- Publish date:
Running Backs
ON THE RISE
RONNIE BROWN,Dolphins
He led Miami in rushing last season, and Ricky Williams's exile means he'sofficially the man now.
BRIAN WESTBROOK,Eagles
As Philly turns more toward the ground game, look for him to flirt with the1,000-yard mark.
FRANK GORE,49ers
Last season as a rookie he ran for more yards per carry than fellow Miami alumEdgerrin James. This year he's the favorite to get the lion's share of thecarries.
ON THEDECLINE
SHAUN ALEXANDER,Seahawks
It'll be impossible to match his MVP stats, especially without All-World guardSteve Hutchinson.
COREY DILLON,Patriots
He turns 32 in October, and rookie Laurence Maroney is knocking on thedoor.
CURTIS MARTIN,Jets
His 3.3 yards per carry was a career low. Though he pledges a comeback, he'stoo risky to count on.
SLEEPERS
DEUCE MCALLISTER,Saints
He appears to be fully healed from a torn ACL, and new coach Sean Payton willplay him and Reggie Bush together, creating matchup problems.
CHESTER TAYLOR, Vikings
He'll thrive behind new blocker Hutchinson, who joins one of the league'sbetter offensive lines.
KEVIN JONES,Lions
In Mike Martz's wide-open offense he'll play the Marshall Faulk role, which hasfantasy owners drooling.
DESIGNATEDSCORERS
MIKE SELLERS,Redskins
He moves into the backfield after being one of the league's most reliable pointproducers as a tight end.
BRANDON JACOBS,Giants
He could be an every-down back, but with Tiki Barber around he'll play largelyin short-yardage situations.
LENDALE WHITE,Titans
A load at 6'1", 235 pounds, he has a nose for the goal line (52 TDs on theground, plus five through the air, at USC over the last three seasons).
IMPACTROOKIES
REGGIE BUSH,Saints
Few players have his ability to take a pitch the length of the field.
DEANGELOWILLIAMS, Panthers
Behind oft-injured DeShaun Foster, he's worth a relatively early pick,especially in keeper leagues.
JOSEPH ADDAI,Colts
Rule No. 1 in Indy is Protect Peyton, so Addai has a big advantage over DominicRhodes in the quest for playing time: Addai is an excellent blocker.
BUYER BEWARE
FRED TAYLOR,Jaguars
After missing 31 games in his eight-year career, he's too fragile andinconsistent to count on, except as a late-round pick for depth.
RON DAYNE,Broncos
The Heisman Trophy winner has a chance to start, but he could lose carries toTatum Bell and Cedric Cobbs.
THOMAS JONES,Bears
His numbers last season were spectacular, but a contract dispute has led tomajor uncertainty.
  | SI PLAYER RANKINGS FOR 2006 With 2005 stats | GAMES | RUSH YARDS | YARDS/ | 100-YARD GAMES | REC. YARDS | YARDS/ | TOTAL TDS | BYE WEEK |
