Running back is widely regarded as the most important position in fantasy football. They touch the ball more than receivers and score plenty of touchdowns.
In some fantasy leagues, the scoring system favors running backs over quarterbacks, especially when it comes to touchdowns. Often, quarterback touchdowns count for four points while running backs receive six points.
Running backs often dominate the top of fantasy drafts. According to NFL.com, the top-five fantasy running backs for 2008 are LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Brian Westbrook, Steven Jackson, and Joseph Addai.
In leagues with more than six or seven teams, expect all of these players to be drafted in the first round.
Just about every league requires that you start at least two running backs. It's generally considered a smart idea to have a couple on your bench as well.
One major problem for fantasy owners is a trend many NFL teams are following. Because of wear and tear (e.g. Shaun Alexander), coaches are beginning to feature two-back systems.
This hurts fantasy owners because this is leading to teams having one running back with a lot of yards and few touchdowns and another running back with fewer yards but a lot of touchdowns.
A classic example of this is in Jacksonville. Here are the statistics for Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew from 2006 and 2007:
2006 Rushing Yards Rushing TDs
Taylor 1,146 5
Jones-Drew 941 13
2007 Rushing Yards Rushing TDs
Taylor 1,202
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