Super Backs: The Top Five 2010 Fantasy RBs as Superheroes

Even though the fantasy baseball season is just starting, I'm getting that old familiar itch—and there's only one thing to scratch it.

Some fantasy football rankings.

It's no secret that drafting quality running backs can make or break a fantasy football team. So much so that a lot of owners end up spending one or both of their first two picks on the position.

With so much of your draft invested in one position, it can be a real boom or bust proposition.

I truly feel sorry for those owners that took LaDainian Tomlinson with a first or second round pick, or who were screwed over by Brian Westbrook's concussions.

Then again, there are those lucky owners who took a waiver on Jamaal Charles before the playoffs or used that early pick on Chris Johnson instead of Michael Turner.

That is what's so great about fantasy football. One year you might draft a dud, but you always have an opportunity next year to draft a superhero.

With that in mind, I'll be taking a look at the top 5 running backs and what superheroes they most compare to.

5. Steven Jackson - Super Man

Steven Jackson was literally the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the St. Louis Rams.

He singlehandedly gave the Rams a potent rushing game. It's too bad the rest of the team couldn't hold up their end of the bargain.

Since he had to do it all himself, there's no question in my mind that Steven Jackson is Super Man.

Given a playoff-caliber team around him, there's no telling how good he could be.

4. Ray Rice - Quicksilver

Ray Rice is not a big running back. He's also not the fastest running back. He finds holes by being very quick and elusive.

For these reasons Ray Rice is the villainous Quicksilver.

Quicksilver, while not as fast as, say, The Flash, depends on his smarts and his quick thinking just as much as his deceptive speed and elusiveness to get him out of harm's way.

This is strikingly similar to what Ray Rice did to defenses last season.

He found the tiniest holes in the defensive line and exploited them to maximum effect.

3. Maurice Jones-Drew - Juggernaut

Maurice Jones-Drew has become one of the most deadly power backs in the league.

Despite being a smaller back, he is among the most effective goal line and 3rd down backs out there.

This is why MJD is most similar to Juggernaut.

Juggernaut just keeps going, plowing through anything that might stand in his way, much like how MJD runs right through defensive backs that try to tackle him.

2. Adrian Peterson - Punisher

After seeing what Adrian Peterson did to those poor Cleveland Browns defenders last season, there was no doubt in my mind what superhero Adrian Peterson compares to.

The Punisher.

Peterson repeatedly lowers his shoulder to take on tacklers, making sure he inflicts as much pain and punishment on opposing defenders as humanly possible.

Yes he has speed, yes he has elusiveness, but so do other backs. What AP has that other backs don't is an innate mean streak, and that's what sets him apart.

1. Chris Johnson - The Flash

Well I think everyone saw this one coming.

Chris Johnson is the fastest back in the league, possibly the fastest player in the league.

Likewise, The Flash is known for his blazing speed (yes comic book buffs, I realize he lost a race to Superman some years back).

Instead of relying on overpowering strength or ankle breaking jukes, Johnson prefers to find a hole and break into the open field before defenders even have a chance to react.

Using his speed, Johnson was able to break off huge run after huge run and, like Steven Jackson before him, almost singlehandedly provided the Titans with a potent offense, at least until Vince Young learned how to play again.