1. | Larry Johnson, Chiefs | 16 | 1,750 | 5.2 | 10 | 343 | 10.4 | 21 | 3 |
2. | LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers | 16 | 1,462 | 4.3 | 5 | 370 | 7.3 | 20 | 3 |
3. | Shaun Alexander, Seahawks | 16 | 1,880 | 5.1 | 11 | 78 | 5.2 | 28 | 5 |
4. | Clinton Portis, Redskins | 16 | 1,516 | 4.3 | 9 | 216 | 7.2 | 11 | 8 |
5. | Edgerrin James, Cardinals * | 15 | 1,506 | 4.2 | 9 | 337 | 7.7 | 14 | 9 |
6. | Tiki Barber, Giants | 16 | 1,860 | 5.2 | 8 | 530 | 9.8 | 11 | 4 |
7. | Ronnie Brown, Dolphins | 15 | 907 | 4.4 | 2 | 232 | 7.3 | 5 | 8 |
8. | Rudi Johnson, Bengals | 16 | 1,458 | 4.3 | 4 | 90 | 3.9 | 12 | 5 |
9. | Cadillac Williams, Buccaneers | 14 | 1,178 | 4.1 | 6 | 81 | 4.1 | 6 | 4 |
10. | Steven Jackson, Rams | 15 | 1,046 | 4.1 | 2 | 320 | 7.4 | 10 | 7 |
11. | Kevin Jones, Lions | 13 | 664 | 3.6 | 0 | 109 | 5.5 | 5 | 8 |
12. | Brian Westbrook, Eagles | 12 | 617 | 4.0 | 1 | 616 | 10.1 | 7 | 9 |
13. | LaMont Jordan, Raiders | 14 | 1,025 | 3.8 | 3 | 563 | 8.0 | 11 | 3 |
14. | Warrick Dunn, Falcons | 16 | 1,416 | 5.1 | 5 | 220 | 7.6 | 4 | 5 |
15. | Willis McGahee, Bills | 16 | 1,247 | 3.8 | 5 | 178 | 6.4 | 5 | 8 |
16. | Reggie Bush,† Saints * | 13 | 1,740 | 8.7 | 8 | 478 | 12.9 | 19 | 7 |
17. | Chester Taylor, Vikings * | 15 | 487 | 4.2 | 0 | 292 | 7.1 | 1 | 6 |
18. | Corey Dillon, Patriots | 12 | 733 | 3.5 | 2 | 181 | 8.2 | 13 | 6 |
19. | Jamal Lewis, Ravens | 15 | 906 | 3.4 | 2 | 191 | 6.0 | 4 | 7 |
20. | DeAngelo Williams,† Panthers * | 11 | 1,959 | 6.3 | 10 | 78 | 6.5 | 19 | 9 |
21. | Frank Gore, 49ers | 14 | 608 | 4.8 | 1 | 131 | 8.7 | 3 | 7 |
22. | Cedric Benson, Bears | 9 | 272 | 4.1 | 0 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 7 |
23. | Julius Jones, Cowboys | 13 | 993 | 3.9 | 1 | 218 | 6.2 | 5 | 3 |
24. | Willie Parker, Steelers | 15 | 1,202 | 4.7 | 5 | 218 | 12.1 | 5 | 4 |
25. | Tatum Bell, Broncos | 15 | 921 | 5.3 | 3 | 104 | 5.8 | 8 | 4 |
26. | Domanick Davis, Texans | 11 | 976 | 4.2 | 3 | 337 | 8.6 | 6 | 5 |
27. | Reuben Droughns, Browns | 16 | 1,232 | 4.0 | 3 | 369 | 9.5 | 2 | 6 |
28. | Deuce McAllister, Saints | 5 | 335 | 3.6 | 1 | 117 | 6.9 | 3 | 7 |
29. | Curtis Martin, Jets | 12 | 735 | 3.3 | 1 | 118 | 4.9 | 5 | 9 |
30. | DeShaun Foster, Panthers | 15 | 879 | 4.3 | 2 | 372 | 10.9 | 3 | 9 |
31. | Mike Anderson, Ravens * | 15 | 1,014 | 4.2 | 4 | 212 | 11.8 | 13 | 7 |
32. | LenDale White,† Titans * | 13 | 1,302 | 6.6 | 6 | 219 | 15.6 | 26 | 7 |
33. | Fred Taylor, Jaguars | 11 | 787 | 4.1 | 3 | 83 | 6.4 | 3 | 6 |
