You walk into draft day with a giant grin on your face. You grab a drink, sit down on the couch, and pull out your cheat sheet. You are ready because you have the number one pick in the draft. You will get to pick out the best running back that will be the lead your team to victory. When you sit down you look at you cheat sheet and it says Adrian Peterson as number one overall. You look at your buddy’s cheat sheet and he has LeSean McCoy as number one overall and AP is only 4th. Then you look at another cheat sheet and you see that Jamaal Charles is number one overall. You flip though your book and there is a long article about how Matt Forte will have a break out year. Draft day is scary enough and it definitely does not help that there at 4 potential number one overall picks. In this article I will be able to help you make that decision. I will be comparing the top 4 running backs (Charles, McCoy, Peterson, Forte) based on touchdowns, yardage, receptions and strength in schedule. Keep in mind, I am not guaranteeing you anything, because in nothing is guaranteed in fantasy football.

Touchdowns

Half of the formula to an all-star running back is finding a way into the redzone. Leading 2013 in rushing touchdowns in our group is Charles with 12 followed by Peterson with 10, and McCoy and Forte with 9 each. For receiving touchdowns, Charles had a whopping 7, Forte with 3, McCoy with 2 and Peterson with 1. So as far as totals go we have Charles with 19, Forte with 12, Peterson with 11, and McCoy with 11. Just by looking at these numbers Charles put his fellow running backs to shame when it comes to scoring TDs. Keep in mind, touchdowns are hard to repeat year to year. Charles had 19 in 2013, but in 2012 he had 5 rushing and 1 receiving.

Yardage

The other half to the all-star running back formula has to be yardage. Touchdowns are great but if your running back has a 20 yard 1 TD game, thats only 7 points. However if you have a running back who loses a redzone touchdown, but gets over 100 yards a game he maybe the better RB. Leading 2013 in all rushing is LeSean McCoy with 1,607 total yards. After McCoy was Forte with 1,339, and then Charles with 1,287. Peterson was fifth overall with 1,266 yards, behind Washington’s running back, Alfred Morris with 1,275 yards. McCoy the clear leader with 1,607 yards not to mention he claims that he is the best running back in the NFL. 2013 was McCoy’s best season beating his 2011 season with 1,309 yards. McCoy definitely has more to go in him.

Receptions

If you are in a PPR (points per reception) this is the section for you. Having a running back that rushes 100 yards per game and catches 5 balls also in a PPR league, is like as having your cake and eating it too. Leading 2013 in receptions is Matt Forte with 74 receptions. Next is Charles with 70 receptions, McCoy with 52, and Peterson with 29. Forte had plenty of competition in getting his 74 receptions. The Bear’s wide receiver Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery had 100 and 89 receptions respectively. However Forte was the third most with the next closest being Martellus Bennett with 65 receptions. Charles came in with 70 leading the Chiefs in receptions in front of Dwayne Bowe with 57 receptions. Charles has become Alex Smith’s favorite target and the focal point around the Chief’s offense. Some argue that McCoy could see a bump in receptions with DeSean Jackson leaving. Others see that McCoy may lose catches to Darren Sproles who the Eagles brought in during free agency. If I had to choose one for a PPR league its hard to decide between Forte and Charles. You can’t go wrong with either of them.

Strength of Schedule (SOS)

As far as Strength of Schedule, I will be focusing on how many top 10 rush defenses (ARI, CAR NYJ, SF, CIN, DET, DEN, SEA, STL, and PHI) and bottom 10 rush defense (CHI, ATL, NE, JAC, BUF, DAL, IND, GB, MIA, HOU). Chicago has 5 games against the top rush defenses and 7 against the bottom 10. Kansas City has 7 games against the top rush defenses and 3 against the bottom 10. Minnesota goes up against 5 of the top 10 rush defenses and 8 of the bottom 10. Philadelphia goes up against 5 of the 10 top rush defenses and 6 of the bottom 10. Based on SOS I would rank the running backs as Peterson, Forte, McCoy, and Charles.

Review

You can not go wrong. Charles lead in TDs, McCoy in yardages, Forte in receptions, and Peterson in SOS. If you are in a PPR aim for Charles or Forte. If you are in a Standard McCoy or Peterson maybe your best bet. Overall you can not go wrong barring an injury, and if that happens (knock on wood), make sure you handcuff your RBs.

Good Luck drafting,

Timmy Liebs