Dynasty Rookie RB Rankings

[The Lung]

Right, and Brandon Jackson>Adrian Peterson

Any list of running backs from this class that doesn't feature McFadden at #1 is just silly.

If you want cookie cutter rankings, try some other website.

The fantasy football experts here at the Cafe have done their homework. They know football. Does Darren McFadden have elite speed? Absolutely. But he lacks a lot of traits typical of other successful NFL RBs, and unless he corrects some serious deficiencies and severely alters his running style, the odds are stacked against him.

Specifically, McFadden:

• falls backward when making direct contact against first and second level defenders because he runs with poor leverage
• has a tendency for his legs to go dead upon the initial wrap-up
• lacks the ability to change direction with a hard plant and cut
• is impatient with his blockers
• does not have good hands and drops easy screen passes
• fails to protect the ball and fumbles.
• has character issues that could get himself in trouble some day

Don't fall into the trap of comparing McFadden to Adrian Peterson - other than world class speed, they are miles apart. Peterson simply has the vision, incredible balance, power, and burning speed typical of elite NFL running backs. McFadden will quickly learn that his speed isn’t as much of an advantage in the NFL as it is in college football. And all other things considered, many people think Rashard Mendenhall, Jonathan Stewart, and even Felix Jones are arguably better dynasty league prospects than McFadden.

[deerayfan072]

McFadden

Is that a joke?

I'm fine with people having McFadden 1st, I disagree, but I'm ok with it. Saying that not having McFadden #1 is silly... is... well... silly. Those three backs are in very different situations and decently close talent wise IMO. I personally rank them Stewart, then Mendenhall, then McFadden.

Their situations this year have little to do with their long term dynasty values - most people expected Lynch to outperform Peterson last year because he was in the better fantasy situation, but the abilities of Peterson made it quickly apparent which back was the stud. McFadden is head and shoulders above the other RB's in this draft class in both potential and ability.

Really? Who were they because it wasn't anyone I knew. AD's abilities in High School made it apparent he would be a stud in the NFL, they didn't call him the guy who could go straight into the NFL for nothing. McFadden is no where near the talent that AD is and people need to stop looking for the next AD because he won't be around for a while. The fact is that McFadden has a lot of weaknesses that were pointed out to you by Lung, which makes calling him the clear cut number one SILLY.

[GridIronGiant]

Is that a joke?

I'm fine with people having McFadden 1st, I disagree, but I'm ok with it. Saying that not having McFadden #1 is silly... is... well... silly. Those three backs are in very different situations and decently close talent wise IMO. I personally rank them Stewart, then Mendenhall, then McFadden.

Their situations this year have little to do with their long term dynasty values - most people expected Lynch to outperform Peterson last year because he was in the better fantasy situation, but the abilities of Peterson made it quickly apparent which back was the stud. McFadden is head and shoulders above the other RB's in this draft class in both potential and ability.

That's just flat out not true. He is not heads and shoulders above the rest. I was not one who thought Lynch would outperform AD. Most of the people arguing in this thread saying Stewart is better, deeray, me, etc... all said ADP was a special talent and better than Lynch last year. In fact, at the start of the season before AD broke off I made a post "Adrian Peterson is the best RB in the NFL." McTinyChickenLegs is not the back that Stewart and Mendenhall are.

I said "most people" not all people... and it is true. Go back and check the ADP of any major fantasy football service for 2007, Lynch was drafted before Peterson in all of them. I'm sure there were thousands of internet messageboard geeks who started ADP mancrush threads though, so calm down.

[treat24]

I said "most people" not all people... and it is true. Go back and check the ADP of any major fantasy football service for 2007, Lynch was drafted before Peterson in all of them. I'm sure there were thousands of internet messageboard geeks who started ADP mancrush threads though, so calm down.

These are Dynasty Rankings... show me one dynasty ranking or draft... just one... that had Lynch ahead of AD. I bet you can't. Lynch was drafted before AD in zero of my leagues. Like Lung said: The fantasy football experts here at the Cafe have done their homework. If you want cookie cutter rankings, try some other website.

I was completely calm in both of my posts, telling me to calm down and insinuating I am some messageboard geek is an attempt at instigating something, and is not appreciated. I see you chose to ignore all the items Lung and Deeray posted and instead tried to attack me. Mature. You can't argue your point, so you attack.

If you want McFadden #1, cool... That's fine by me... many people disagree, and it is not silly.

[GridIronGiant]

Right, and Brandon Jackson>Adrian Peterson

Any list of running backs from this class that doesn't feature McFadden at #1 is just silly.

If you want cookie cutter rankings, try some other website. ...

