Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Since the inception of fantasy football, the running back spot has been thought of as the most important position and that was no different in 2009. There were a lot of great fantasy performances at other positions, but running backs once again were very strong point producers for fantasy owners. While running backs like Brian Westbrook of the Philadelphia Eagles and Clinton Portis of the Washington Redskins have seemed to have lost their fantasy football value, other running backs like Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans and Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens have elevated themselves to the next level.

Entering the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs we have had plenty of time to ponder the 2009 fantasy football season and this seemed like a great time to start our annual installment of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. This installment we will take a look at THE GOOD running backs. The one thing you will notice from this list is all of these running backs not only met, but they exceeded preseason expectations.

THE GOOD

1. Chris Johnson (Tennessee Titans) — If we are talking about Good running backs in 2009 then Tennessee’s Chris Johnson has to be at the top of this list. We had him ranked at No. 9 overall in our preseason Top 150 Rankings and he more than exceeded expectations. He become just the sixth player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, as he finished the year with 358 carries for 2,006 yards and 14 touchdowns. Johnson also added 50 receptions with two more touchdowns. He became the first player ever to have 2,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in a single season.

Johnson is considered the fastest man in the NFL and he proved that to be true this season. He led many fantasy football owners to their league’s championship this season with 329 fantasy points (standard leagues) during the season and he averaged 20.6 fantasy points per game; including four games of 35 or more points. With the numbers that Johnson put up this season, it’s easy to see why he received The Associated Press 2009 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award and why he is considered the fantasy football MVP by many this season. He has very likely earned himself a pick in the top three overall in fantasy football drafts in 2010 and will be the top pick in many of those drafts.

2. Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens) — There were a lot of people who had Ray Rice on their radar heading into the 2009 fantasy season. He was a very popular sleeper pick in the preseason, but there were concerns about how many touches he would get considering he had to compete with Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain; both of whom had productive 2008 seasons for the Ravens. Owners who took a chance on Rice were highly rewarded as he finished year with 2,041 total yards and eight touchdowns. He is not very big, but he is surprisingly powerful. He is quick enough to dance around defenders, but has the power and balance to run through them as well.

Take away Chris Johnson’s record setting season and Rice would very likely sit atop this list, especially when you consider he was ranked the No. 33 running back in the 2009 Bruno Boys Preseason Webazine. He was one of the best values in all of fantasy football, but if you want him on your team next season you are going to have to spend a first round pick. Rice will be the clear cut No. 1 running back for Baltimore in 2010 and he should once again produce as a high-end RB1 in 2010.

3. Cedric Benson (Cincinnati Bengals) — The Cincinnati Bengals have been known to take chances on players with questionable pasts. A good reason they won the AFC North division in 2009 is because they took a chance on running back Cedric Benson, who was considered a bust of a first round draft pick by the Chicago Bears. He had 301 carries for 1,251 yards with six touchdowns in 13 games played. It was the first time in his five year career that he topped 1,000 rushing yards and the six touchdowns tied his career high. He scored double figure fantasy football points nine times during the season.

Benson was drafted as a RB3 by many owners, but performed as a RB1 throughout the season and the only thing that seemed to be able to slow him down was injuries. Still with an average of 10.2 points per game, he definitely played better than the 30th rank running back that we predicted before the season started. Benson will look to prove that his season was no fluke and he will likely be looked at as a low end No. 1 running back option heading into next fantasy football season.

4. Ricky Williams (Miami Dolphins) — There are not too many people who expected that Ricky Williams would ever rush for more than 1,000 yards in a NFL season. This is the same Ricky Williams who chose smoking pot in Europe over making millions of dollars playing football and when he decided to come back to football no one thought he would stay sober long enough to make an impact in the football world. Fortunately for the Dolphins they were willing to take a chance on Williams, because when their starting running back Ronnie Brown was lost for the season with a foot injury Williams stepped up huge.

He played in all 16 games for Miami and he started seven games after Brown’s injury. He finished the season with 241 carries for 1,121 yards with 11 touchdowns and he added 35 receptions for 264 yards and two more touchdowns. It was the first time he crossed the 1,000-yard plateau since 2003, which is the largest period of time between 1,000 yards season’s in league history. Williams helped salvage the Dolphins season as he kept them in the playoff hunt right down to the final game of the season. He ranked No. 50 on our preseason Running Back Rankings, but fantasy owners who took a chance on him were rewarded with 197 fantasy points.

5. Rashard Mendenhall (Pittsburgh Steelers) — Expectation were real low for Rashard Mendenhall heading into the season. As a matter of fact they were so low he checked in at No. 91 in our preseason Top 150 Rankings. He suffered a season ending shoulder injury after being hit by Baltimore’s Ray Lewis during his rookie campaign in 2008 and he only managed to play in four games. The Steelers were once again expected to ride the legs of Willie Parker during 2009, but Mendenhall took advantage of an injury to Parker during Week 4. Mendenhall had 29 carries for 165 yards with two touchdowns against the San Diego Chargers that week and never relinquished the starting position after that.

He ended up looking like the running back Pittsburgh thought they got when they selected him out of the University of Illinois during the 2008 NFL Draft. He was a middle-to-late round pick in fantasy football drafts last summer and was even available in some leagues on waivers at the start of the season, but with 242 carries for 1,108 yards and eight total touchdowns he has definitely elevated his status heading into 2010. Mendenhall will head into next year as the No. 1 running back for the Steelers and he will make an excellent starting running back from a fantasy standpoint as well.