NFL Player Power Rankings Week 7: Running Backs
Who are the best running backs in the NFL today?
Welcome to FanSided’s weekly NFL Player Power Rankings. Every Tuesday throughout the season you can check out rankings for a different key position, including quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, and even the defensive star players. These power rankings will consist of the top twenty-five players at that given position. With 32 teams and only 25 spots that means that not every team’s players will make the cut. So make sure you check in every Tuesday to see if your favorite players made the list.
These rankings are NOT a list of the players with the most established and proven careers. That would favor the older players. They are also NOT a list of the players you would most want to build around going forward. That list would favor the younger players. No, this is a ranking of the best players at that position right now, today. The NFL is a “what have you done for me lately” kind of a league. So while early in the season the list will be influenced by previous performances, if later in the year Justin Forsett is clearly outproducing Eddie Lacy then their rankings will reflect that regardless of what their general perception or reputation is.
This week it’s the second installment of the top 25 running backs in the league. The first running back list came out after week one of the season so it was still mostly based off of prior performance as opposed to production this season. In this second version you will find that a lot has changed. In fact there are nine new RBs on the list. That’s over a third of the list turning over. One of these new additions to the list even landed in the top ten. Before we get to the list I would point out that Stevan Ridley would have landed on this list if he hadn’t just been placed on IR for the rest of the season. Since we have nine new RBs on the list that means nine of them had to fall out of the top 25. Many of these lost their spot due to injury, suspension, or loss of a starting job. Those backs are:
Adrian Peterson
Knowshon Moreno
Ryan Matthews
Montee Ball
Reggie Bush
Chris Johnson
Doug Martin
DeAngelo Williams
Terrance West
Now on to the guys that did make the list……