Note: Ages are accurate as of midseason 2010.

What’s interesting about this position is how watered down it is. Because so many backfield are utilizing two (even three) players in a rotation, the number of clear studs is low. And while there are more players these days than usual who do have some value now due to a fairly large role, they’re still in situations that prevent major fantasy production. We’ve also seen fewer legitimate developmental prospects at the position and a lot of players who are kind of in limbo, with little long-term potential and even questionable short-term potential.

I’ll start off this section with the (surprisingly few) players who are clearly slam-dunks for those in keeper leagues: Adrian Peterson (Min, 25), Steven Jackson (Stl, 27), Chris Johnson (Ten, 24), Maurice Jones-Drew (Jac, 25), and Ray Rice (Bal, 23).

It's probably a little early to proclaim Ray Rice as a legit fantasy stud for the long-term, but the guy was incredibly impressive in 2009 – and he's very young

These five players are clearly the cream of the crop, and with youth on their side. Rice may not be a legit top-5 overall RB over the next few years, as the [...]

We knew that was coming, so now the question is, where will LaDainian Tomlinson end up? We know he wants to keep playing, so he’ll be in the league. So where do we start?

We start with the good teams because to LT it’s all about the ring.

That’s why I think he’d be willing to accept a complementary role on a good team, and what better player to work behind than Adrian Peterson? That’s right, I think LT in Minnesota would be great for both parties (that is, assuming the Vikes lose Chester Taylor).

If the Vikings lose Chester Taylor, grabbing LT for the 2010 season would make a lot of sense for them.

If the Vikings do lose Taylor, they’ll need a #2 back. They’ll need a guy who can excel in short yardage (check), catch the ball well (check), pass protect (check) and carry the load for a few games if Peterson gets hurt (check). It would be great if that guy didn’t fumble (check). Especially if Brett Favre returns, why wouldn’t LT want to play for the Vikings? He’s all about the ring, and one could argue that if the Vikes had just dropped the ball 5 times and [...]

As the draft quickly approaches, we’re trying to bang out as much of the magazine writeups as we possibly can, and I’ve just completed about the top-50 RBs. Of course, the draft will change a lot of things, so it’s hard to rank any player for certain. We have also not yet plugged in projections, which can change things once you see the raw numbers. But I do have some rankings and comments on the top-50 guys now, and I’m pretty comfortable with this list, knowing it’s very early.

So here’s what I got at this early stage.

1. Adrian Peterson, MIN – Has to be top dog this year given youth and talent but more action in the passing game would be nice.

2. Michael Turner, ATL – Carried the load all season with great effectiveness in run-heavy offense and was money near the goal so a no-brainer.

3. Maurice Drew, JAC – Major jump in receptions key for 3rd straight strong season and now he truly carries the load plus Holt will help their shaky team.

4. Matt Forte, CHI – Addition of Cutler should help them move the ball and create more opportunities for the slick and productive runner and receiver.

5. LaDainian [...]

It’s been a few weeks since I broke out my QB Keeper Overviews here, and it’s already time to update them. But before I do that I’m going to try to bang out the other key positions within the next week and catch completely up.

Next up, it’s the RBs.

At first glance, while there is good depth, I notice a little bit of a void when it comes to true studs at the position. So if you’re in a keeper league that retains only 3-4 players, I advise your approach your keepers much like you should have been approaching a standard redraft league the last two years: don’t take a RB just because he’s a RB and take the best players, period. Keep in mind, of course, the pool of attractive options will increase after the draft.

That said about the lack of quality at the top, I’m personally ranking some young guys who I do think are for real very high, even though they’ve really only “done it” for one year.

Let’s take a look at the top guys.

There aren’t many RBs who are clearly their team’s workhorse, so if you have one on your team, and he’s a young stud, then [...]

First of all, let me say if Brett Favre winds up signing with the Vikings this year it will be a bad idea. I don’t think the guy can play anymore, quite frankly. He had a shoulder/arm injury last year, but who’s to say his arm will ever again be up to par? It certainly wasn’t last year. Favre looked old in 2008, and severely limited. The Jet offense was grounded, and pretty bad with Favre under center.

I had an argument on the radio last summer with a host about Favre, the Packers, and Aaron Rodgers. The host’s contention was that the Packers were crazy to walk away from Favre, whereas I said it was a good idea. Sure, the Packers didn’t make the playoffs, but I didn’t have the luxury of having that information at hand then. My main point was that, if the Packers kept Favre one more year they were banking more so on 2008, whereas if they committed to Rodgers in 2008 they were banking on the next 3-5 years at least. I’d rather have 3-5 cracks at a title than just one more. Besides, Rodgers was and is better than Favre, anyway. [...]