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 [...]

I’ve been on vacation officially for less than 24 hours, since technically we just moved into the house I rented for the week Monday afternoon. I unpacked, spent $3712.27 at the Piggly Wiggly on food for the week, and went into the (80 degree) water.

And, of course, I didn’t have my blackberry with me to find out that Raven WR Derrick Mason retired.

Not a big deal, since it’s mid-July and I was able to throw up a twat on twitter shortly after the news broke (that shows up on the site, btw). But I do feel the need to break away from my supposed down time to cover this.

This is obviously a huge blow to the Ravens and for QB Joe Flacco. I love Flacco more than most, but I still put him on the ‘avoid’ or ‘overvalued’ list because I smelled a comedown season due to the fact that the team simply didn’t get him any help at receiver, plus I was still concerned with Mason’s health.

Now, Flacco’s receiving corps is perilously thin.

Of course, if Mason does stay retired, and I’m inclined to believe he will, the Ravens will likely sign a veteran, and they do have options, such [...]

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 [...]