Every fantasy football owner tries each year to draft
the guys who will gain a ton of yards and score many
points. It is easier to determine who will get the yards,
rather than who will get to celebrate in the end zone
a lot. As we will illustrate with running backs, the
fantasy rankings of players fluctuate with receiving
yards, but particularly touchdowns, added to the mix.
Look below at the top 20 running backs in terms of rushing
yards so far this season:
| Player |
Rushing Yards |
| Jamal Lewis |
1045 |
| Stephen Davis |
992 |
| Ahman Green |
871 |
| Deuce McAllister |
871 |
| Clinton Portis |
793 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson |
780 |
| Priest Holmes |
770 |
| Tiki Barber |
687 |
| Ricky Williams |
660 |
| Shaun Alexander |
631 |
| Garrison Hearst |
595 |
| Fred Taylor |
583 |
| Curtis Martin |
580 |
| Moe Williams |
571 |
| William Green |
559 |
| Travis Henry |
551 |
| Troy Hambrick |
544 |
| Michael Pittman |
513 |
| Anthony Thomas |
508 |
| Domanick Davis |
483 |
This first list would seem to indicate that you should
get fantasy backs in the descending order, based on one
fantasy point for every ten yards rushing. Using only
this data, which is what a lot of fantasy owners do during
the season, Jamal Lewis is worth nearly two Travis Henrys.
That is out of place, as we shall see when we add more
information. This next graph has the rushing and receiving
yards of each player after nine weeks:
| Player |
Rushing Yards |
Receiving Yards |
Fantasy Points |
| Jamal Lewis |
1045 |
106 |
115.1 |
| Stephen Davis |
992 |
78 |
107 |
| Ahman Green |
871 |
281 |
115.2 |
| Deuce McAllister |
871 |
220 |
109.1 |
| Clinton Portis |
793 |
236 |
102.9 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson |
780 |
281 |
106.1 |
| Priest Holmes |
770 |
333 |
110.3 |
| Tiki Barber |
687 |
233 |
92 |
| Ricky Williams |
660 |
171 |
83.1 |
| Shaun Alexander |
631 |
186 |
81.7 |
| Garrison Hearst |
595 |
186 |
78.1 |
| Fred Taylor |
583 |
291 |
87.4 |
| Curtis Martin |
580 |
85 |
66.5 |
| Moe Williams |
571 |
230 |
80.1 |
| William Green |
559 |
50 |
60.9 |
| Travis Henry |
551 |
101 |
65.2 |
| Troy Hambrick |
544 |
70 |
61.4 |
| Michael Pittman |
513 |
317 |
83 |
| Anthony Thomas |
508 |
8 |
51.6 |
| Domanick Davis |
483 |
228 |
71.1 |
After receiving yards are entered, the picture changes,
but still is skewed from reality. At this point, Michael
Pittman is worth just as much as Ricky Williams, and
Fred Taylor is worth more than Williams. Ahman Green
now beats out Jamal Lewis for the top spot, by .1 fantasy
points. Let us add in the total touchdowns of these players
to see where the true value lies through nine NFL weekends.
| Player |
Rushing Yards |
Receiving Yards |
Total TD's |
Fantasy Points |
| Jamal Lewis |
1045 |
106 |
6 |
151.1 |
| Stephen Davis |
992 |
78 |
5 |
137 |
| Ahman Green |
871 |
281 |
11 |
181.2 |
| Deuce McAllister |
871 |
220 |
4 |
133.1 |
| Clinton Portis |
793 |
236 |
5 |
132.9 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson |
780 |
281 |
5 |
143.1 |
| Priest Holmes |
770 |
333 |
12 |
182.3 |
| Tiki Barber |
687 |
233 |
2 |
105.9 |
| Ricky Williams |
660 |
171 |
6 |
119.5 |
| Shaun Alexander |
631 |
186 |
8 |
129.7 |
| Garrison Hearst |
595 |
186 |
4 |
102.1 |
| Fred Taylor |
583 |
291 |
3 |
105.4 |
| Curtis Martin |
580 |
85 |
0 |
66.5 |
| Moe Williams |
571 |
230 |
4 |
104.1 |
| William Green |
559 |
50 |
1 |
66.9 |
| Travis Henry |
551 |
101 |
9 |
118.9 |
| Troy Hambrick |
544 |
70 |
5 |
91.4 |
| Michael Pittman |
513 |
317 |
2 |
95 |
| Anthony Thomas |
508 |
8 |
3 |
69.6 |
| Domanick Davis |
483 |
228 |
2 |
83.4 |
Travis Henry is now worth more than 2/3 of Jamal Lewis.
Shaun Alexander is worth well more than
Ricky Williams, and just below both Deuce McAllister and Clinton Portis. Both
Ahman Green and Priest Holmes put Jamal Lewis in the dust and Priest Holmes
barely edges Ahman Green as the top fantasy back, which isn't surprising considering
he was the top fantasy back last season as well.
If we reorganize by fantasy points, the new table looks
like this:
| Player |
Fantasy Points |
| Priest Holmes |
182.3 |
| Ahman Green |
181.2 |
| Jamal Lewis |
151.1 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson |
143.1 |
| Stephen Davis |
137 |
| Deuce McAllister |
133.1 |
| Clinton Portis |
132.9 |
| Shaun Alexander |
129.7 |
| Ricky Williams |
119.5 |
| Travis Henry |
118.9 |
| Tiki Barber |
105.9 |
| Fred Taylor |
105.4 |
| Moe Williams |
104.1 |
| Garrison Hearst |
102.1 |
| Michael Pittman |
95 |
| Troy Hambrick |
91.4 |
| Charlie Garner |
85.2 |
| Domanick Davis |
83.4 |
| Eddie George |
69.8 |
| Anthony Thomas |
69.6 |
LaDainian Tomlinson and Shaun Alexander have moved up
two spots each, from sixth to fourth and tenth to eight,
respectively. Travis Henry went from sixteenth to tenth,
and Priest Holmes went from seventh to first.
Because of their low touchdown totals, Curtis Martin
(0) and William Green (1) are actually kicked off the
top 20 list. In their place are Charlie Garner and Eddie
George, thanks to three touchdowns apiece. It is clear
that touchdowns make a monumental difference in fantasy
football, and owning the guys who cross the stripe will
help you cross into your league playoffs.
The difference is even more marked in quarterbacks and
receivers, where rushing yards for receivers don't amount
to much and rushing touchdowns for quarterbacks mean
extra fantasy points. This is what makes Santana Moss,
Ike Hilliard and Chris Chambers so valuable so far this
year, and places Jeff Garcia, Steve McNair, Daunte Culpepper
and even Marc Bulger higher than they would be without
the keeps near the goal line.
Joe Levit, based in Boston, writes for www.cnnsi.com and
www.thehuddle.com. He is a member of the Pro Football
Writers of America and a devoted Detroit Lions fan.
He can be contacted at lavishjetpoet@aol.com.
