A point I've been driving home all through the NFL preseason about fantasy football running backs is that it is not the shallow position we've become accustomed to. The top end might have been as good as ever, but the next tier ran deeper than it has in years and years.
Fantasy football rankings 2015: One man’s top 50 standard running backs
The top tier of fantasy football running backs isn’t quite as impressive as it has been in the past, but that second tier sure looks good.
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Depending on your perspective, that top end might have been three deep (Jamaal Charles, Eddie Lacy and Le'Veon Bell) or as far as five (adding in Adrian Peterson and/or Marshawn Lynch). I sided with the three-person tier since I have concerns with both Peterson and Lynch this year. But as the preseason has gone on, I've become less sure of even that.
Bell was already missing two games to start the season. Now he’s going to be missing his center for a while after Maurkice Pouncey broke his left fibula/ankle and will be gone likely until Week 12. The four-game absence of Martavis Bryant also could have an impact on the elite running back. He’s still good, still my No. 3 running back, but at this point I wonder if he’s closer to the second tier of guys than he is to that uber-elite group.
consensus rankings
And then there's Lacy. As you'll see shortly, he's still my No. 1 running back for the season, but the loss of Jordy Nelson to a torn ACL could be an issue, leaving the Packers with fewer weapons and fewer distractions for opposing defenses. Like I said, he's still my No. 1, but it's worth keeping an eye on.
In sum, there are a lot of good running backs this year. There just might not be a crazy amount of great ones. Below, you’ll find my top 50 running backs for standard 2015 fantasy leagues this year through Week 3 of the NFL preseason schedule. Wednesday, we’ll have a full staff re-ranking, but as a little teaser for the week to come, you get mine:
Running backs
| Rank | Player | Team |
| 1 | Eddie Lacy | GB |
| 2 | Jamaal Charles | KC |
| 3 | Le'Veon Bell | PIT |
| 4 | Matt Forte | CHI |
| 5 | C.J. Anderson | DEN |
| 6 | Jeremy Hill | CIN |
| 7 | Marshawn Lynch | SEA |
| 8 | DeMarco Murray | PHI |
| 9 | Adrian Peterson | MIN |
| 10 | Carlos Hyde | SF |
| 11 | Justin Forsett | BAL |
| 12 | LeSean McCoy | BUF |
| 13 | Mark Ingram | NO |
| 14 | Alfred Morris | WAS |
| 15 | Jonathan Stewart | CAR |
| 16 | Lamar Miller | MIA |
| 17 | Joseph Randle | DAL |
| 18 | Rashad Jennings | NYG |
| 19 | Latavius Murray | OAK |
| 20 | Arian Foster | HOU |
| 21 | Joique Bell | DET |
| 22 | LeGarrette Blount | NE |
| 23 | Frank Gore | IND |
| 24 | Melvin Gordon | SD |
| 25 | Andre Ellington | ARI |
| 26 | Chris Ivory | NYJ |
| 27 | Isaiah Crowell | CLE |
| 28 | Todd Gurley | STL |
| 29 | Tre Mason | STL |
| 30 | Ameer Abdullah | DET |
| 31 | T.J. Yeldon | JAC |
| 32 | Darren McFadden | PHI |
| 33 | Giovani Bernard | CIN |
| 34 | Duke Johnson | CLE |
| 35 | Danny Woodhead | SD |
| 36 | Ryan Mathews | PHI |
| 37 | Fred Jackson | BUF |
| 38 | Tevin Coleman | ATL |
| 39 | Devonta Freeman | ATL |
| 40 | Doug Martin | TB |
| 41 | Shane Vereen | NYG |
| 42 | David Cobb | TEN |
| 43 | C.J. Spiller | NO |
| 44 | Charles Sims | TB |
| 45 | Cameron Artis-Payne | CAR |
| 46 | Knile Davis | KC |
| 47 | Alfred Blue | HOU |
| 48 | Ronnie Hillman | DEN |
| 49 | Khiry Robinson | NO |
| 50 | Denard Robinson | JAC |
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