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Shaun Alexander set a new NFL record in 2005 with 28 TDs. But regardless
of a seemingly unbreakable record, most experts believed it was Larry Johnson that had the offensive line and the skills to be the #1 fantasy
RB in 2006. And irrespective of the order, virtually every fantasy mag and ranking
sheet listed Larry Johnson, Shaun Alexander, and LaDainian Tomlinson in
their top 3.
Johnson was my number one RB heading into the '06 season, but not by much with the talented trio at the top. Although the final total yardage stats of Johnson and Tomlinson
were similar, it was LT who busted up the record books with his 31 total
TDs (plus 2 passing TDs) and a whopping 5.7 yards per touch! Owners who
drafted Shaun Alexander as their number 1 (esp. after his record setting
2005 season) couldn't be criticized for the move, but were quickly disappointed
with "Alex the Great's" lingering injury...keeping his performance
way down. After the big 3, my big pick was Steven Jackson at #4...which
was several slots above most all other experts who had him between 8th
and 12th. SJax ran over defenses and finished with 2334 total yards to
lead the NFL and finish at a solid 3rd in the final rankings. Most experts
had Tiki Barber, Rudi Johnson, Edgerrin James, Ronnie Brown, and Cadillac
Williams (in similar order) rounding out their top 8 in preseason. Given
the consensus picks of most and final subsequent results, I felt pretty
good with Jackson and Rudi Johnson (while bumping Tiki much lower than
most).
But the RB story in 2006 for everyone wasn't that LT finished ahead of
LJ (and Shaun Alexander nowhere in sight). It was, however, the fact that
Maurice Jones-Drew (3rd string rookie), Frank Gore (really bad team),
and Marion Barber (2nd string behind Julius Jones) all came out of nowhere
to finish in the top 10! Sure, looking back one can maybe make a case
for how things happened...but remember, nobody thought during the '06
preseason that these guys would be anywhere on the radar to finish the
season. And if those three surprises weren't enough, it was veterans Corey
Dillon (New England) and Deuce McAllister (New Orleans) who fought off
super-stud rookies Laurence Maroney and Reggie Bush. Few, if any, had
either Dillon or McAllister near the top of their draft boards with the
newcomer rookies thought to dominate in short order.
2006 was a tough year to predict running backs for anyone. Compared to
the majority of FFL experts, I did well with my '06 RB picks. But when
compared to how my RB picks finished the season, I'd have to grade my
preseason '06 rankings with a C+ (picking
just 6 of the final top 12). But considering that I found few other experts
who picked more than 5 of the final top 12, I couldn't
find any other preseason '06 rankings I'd grade higher than a C.
|
NFL Fantasy
Running Backs 2006
|
|
Actual 2006 Final Rankings
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PreSeason '06 Fantasy Freak
Rankings
|
What Happened?
|
|
LaDainian Tomlinson
|
Larry Johnson
|
LT was an absolute world beater
in 2006 and doubled the numbers of every other RB...being on a good
team certainly helped |
|
Larry Johnson
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Shaun Alexander
|
Although myself (and pretty
much everyone else) picked LJ at the top of the RB heap for '06, the
Chiefs and Trent Green looked miserable at times and kept Johnson's
numbers modest...Alex the Great couldn't stay healthy and wasn't able
to come close to his record setting '05 season (which was eclipsed
by LT in '06) |
|
Stephen Jackson
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LaDainian Tomlinson
|
SJax was a STUD in the Rams'
offense and on fantasy teams fortunate enough to have selected him...I
ranked him at 4th going into the season (which was much higher than
my peers - few of which who ranked Jackson higher than 8th...and many
had him out of the top 10) |
|
|
Stephen Jackson
|
Parker (who was definitely
not expected to finish in the top 10 by anyone) had bunches of touches
in Pittsburgh and produced 16 total TDs with yardage...his stats were
up and down throughout the season, but final numbers put him 4th overall |
|
Maurice Jones-Drew
|
Edgerrin James
|
A rookie behind Fred Taylor and Greg Jones?!?