...Don't fall into the trap of comparing McFadden to Adrian Peterson - other than world class speed, they are miles apart. Peterson simply has the vision, incredible balance, power, and burning speed typical of elite NFL running backs. McFadden will quickly learn that his speed isn’t as much of an advantage in the NFL as it is in college football. And all other things considered, many people think Rashard Mendenhall, Jonathan Stewart, and even Felix Jones are arguably better dynasty league prospects than McFadden.

I find these comments particularly entertaining. These aren't "cookie cutter" rankings, but the only difference between them and the rest of what you'll find on the net is that McFadden isn't #1... he's #2.

I suppose this was just a stunt to be different and incite some discussion, consider me trolled, but between Mendenhall's lack of a track record and Stewart's chronic gimpiness. I can't recommend either one much more than any of the other notable RB's in this draft let alone the best athlete/runner amongst the entire draft class.

[treat24]

Nevermind, I see you do actually feel like discussing the rankings. I'm not gonna sit around and argue about them anymore. I'll just say that they aren't a stunt and they are not silly. Many people have different views on the top 3.

[deerayfan072]

Right, and Brandon Jackson>Adrian Peterson

Any list of running backs from this class that doesn't feature McFadden at #1 is just silly.

If you want cookie cutter rankings, try some other website. ...

...Don't fall into the trap of comparing McFadden to Adrian Peterson - other than world class speed, they are miles apart. Peterson simply has the vision, incredible balance, power, and burning speed typical of elite NFL running backs. McFadden will quickly learn that his speed isn’t as much of an advantage in the NFL as it is in college football. And all other things considered, many people think Rashard Mendenhall, Jonathan Stewart, and even Felix Jones are arguably better dynasty league prospects than McFadden.

I find these comments particularly entertaining. These aren't "cookie cutter" rankings, but the only difference between them and the rest of what you'll find on the net is that McFadden isn't #1... he's #2.

I suppose this was just a stunt to be different and incite some discussion, consider me trolled, but between Mendenhall's lack of a track record and Stewart's chronic gimpiness. I can't recommend either one much more than any of the other notable RB's in this draft let alone the best athlete/runner amongst the entire draft class.

Chronic? How many games did JStew miss last season? NONE. The guy had an ankle injury two years ago, but what running back has never had an ankle injury. Mendenhall's lack of a track record? The guy ran well for the two years he was a starter in a conference that all they do is run. His numbers in 2006 do not reflect what he did on the field because that team blew a$$ and everyone knew they were going to give him the ball. Go watch some tape on all three of these guys and you will come away with a different opinion. Best runner in the draft? Sure I will give you that, too bad this isn't a track meet and RUNNING BACKS actually have to do more than run forward.

[joelamosobadiah]

These rankings were compiled from the average rankings of 12 different individuals. The purpose of this is to prevent what you are saying happened. Fabricated or biased rankings to reflect one person's view. I will even include the average ranking of each player below.

Rashard Mendenhall 1.666666667
Jonathan Stewart 2.25
Felix Jones 4.416666667
Darren McFadden 2.166666667
Matt Forte 5.166666667
Kevin Smith 6
Chris Johnson 6.916666667
Steve Slaton 9.666666667
Jamaal Charles 9.5
Ray Rice 8.166666667
Mike Hart 11.5
Ryan Torain 10.58333333


As you can see, Mendenhall beat out McFadden by a fairly large margin. McFadden barely beat out Stewart for the spot he got. McFadden had 5 of the 12 rankers 1st place votes and Mendenhall had 5 and Stewart had 2. One ranker had McFadden as low as 4 and several at 3. There are multiple members of this forum that feel this way and its not appropriate to flame this board for somebody having this opinion. Fantasy football and sports in general has a large amount of luck and guesswork in the game. To think that you have the absolute answer and everybody else is an idiot is extremely narrowminded and immature. In the end, we might be completely wrong. however, we might be absolutely right as well. Or it wouldn't surprise me to see Jamaal Charles or Ray Rice as the best RB in five years. In the end, we just flat out can't predict correctly all of the time, but given the information available, these rankings are what "we" as the rankers for this article believe to be true.

[bmor8811]

1. Stewart
2a. Mendenhall
2b. McFadden


For the next 3 seasons at least, because it's... well... silly to plan for 5+ years down the line. Now, take all of those RBs out of the Oakland backfield, give them a decent offensive line, a decent quarterback, and a decent receiving core... and maybe I might think about McFadden doing something more than 2-3 highlights this or the next couple of years. Stewart will be the feature back by week 7 and in that offense, that's always good. As PIT proved last year they want any RB in the world to take a goalline carry other than FWP. That would be Mendenhall, the more dynamic Alstott touchdown-vulture.

And honestly. Comparing any rookie RB to ADP is silly... so just don't do it.

[GridIronGiant]

Thanks for the replies. I'm glad that you guys can support your decisions and did enjoy reading them... silly as they may be