Espn's Top Rb List

[theFRANCHISE]

ESPN has released its Top 64 Running Back List, compiled by Scouts, Inc.

Link here.

McGahee is ranked 12th. Looking at the list, I agree with the ranking, though I could see arguments for him being ranked 7th or 10th, as well.

I'm shocked that Frank Gore is ranked so high because I figured the major detraction would be his durability issues. However, his skills on the field IN SPITE of his injuries must've been great enough to keep him in the Top 10. Personally, I see him as 11th or 12th, really; he's still a top-tier back, especially given how dismal San Francisco's offense is, but he's not quite in that upper-echelon yet.

Meanwhile, I don't think Marshawn Lynch should've cracked the Top 10 just yet. He's talented, but hasn't shown me enough to be in that upper-echelon.

[minford]

Much like any other list, its ultimate purpose is to spark debate and certainly this list does not fall short of its main goal. Its hard to not confuse a best RB list w/ a best fantasy RB list. That being said, they're pretty similar and one could arguably substitute for another:

1.) Its still too early in AP's career to call him that good. I'm also hesitant about putting Gore there for the same reason. One good season out of two doesn't merit where he is. Same w/ Marshawn Lynch. (Ronnie Brown gets a pass cuz he did great his first season and looked like he was gonna repeat last year prior to his injury)

2.) LJ is getting a lil old for where he is, same w/ Fragile Fred.

3.) Clinton Portis is a good back, but I'd rather have a bunch of other backs listed after him.

4.) I'm really glad the list doesn't overhype Willie Parker. Not. That. Great.

5.) Michael Turner has been a career backup til now- theres absolutely no way to know how he ranks among the other guys. Putting him up there is silly.

Note: Glad Edge isn't up there. He usually falls victim to pundit overhype.

[bossman419]

Addai and lynch are ranked way too high. The only reason Addai is so effective is opposing defenses can never stack 8 in the box with Peyton Manning on the field. McGahee had to see 8 in the box all year and still had a excellent season. And i think that Lynch is not proven enough to be top 10.

[Huddy Hud]

ESPN in a joke my little sister knows more then them... McGahee is atleast a top 6 back... I would rank it Adrian, L.T., Westbrook, Addi, Barber, MeGahee...

[berad]

IMO: Marion Barber, Larry Johnson, and Fred Taylor are all lesser backs than McGahee.

Barber is an excellent change-of-pace back, but seeing as his career-high in carries is only 204, much less than any proven RBs, he doesn't deserve to be that high. Not at this point at least. He has all the skills, he just needs to prove his legitimacy.

Larry Johnson is just too reliant on his OL. The Chiefs had a great one while he was running for 5+ yds a carry. But look at his recent stats, as KC has been losing chunks of their once-stonewall OL. His ypc has dropped by nearly a yard each year since 2005. He's can't do it without them.

Fred Taylor, sharing carries with Maurice Jones-Drew, he's averaging 5+ ypc. Woooo, he also is over 30 and still has health issues. Sure he had a great season, made the ProBowl (behind Willis) but he's not the 10th best RB in the NFL. Willis out-shined him this year on a 5-11 team with an ever changing OL.

Also, Joesph Addai should be higher, he's an excellent all-around back. Can run, catch, block. He's an every-down back and fits perfectly with the Colts

[ragnorok99]

Solid list, all this stuff is pretty subjective. I think Willis is top-ten, though. And they didn't even mention his stiffarm.

[bossman419]

Solid list, all this stuff is pretty objective. I think Willis is top-ten, though. And they didn't even mention his stiffarm.

mcgahee has the nastyist stiff arm ive ever seen

[justifythegame]

larry johnson, marshawn lynch and marion barber are seriously over rated. The rest of the people before mcgahee is justifiable.

[MKdave]

5.) Michael Turner has been a career backup til now- theres absolutely no way to know how he ranks among the other guys. Putting him up there is silly.

Couldn't agree more. Brandon Jacobs must be spinning in non-existent grave. How can a career backup who ran behind arguably the best O-line in football be rated ahead of the superbowl winning back (who was integral in their success)?

they also have Reggie Bush ahead of Duece McAllister. Ridiculous.

[FerrariFan87]

It's an OK list, but I would have Willis in the Top 10 for sure, especially with the way he will be utilized in our revamped offense

[Black&Purple]

How in the heck can you put Adrian that high on the list? He played ONE season for god sake.

[Corvus]

It's ESPN, what do you expect? I'm surprised Willis even got the #12 spot in this, their most recent popularity contest.

