Fantasy Football Rankings 2011: Top 40 Running Back Rankings and Projections

The times, and the style of play, have certainly changed from the old days, when real “bell cows” roamed the frozen tundra and the game of football was truly three yards and a cloud of dust. I started playing fantasy football back in 1991, and for at least the first decade of playing, you could look to most of the stud running backs and expect that they would get the football around 25 times a games as feature runners.

These days, we see most of the top running backs carry the football maybe 18 times and pick up around three or four receptions a game. Many of these running backs can suffer from a physical, ground-and-pound running back picking up key vulture touchdowns around the goal, thus shredding the old “bell cow” label for the new normal RBBC situation.

Don’t get me wrong, not everything is bad in the world of running backs because, with these smaller running backs comes the possibility for the explosion for the big play that can turn some of them into superstar scorers.

Our running back projections below take into account not just each player's 2011 projected stats, but each player's upside, risk, weather factors, strength of schedule, style of offense and the team they have (skill players) around them. Throughout the summer, we will be updating this page because injuries, free agency and unexpected breaking news are constant and values are always in flux. 

Arian Foster Figures To Play Week 1

As I touched on in a recent article on Bleacher Report, Arian Foster tweeted this morning, letting fans know that his health is good and that he fully expects to play in Week 1. While many were freaking out on Sunday night, I wasn't all that concerned, because I watched the Houston Texans play the San Francisco 49ers and was looking to see how Foster was playing.

On the play that Foster left the game, I couldn't even tell that he was hurt; rather, it looked like he was frustrated as he was attempting to cut across the field and, if he did, he would have had a 30-yard touchdown. The defender brought him down by the ankles, and Foster popped up after the play.

Taking a second look at the play on ESPN's highlights, it was clear that Foster was favoring his leg a little but again, in live action, it was hard to tell that anything was wrong.

I say all that to point out that Foster's hamstring injury is likely of the grade-one variety, which was the same grade he had earlier in the month. Look for the Texans to give him extra rest this week, and he should return to practice before the team faces off against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1. 

Steven Jackson Back In Top 10

I've been down on Steven Jackson as an elite fantasy running back for years, and it's not because of his talent, but more so because he was on one of the worst teams in football. Notice that I said was, because the St. Louis Rams are clearly a better team, as evidenced by the season they had in 2010 and the way they look this preseason.

Please don't tell me that "it's only preseason," or that "you can't take anything away from this time of year," because that just not true. Sure, it's no lock that the Rams will win their division, but with Sam Bradford continuing in his development under new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, life should be easier for Jackson in the running game.

Finally, Jackson has a respectable offensive line, passing game and defense to complement his tremendous skills and, while his talents are on the decline, the improvements around him should help him have one of the better seasons of his career.

At this time, Jackson is going as a reasonable RB-2, but he's clearly worthy of a later RB-1 in fantasy drafts.

2011 Player Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | K | D/ST

Updated September 1st

1	Arian Foster
2	Chris Johnson
3	Adrian Peterson
4	Jamaal Charles
5	Ray Rice
6	LeSean McCoy
7	Rashard Mendenhall
8	Darren McFadden
9	Steven Jackson
10	Jahvid Best
11	Michael Turner
12	Frank Gore
13	Maurice Jones-Drew
14	Peyton Hillis
15	LeGarrette Blount
16	DeAngelo Williams
17	Matt Forte
18	Felix Jones
19	Beanie Wells
20	Ahmad Bradshaw
21	Mark Ingram
22	Shonn Greene
23	Ryan Mathews
24	BenJarvus Green-Ellis
25	Tim Hightower
26	Knowshon Moreno
27	Joseph Addai
28	Reggie Bush
29	Fred Jackson
30	Marshawn Lynch
31	Brandon Jacobs
32	Mike Tolbert
33	Ryan Grant
34	Cedric Benson
35	Jonathan Stewart
36	Pierre Thomas
37	Derrick Ward
38	Delone Carter
39	C.J. Spiller
40	Michael Bush

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