Week One Running Back Rankings

1) Larry John­son vs. Ben­gals — Do you really need me to explain any­thing about this? 150 total yards and two or three TD’s.

2) LaDain­ian Tom­lin­son vs. Raiders — Hey, foot­ball in one day. I’m psy­ched. 150 total yards and one or two TD’s.

3) Shaun Alexan­der vs. Lions — Dar­rell Jack­son looks like he’s a go for Sun­day, which means Alexan­der will once again be part of a bal­anced offense. 125 total yards and one or two TD’s.

4) Rudi John­son vs. Chiefs — A cur­sory glance at the Chiefs run defense (Ranked sev­enth in 2005) and you might worry about Rudi. Don’t. On closer analy­sis, the Chiefs allowed 4.1 yards per carry, which is in the bot­tom half of the league. 125 total yards and a TD.

5) Edger­rin James vs. 49ers — Whether or not you like Edge over the course of the sea­son, you have to acknowl­edge a game against the Nin­ers is about as friendly a matchup as one can hope for. 120 total yards and a TD.

6) Tiki Bar­ber vs. Colts — Few teams gave up as many yards per carry as the Colts. This was hid­den because they always get ahead and oppo­nents give up on the run. If the Giants stick with it, Bar­ber will have a nice evening. 110 total yards and a TD.

7) Brian West­brook vs. Tex­ans — As long as he’s healthy, Westy will remain one of the hard­est play­ers to con­tain. He’s been banged up a lit­tle this pre­sea­son, but against the Tex­ans, he will have plenty of open space. 150 total yards.

Stephen Jack­son vs. Bron­cos — Many of the top backs play top run defenses in week one. The Bron­cos are def­i­nitely a tough group, but Jack­son is a tough back. Won’t be a spec­tac­u­lar game, but he has a chance to get a short TD. 90 total yards and a TD.

9) Lam­ont Jor­dan vs. Charg­ers — The Charg­ers had the sec­ond best run defense last sea­son, but they did allow 14 rush­ing touch­downs, which is noth­ing more than aver­age. 80 total yards and a TD.

10) Willis McGa­hee vs. Patri­ots — When McGa­hee was click­ing early last year, he had a 150 yard total game against the Patri­ots. Expect the Bills to give McGa­hee as many car­ries as he can han­dle. 130 total yards and maybe a TD.

11) Car­nell Williams vs. Ravens - The Ravens are another top run defense, but Car­nell could get a good num­ber of car­ries in a game that will be mostly about ball con­trol. 115 total yards.

12) Ron­nie Brown vs. Steel­ers — Not the oppo­nent you want to see for your top RB, the Steel­ers defense was ranked first in the NFL last sea­son against the run. That being said, Roethlisberger’s absence could give Brown a boost. The Dol­phins could find them­selves ahead late in the game which would mean Brown would get plenty of touches. 90 total yards and a maybe a TD.

13) Willie Parker vs. Dol­phins — With Big Ben out of the lineup, the Steel­ers will look fairly fool­ish doing any­thing other than run­ning the ball as much as pos­si­ble. Yes, the Dol­phins defense will key on him, but the added car­ries will bal­ance out the extra atten­tion. 115 total yards.

14) Reuben Droughns vs. Saints — The Saints allowed over 125 rush­ing yards per game last year and the Browns shored up their cen­ter posi­tion with the acqui­si­tion of Hank Fra­ley. That’s a recipe for a good yardage day for Droughns. 115 total yards.

15) Chris Brown vs. Jets — This is my first sneaky start of the first week for run­ning backs. Brown is, as of now, the clear cut starter for the Titans and this week one matchup against the Jets is a nice way to start a sea­son. It might be the only time Brown is healthy and the def­i­nite starter, so enjoy this one. 100 total yards and maybe a TD.

16) DeShaun Fos­ter vs. Fal­cons — Fos­ter destroyed the Fal­cons in both games between the teams last sea­son. If he can stay on the field and get a good num­ber of car­ries, he’s got a shot at a 100 yard game. 90 total yards and maybe a TD.

17) Frank Gore vs. Car­di­nals — My favorite sleeper RB takes on an average-at-best Car­di­nals run defense in week one, which should mean decent num­bers to open the sea­son. 90 total yards and maybe a TD.

18) Chester Tay­lor vs. Red­skins — The Red­skins have a decent run defense, but they do allow rush­ing TD’s. Look for Tay­lor to strug­gle a lit­tle with the yardage num­bers, but have a shot at a TD. 75 total yards and a TD.

19) Corey Dil­lon vs. Bills — With Maroney ail­ing, it’s Dillon’s party in New Eng­land. 110 total yards.

20) War­rick Dunn vs. Pan­thers — This isn’t a great matchup, but Dunn has the speed to make a big play or two. Don’t expect a TD, but he’ll man­age some yardage. 100 total yards.

21) Mike Bell vs. Rams — The great exper­i­ment begins. The undrafted rookie is pen­ciled in at the start­ing spot, but con­sider his leash short. If he fum­bles, falls, or flinches, he could be on the way out. 75 total yards and a TD.

22) Jamal Lewis vs. Bucs — Lewis is sort of the for­got­ten man as far as run­ning backs go. Derek is against start­ing him, and the Bucs are a tough run defense (sixth over­all), but he’s looked more like the 2,000 yard Lewis than the bro­ken down Lewis this pre­sea­son. 90 total yards and maybe a TD.

23) Thomas Jones vs. Pack­ers - As long as Cedric Ben­son remains on the side­lines, all cooped up in that dog­house, Jones is an inter­est­ing guy to start. He showed that he can suc­ceed last sea­son. 100 total yards.

24) Reg­gie Bush vs. Browns — The Browns had a ter­ri­ble run defense last sea­son, so you’d assume some­one from the Saints will con­tribute. McAl­lis­ter may get more rushes, but I think Bush will see more total touches. 75 total yards and a TD.

25) Kevin Jones vs. Sea­hawks — Jones didn’t have a 100 yard rush­ing game last sea­son and didn’t even have a con­test where he accu­mu­lated over 100 total yards. It won’t hap­pen here, either. 60 total yards and maybe a TD (If you are lucky)