My top ten would proceeds as follows:

1 Ladanian Tomlinson (Gotta agree with ESPN, at least going into this season)

2 Brian Westbrook (can do everything like LT, except better at times due to more youth)

3 Steven Jackson (incredible offensive production, when all the parts of his team click and they didn't last year)

4 Adrian Peterson (another all around back, still too young to name him 2nd best IMO)

5 Willis McGahee (IMO the best power back in the league going into this season, Cam will make him a better receiver too)

6 Clinton Portis (another offense producing monster, the U creates some great RBs)

7 Larry Johnson (similar to Jackson to me, another great producer when the whole team meshes)

8 Joesph Addai (the perfect complement to Peyton)

9 Fred Taylor (still a great starter, but age will shove him out of this top 10 soon enough though)

10 Jamal Lewis (still a great power back, age is creeping up here too though)

[theFRANCHISE]

I think I understand, and even agree with, Adrian Peterson's ranking as the 2nd-best running back in the NFL today.

Keep in mind, as the article's introduction says, this is essentially a list of the running backs who you'd WANT starting on your team, compiled from each team's top two backs. And at certain points in the list, it's almost like splitting the finest of hairs, particularly with the all-purpose backs that possess the same skill set (see Brian Westbrook & Steven Jackson).

You have to take into account the fact that Peterson has not had consistent play from the QB position; the Vikings' passing offense finished 28th last season. Although he has a tremendous offensive line to run behind, the receiving corps is not nearly as talented as other teams in the way of blocking (nor receiving, for that matter).

Also, Peterson's play was outstanding to the point where he literally carried his team to victory. In helping his team get to an 8-8 record, the Vikings were 5-2 when Peterson scored a TD. In addition, he had six games with over 100 yards rushing, with two of them totaling over 200 yards on the ground.

The fact that a rookie was able to have such a profound impact on a team is amazing in this day and age, where rookies on offense are expected to struggle as playbooks become more complicated.

Plus, taking other starting running backs into consideration that have QB issues, none have truly willed their teams to victory the way Peterson has.

It's been said that, when it comes to NFL running backs today, there's LaDainian Tomlinson, and then there's everyone else; although that may be true, it's hard to argue against Adrian Peterson not being at the top of the list of everyone else after his performance last season.

And when you've got a running back who's getting props from Hall-of-Fame running backs, there MUST be something there.

[theFRANCHISE]

Here's my Top 25 Running Backs (ESPN/Scouts Inc. ranking in parentheses).

I didn't include rookies, specifically because they have no body of work in the NFL on which they can be judged. This list is essentially my ranking of the running backs which I'd feel comfortable having as my starter if I were an NFL head coach or GM.

1) LaDainian Tomlinson - SD (1)

2) Adrian Peterson - MIN (2)

3) Brian Westbrook - PHI (4)

4) Steven Jackson - STL (3)

5) Willis McGahee - BAL (12)

6) Willie Parker - PIT (13)

7) Larry Johnson - KC (5)

8) Clinton Portis - WSH (9)

9) Joseph Addai - IND (6)

10) Maurice Jones-Drew - JAX (14)

11) Marion Barber - DAL (8)

12) Ronnie Brown - MIA (19)

13) Fred Taylor - JAX (11)

14) Thomas Jones - NYJ (24)

15) Chester Taylor - MIN (26)

16) Frank Gore - SF (7)

17) Edgerrin James - ARI (21)

18) Laurence Maroney - NE (18)

19) Jamal Lewis - CLE (15)

20) Deuce McAllister - NO (33)

21) DeAngelo Williams - CAR (27)

22) Justin Fargas - OAK (31)

23) Ladell Betts - WSH (52)

24) LaMont Jordan - OAK (49)

25) Travis Henry - N/A (36)

[MDmid14]

Willis deserves top 10 consideration, but they were right in their evaluation of big time fumbles and an inability to be a true open field threat. I trust him with the ball and I know he'll always put in a good days work, but I think they got him just abotu right. I was also glad to see Ray Rice break into the top 50. His lack of size seems to be his draw back but I think we have a Maurice Jones-Drew on our hands.

[neepo13]

Willis deserves top 10 consideration, but they were right in their evaluation of big time fumbles and an inability to be a true open field threat. I trust him with the ball and I know he'll always put in a good days work, but I think they got him just abotu right. I was also glad to see Ray Rice break into the top 50. His lack of size seems to be his draw back but I think we have a Maurice Jones-Drew on our hands.