34. | Joseph Addai,† Colts * | 13 | 911 | 4.9 | 5 | 180 | 9.0 | 10 | 6 |
35. | Chris Brown, Titans | 15 | 851 | 3.8 | 0 | 327 | 13.1 | 7 | 7 |
36. | Dominic Rhodes, Colts | 13 | 118 | 3.0 | 0 | 88 | 7.3 | 4 | 6 |
37. | Thomas Jones, Bears | 15 | 1,335 | 4.3 | 5 | 143 | 5.5 | 9 | 7 |
38. | Ahman Green, Packers | 5 | 255 | 3.3 | 0 | 147 | 7.7 | 0 | 6 |
39. | Ron Dayne, Broncos | 10 | 270 | 5.1 | 0 | 17 | 5.7 | 1 | 4 |
40. | Mewelde Moore, Vikings | 16 | 662 | 4.3 | 2 | 339 | 9.2 | 3 | 6 |
41. | Brandon Jacobs, Giants | 16 | 99 | 2.6 | 0 | 0 | -- | 7 | 4 |
42. | T.J. Duckett, Falcons | 14 | 380 | 3.1 | 0 | 63 | 10.5 | 8 | 5 |
43. | Cedric Houston, Jets | 12 | 302 | 3.7 | 0 | 66 | 8.3 | 2 | 9 |
44. | Sammy Morris, Dolphins | 16 | 58 | 3.6 | 0 | 54 | 6.8 | 1 | 8 |
45. | Ladell Betts, Redskins | 12 | 338 | 3.8 | 0 | 78 | 7.8 | 2 | 8 |
46. | Ryan Moats, Eagles | 7 | 278 | 5.1 | 1 | 7 | 1.8 | 3 | 9 |
47. | Mike Sellers, Redskins | 15 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 72 | 6.0 | 8 | 8 |
48. | Kevan Barlow, 49ers | 12 | 581 | 3.3 | 1 | 241 | 7.8 | 3 | 7 |
49. | Duce Staley, Steelers | 5 | 148 | 3.9 | 0 | 34 | 5.7 | 1 | 4 |
50. | Lee Suggs, Browns | 8 | 15 | 1.9 | 0 | 26 | 4.3 | 0 | 6 |
51. | Greg Jones, Jaguars | 14 | 575 | 3.8 | 2 | 65 | 6.5 | 4 | 6 |
52. | Priest Holmes, Chiefs | 7 | 451 | 3.8 | 0 | 197 | 9.4 | 7 | 3 |
53. | Ciatrick Fason, Vikings | 13 | 62 | 1.9 | 0 | 0 | -- | 4 | 6 |
54. | Najeh Davenport, Packers | 5 | 105 | 3.5 | 0 | 3 | 1.5 | 2 | 6 |
55. | Laurence Maroney, †Patriots * | 11 | 1,464 | 5.2 | 8 | 170 | 10.0 | 11 | 6 |
56. | Antowain Smith, Texans * | 16 | 659 | 4.0 | 1 | 46 | 3.8 | 3 | 5 |
57. | Marion Barber, Cowboys | 13 | 538 | 3.9 | 1 | 115 | 6.4 | 5 | 3 |
58. | Michael Turner, Chargers | 16 | 335 | 5.9 | 1 | 0 | -- | 3 | 3 |
59. | Michael Pittman, Buccaneers | 16 | 436 | 6.2 | 1 | 300 | 8.3 | 2 | 4 |
60. | Marshall Faulk, Rams | 16 | 292 | 4.5 | 0 | 291 | 6.6 | 1 | 7 |
61. | Samkon Gado, Packers | 8 | 582 | 4.1 | 3 | 77 | 7.7 | 7 | 6 |
62. | Chris Perry, Bengals | 14 | 279 | 4.6 | 0 | 328 | 6.4 | 2 | 5 |
63. | Shawn Bryson, Lions | 16 | 306 | 4.8 | 0 | 284 | 7.7 | 1 | 8 |
64. | Maurice Morris, Seahawks | 16 | 288 | 4.1 | 1 | 48 | 9.6 | 1 | 5 |
*New team for2006 season †*College stats
SI.COM
For David Sabino's expanded analysis of the top 10 ateach position, go to SI.com/fantasy.
TWO PHOTOS
HEINZ KLUETMEIER (BROWN); MICHAEL C. HEBERT (MCALLISTER)
TWO PHOTOS
JEFF LEWIS/US PRESSWIRE (SELLERS); AL MESSERSCHMIDT/WIREIMAGE.COM (TAYLOR)
