top Four below, along with our projected numbers for each of them.

1. Jamaal Charles (269 points)

1,350 rushing yards, 65 catches, 620 receiving yards, 14 total touchdowns

2. LeSean McCoy (264 points)

1,520 rushing yards, 60 catches, 460 receiving yards, 11 touchdowns

3. Adrian Peterson (257 points)

1,560 rushing yards, 33 catches, 230 receiving yards, 13 total touchdowns

4. Matt Forte (243 points)

1,240 rushing yards, 72 catches, 590 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns
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