His fumbles were minor compared to some other guys. Jamal Lewis probably cost the Browns a playoff spot because of his fumbles against the Steelers.

[RookieRaven]

NFL Fantasy has Willis McGahee at #12 and Ray Rice at #68 of the top 70

[CareerNetwork]

I could see Mcgahee at number 8.

[Reed_4_President]

CLINTON PORTIS IS SO OVERRATED!!. HE has not played WELL since his days in DENVER!. HE SHOULD BE WAY BEHIND MCGAHEE!!.. sorry for a lot of CAPS that just pisses me off!! McGahee in my opinion is SOOO UNDERATED he is def a top 5 RB. Addai and Portis are NOT better then McGahee..... neither is BARBER..

[rayvenfan_52]

Addai is pretty much lucky because he never has to worry about the 8 stacked... I mean with a QB like Manning who would want to stack 8 where he could pass and that could hurt your team.. He shouldnt be that high... For Willis to be 12... I think he should be in top 10..

[bossman419]

Nothing really to do with the list but, i noticed McGahee is using a new face mask it looks really neat. Ive seen Lorenzo Neal use it before. If you wanna see it go to the photo section of baltimoreravens.com and look for McGahee

[Ravens_Pwn12]

CLINTON PORTIS IS SO OVERRATED!!. HE has not played WELL since his days in DENVER!. HE SHOULD BE WAY BEHIND MCGAHEE!!.. sorry for a lot of CAPS that just pisses me off!! McGahee in my opinion is SOOO UNDERATED he is def a top 5 RB. Addai and Portis are NOT better then McGahee..... neither is BARBER..

clinton is super good i dont know what your talking about

[theFRANCHISE]

clinton is super good i dont know what your talking about

I agree.

Clinton Portis has played well in spite of having to run behind a poor offensive line. Granted, he could be playing a lot better, and the offensive line in Denver could make ANYONE look great, but for all the injuries he's sustained from having no line to protect him, he's done reasonably well.

I mean, you could attribute his injuries to improper conditioning or genetics, but...well, let's face it, if you're constantly getting hit in the backfield right after taking a handoff, then of course you'd get hurt.

[rayvenfan_52]

I say Clinton Portis is way better then LT in my opinion. LT has the O-Line and a great FB to run with. Portis doesnt even have as much thats even close to what Tomlinson has.

[theFRANCHISE]

I say Clinton Portis is way better then LT in my opinion. LT has the O-Line and a great FB to run with. Portis doesnt even have as much thats even close to what Tomlinson has.

Ehhhhh...I'd have to stop right there. I still think LaDainian Tomlinson is infinitely more talented than Clinton Portis and virtually every running back currently in the league, even though LT has a strong supporting cast.

LT is just an out-of-this-world ATHLETE, and there've been lots of plays that have broken down that he's saved from being a loss OR converted into bigger plays.

Plus, LT's skill set is wider than Portis. Portis isn't as strong of a blocker as LT, and I don't believe he catches passes out of the backfield nearly as much as LT does.

[rayvenfan_52]

Well then Id kinda like to see LT running with Portis's line for a couple seasons to see how good he is.

[raven43]

You need to take into acount that this list may be based on how good they think they are, fantasy wise

[Reed_4_President]

clinton is super good i dont know what your talking about

Everytime i WATCH the REDSKINS play PORTIS does nothing!. I guess it is just coincidental!!... he gets like 2-3 yrds and most the time less then that per hand off, tackled as soon as he gets the ball.. so i guess when i turn it he knows and does REALLY WELL!

[rayvenfan_52]

well heres some small stats on both of em..

Portis (6yrs)

Attmp - 1710

Yds - 7715

Rec - 205

Yds - 1688

Tomlinson (8yrs)

Attmp - 2365

Yds - 10650

Rec - 458

Yds - 3375

Tomlinson has never missed a start where if you add up how many Portis missed is almost equal to a whole season. Which is 12 games. Plus Portis doesnt have a good O-Line on the Redskins whereas LT has the O-Line and the FB. His line breaks down before he gets the chance to get good yards which is why he always get taken down in the back. How many times have you seen Tomlinson taken down in the back due to his OL breaking down?

[berad]

Everytime i WATCH the REDSKINS play PORTIS does nothing!. I guess it is just coincidental!!... he gets like 2-3 yrds and most the time less then that per hand off, tackled as soon as he gets the ball.. so i guess when i turn it he knows and does REALLY WELL!

That must be it..

Why all the caps?