You fantasy geeks have got to be salivating right about now, with some drafts and many mock drafts underway, and with the NFL season only a few weeks from now. So I figured I’d offer you a bit of assistance in the form of a Top 10 active rushing yards-per-game leaders. Though it doesn’t take touchdowns or receiving statistics into consideration, this is still a great tool to show who consistently produces the most ground yardage. My source did not include 2007 rookies, but I’ve added the two guys who made this list based on last year’s numbers alone. Good luck!
1. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers (95.9)—Likely to go number one in just about everyone’s fantasy draft, LT is just LT—consistently puttting up huge numbers in every category. If you think about it, 95.9 yards per game in 111 career contests is just sick. Also, LT is already third on the career rushing TD list with 115, and should eventually shatter Emmitt Smith’s leading mark of 164.
2. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings (95.8)—AP was an injury risk coming out of college, but if you’re like me and took a chance on him in your draft, you reaped the rewards of an incredible rookie season. Peterson’s average is no doubt helped by the fact that he rushed for an NFL record 296 yards against LT’s Chargers in week 9. If he stays healthy, we expect another big year.
3. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins (91.8)—Now that Portis has been away from Mike Shanahan’s offensive scheme for four full seasons, the truth has emerged that he’s pretty dependable, and scores a fair amount of TDs as well.
4. Edgerrin James, Arizona Cardinals (90.7)—Okay, well here is where we start using the term “trending down.” James averaged 97.0 yards per game in his seven seasons in Indianapolis, and 74.4 the last two years with Arizona.
5. Jamal Lewis, Cleveland Browns (85.9)—Maybe he won’t rush for 2000 yards again like he did in 2003 with the Ravens, but Jamal Lewis is a bull and on the front side of the age curve at 29.
6. Marshawn Lynch, Buffalo Bills (85.8)—In just thirteen games last season, Lynch rushed for 1115 yards and 7 TDs in his rookie season with Buffalo. Not too shabby, and we all expect him to continue to improve.
7. Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs (85.1)—Injuries and a crumbling offensive line in 2007 caused LJ’s numbers to drop from 111.8 yards per game in 2006 to 69.9 in 2007. Who really knows what to expect in 2008?
8. Fred Taylor, Jacksonville Jaguars (84.4)—Okay, so maybe Taylor won’t reach 107.6 yards per game like he did in 2000, but despite sharing carries with Maurice Jones-Drew, Taylor was still very effective at age 31 in 2007. There’s no reason to doubt that he can still get it done.
9. Shaun Alexander, free agent (79.2)—Alexander peaked in 2005 and then injuries took their toll the last two seasons. He’s currently without a team and even if he lands somewhere, you have to believe he won’t come close to matching his average yards per game again.
10. Willie Parker, Pittsburgh Steelers (77.7)—In 2006, Parker scored 14 touchdowns, since “The Bus” was no longer a factor in Pittsburgh. He also has been very steady when healthy with his 77.7 yards per game average. But now with rookie Rashard Mendenhall in the mix, you can expect that number to start dropping.
Source: Pro Football Reference