MJD wasn't even on the map in preseason...NO WAY do you see this coming,
but MJD produced big down to stretch for all that jumped on his bandwagon...as
for Edge, everyone missed it with him - AZ just never had the O-Line
(sorry Edge, you should have stayed in Indy!) |
|
|
Rudi Johnson
|
Westy put up the numbers expected
of him, but finished a nice 6th in the final RB rankings since others
predicted ahead of him didn't step up...as for RUDI, keep the thugs
out of the locker room in Cincy and Rudi finishes even higher with
a few more carries defending the lead late in games |
|
Frank Gore
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Ronnie Brown
|
Gore was always thought to
be solid, but nobody thought he'd be a one-man-gang on a previously
thought to be very bad team in SF (he won't fall under any radar in
'07 with an improved 49ers team)...Ronnie Brown...well...he just fell
off the wagon and everyone missed it |
|
Rudi Johnson
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Tiki Barber
|
I had Tiki 8th, but that was
much lower than most who had him ranked around 4th or 5th (he finished
12th)...Tiki's inability to get into the endzone has always been his
nemesis |
|
Marion Barber
|
Cadillac Williams
|
Barber (a preseason backup
to Julius Jones) was a scoring machine that finished 3rd in RB TDs
- which nobody thought was possible...as for Caddy - see Ronnie Brown
comments...Williams and Brown were pretty much interchangable on most
preseason '06 ranking boards at around 7th-10th |
|
Corey Dillon
|
|
With a fading Corey Dillon
and big story Maroney in the lineup, it was Dillon who surprisingly
got the numbers in New England...Portis was hurt early in preseaon,
but thought to recover (experts didn't drop him much from his previous
top 5 ranking)...Portis may have recovered from his preseason injury,
but his Redskins never got started |
|
Deuce McAllister
|
Brian Westbrook
|
Rookie Reggie Bush had owners
thinking Deuce McAllister was done, but like Dillon in New England
- it was the veteran McAllister in New Orleans who got the numbers
in the end |
|
Tiki Barber
|
|
For some reason, most experts
were top-10 or higher on LaMont Jordan (I wasn't sold and had Jordan
ranked at 12th - still too high)...in my opinion, Oakland's team just
wasn't good enough to produce a quality fantasy RB (of course the
consensus was the same for Frank Gore in SF?!?) |
__________________
*reprinted 2006 final Top Fantasy RB article below
RUNNING
BACKS
1. LaDainian Tomlinson
- Tomlinson just finished putting up the best regular season for an NFL
running back...EVER! LT2's touchdown total (31...and it's 33 if you include
his 2 passing TDs) doubles the total (16) of the #3 ranked fantasy RB
on the board! So bascially, LaDainian by himself outperformed the TD output
of any opponent duo fantasy RB combo (if LJ is taken from the mix). If
scoring weren't enough for fantasy owners, Tomlinson led the league in
rushing yards (1815) and was just 11 yards behind in total yardage (2323).
If there was a knock on Tomlinson for 2006, it was that he and his team
were possibly too good...LT didn't score in weeks 16 or 17 (most fantasy
superbowls). But if you were lucky enough to have Tomlinson on your roster,
he single-handedly gave you a chance to win your league.
2. Larry Johnson
- Take LaDainian out of the mix and Larry Johnson was the man this season.
As predicted, Johnson busted out and pounded defenses for massive yards
and more than his share of TDs. Coach Herman Edwards stated in preseason
that the Chiefs would run the ball 550 times in '06 and he proved to be
a prophet as Johnson got 416 of them (most in the league). LJ has nearly
exact yardage totals to LaDainian throughout the season, but his TD totals
and yards per carry paled in comparison. Regardless, his 2199 total yards
and 19 TDs were more than respectable and rewarded owners who drafted
Johnson with solid production. The only down numbers from Johnson were
in weeks 1-2 and 13-15 where LJ wasn't able to find the endzone, but he
still scored in every other week and put up consistent yardage all season.
3. Steven Jackson
- Jackson is a Hoss! His 2334 total yards led the league as he complimented
his rushing touches with 90 (NINETY) receptions (and only 3 WRs had more)!
The primary difference between SJax and the top two RBs on our board is
in Jackson's TD production (16). But to the thrill of his fantasy owners,
Jackson scored 10 of his 16 TDs in the final 4 games!...which was absolutely
huge to his owners who made their fantasy playoffs. If Jackson owners
made their playoffs, Jackson's production in weeks 14-17 (684 yards and
10 TDs) should have been enough to give them a Superbowl victory. Steven
Jackson is the real deal and should be toward the top of draft lists in
2007.
4. Willie Parker
- Fast Willie was "up and down Willie" throughout
the season. Parker had 7 games of 125+ yards and scored multiple TDs in
most of those games, but he also had 4 games where he put up 47 yards
or less (and didn't have a score in any of those 4 games). While getting
a considerable number of touches, Parker's yards per touch are fairly
low. But although inconsistent, Parker's 16 total TDs and respectable
yardage were enough to boost him to 4th overall of NFL fantasy RBs for
'06.
5. Maurice Jones-Drew
- This phenominal diminutive rookie was huge down the stretch
for fantasy owners who noticed him early. Jones-Drew scored in every one
of his last 8 games (10 of his 15 total TDs) and went for over 100 total
yards in half of them. Yardage totals or touches on the season may not
have been among the leaders, but J-D made the most of his opportunities
and his final stats boosted him to the #5 fantasy RB in just his rookie
season.
