Arian Foster: Why the Houston Texans RB Will Be the Top Fantasy Back in 2011

All the Chris Johnson owners should be nervous. The Adrian Peterson worshippers should be scared, and the people who believe Jamaal Charles is the answer should be doubting themselves right now. 

Why are all these backs going to disappoint in 2011? The answer is simple: They are not Arian Foster. 

Foster exploded last season for the Texans, taking the starting job from the injured Steve Slaton and running his way to the 2010 rushing title and a Pro Bowl appearance. After being on the Houston Texans practice squad only two seasons ago and not even making his NFL debut until Week 13 of 2009, skeptics believe Foster might be a one-hit wonder. 

Foster will be the best running back in football this year, in my opinion, because not only will he continue to learn and get better, but his team has improved dramatically. The Texans defense is much improved and their pass coverage has been shored up considerably. This will give the Texans more time on offense, and more time to hand the ball to the dynamic No. 23. 

Foster ran for 1,616 yards last year and 16 touchdowns. He caught 66 balls for 604 yards and two more touchdowns. His 18 overall touchdowns and over 2,200 yards were first amongst running backs and wide receivers in the league, towering over the competition.

Adrian Peterson had only 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns in 15 games, averaging fewer per carry than Foster.

Some believe Foster's workload will decrease, but because of his 4.9 yard-per-carry average, fourth-best in the NFL among qualifiers, there is nothing to be concerned with. Because of his breakaway speed, Foster can give some carries to other talented backs like the aforementioned Slaton and big Ben Tate.  

Kansas City Chiefs star Jamaal Charles, who was second with 1,467 yards, had only five touchdowns because Thomas Jones took the ball in the red zone. Charles's single-faceted style of running fails to compare to Foster's brutal force, running over defenders on the way to the end zone. 

Sure Chris Johnson had 2,006 yards in 2009 and averaged 125 yards a game while scoring 16 overall touchdowns. But Johnson followed up his incredible year with only 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns. Add to that Johnson's limited repetitions in training camp and the preseason because of his contract holdout, and Johnson could be taking another step back in 2011. 

So how is there any debate to who is the best running back going into 2011? It is because Foster plays for the Texans, normally the bottom-dwellers of the AFC South. Well in that case, expect to hear Arian's name in the postseason this winter, as the Texans are front-runners to dethrone the Indianapolis Colts. 

Especially with Peyton Manning's injury, the Texans are looking to pounce on everyone in the AFC South. Furthermore, no team in the division has a good run-stopping defense, something that makes Foster look even a little better in his suit of armor. 

The Tennessee Titans had the best run defense among all AFC South teams, and they were ranked 20th in the NFL. The Jacksonville Jaguars were only slightly worse, coming in at 22nd. Finally, the defending division title-winning Colts were 25th, giving up 127 yards a game. 

The Texans have six games against those three teams. There is an excellent possibility Foster could go over 150 yards in all six of them. That would be 900 yards in only six games, giving him 10 more games to rush for 1,100 yards in order to hit the magical 2,000. 

Foster, barring injury, has a legitimate chance at gaining 2,000 yards this year and leading his team to the playoffs.

The only question is, will he be leading your team to a fantasy championship?  

Be sure to follow Bleacher Report's coverage of Arian Foster and the Texans all season long for fantasy updates and analysis.