6. Brian Westbrook
- Mr. Versatility is stayed true to form and continued to put up nice
numbers in 2006. With 77 receptions (huge for a RB), Westbrook led his
team and was huge in fantasy leagues that rewarded RBs with receptions.
Westbrook's TD total (11) tied him at 9th overall among running backs,
but his combined yardage-TD factor were enough to boost him up to 6th
in fantasy RB value for the year. BW's final 8 games yielded him only
4 TDs, but he did manage to go for over 100 total yards in evey game except
week 17 (due to lack of playing time with a lock on the playoffs).
7. Frank Gore
- In a previous thought to be suspect offense, Frank Gore rushed for 1695
yards (3rd most in the NFL) with the San Francisco 49ers. Gore was consistent
in his weekly total yardage performances (4th behind SJax, LT, and LJ
with 2180) and rewarded owners who started him each week. Frank Gore's
TDs totaled just 9, but 6 of his TDs came in the last half of the season.
8. Rudi Johnson
- Rudi put up 12 TDs on the season and was able to spread his scoring
across the year...which was some nice consistency for his fantasy owners.
Ironically, Rudi's numbers are almost identical to last year's totals
(12 TDs and 1400+ rushing yards). As with Rudi Johnson's scoring, yardage
totals were okay and also spread across the entire season. But with Cincy's
growing experience on offense, many Bengal fans and fantasy owners expected
much more from Rudi and the Orange & Black.
9. Marion Barber
- Marion Barber might be one of the best fantasy "finds" of
the season. Barber was listed as a backup to Julius Jones, and all Barber
did was to score the touchdowns...and he finished tied at 3rd in the NFL
with 16 total TDs. For his fantasy owners that started believing in him
early, Barber spread his 16 TDs evenly across the season and scored in
11 of Dallas' 16 games. And to show how important Barber was to the Cowboys,
they lost all 5 of the games in which Barber didn't score.
10. Corey Dillon
- Rookie Laurence Maroney was the big story in the New England Patriot
offense and led to fantasy owners shying away from veteran Corey Dillon.
But down the stretch, it was Dillon who had the numbers. Dillon's 13 rushing
TDs (T-4th) were enough to help the Pats get the divisional crown and
help his fantasy owners with a top ten running back.
11. Deuce McAllister
- Similar to Corey Dillon, some thought that newcomer Reggie Bush would
upseat McAllister and ruin any chance of a fantasy showing. But it was
McAllister that quietly put up over 1000 rushing yards and 11 TDs on his
way to a very successful season.
12. Tiki Barber
- As predicted, Tiki Barber went off in the yardage department. His 1662
rushing yards were 4th (behind LT, LJ, and Gore) and his combined total
yardage of 2127 was 5th overall. But Barber had a tough time getting himself
into the endzone. He didn't score until week 9 and found himself with
only 2 TDs going into the final week of the season before Tiki scored
3 TDs against the Redskins (too late for many fantasy leagues).
|
Top Fantasy Running Backs
2006
|
|
RB
|
Rush Att
|
Rush Yards
|
Rcptns
|
Rec Yards
|
Total Yards
|
TDs Rush
|
TDs Rec
|
|
LaDainian Tomlinson
|
349
|
1815
|
56
|
508
|
2323
|
28
|
3*
|
|
Larry Johnson
|
416
|
1789
|
41
|
410
|
2199
|
17
|
2
|
|
Steven Jackson
|
346
|
1528
|
90
|
806
|
2334
|
13
|
3
|
|
Willie Parker
|
337
|
1494
|
31
|
222
|
1716
|
13
|
3
|
|
Maurice Jones-Drew
|
166
|
941
|
46
|
436
|
1177
|
13
|
2
|
|
Brian Westbrook
|
240
|
1217
|
77
|
699
|
1916
|
7
|
4
|
|
Frank Gore
|
313
|
1695
|
61
|
485
|
2180
|
8
|
1
|
|
Rudi Johnson
|
341
|
1308
|
23
|
124
|
1432
|
12
|
0
|
|
Marion Barber
|
136
|
654
|
23
|
196
|
848
|
14
|
2
|
|
Corey Dillon
|
199
|
812
|
15
|
147
|
959
|
13
|
0
|
|
Deuce McAllister
|
245
|
1061
|
30
|
198
|
1259
|
11
|
0
|
|
Tiki Barber
|
327
|
1662
|
58
|
465
|
2127
|
5
|
0
|
* - plus 2 Passing Touchdowns
Send your fantasy questions to scoutfantasyfreak@yahoo.com
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