NFL Kickoff Week: We still believe in the fantasy run game

Welcome to the Yardbarker NFL Roundtable, a place where our most fervent football contributors can kickback, relax and look at the fun (and sometimes not-so-fun) parts of the biggest league in America; the massive behemoth that is the National Football League.  

With the last of the fantasy football drafts underway just before Thursday night's kickoff, we thought this would be a good chance to squeeze in some last fantasy advice out of of our NFL experts for our first roundtable question. 

Which running back has a chance of actually performing well enough in a pass-happy league that you would draft them in fantasy before the third round?

Daniel Tran

Space Jam II is still years away from fruition, but rumors are David Johnson will be included because he is a MONSTAR. Obviously, Johnson won't be in a basketball movie, but he will be a stud in fantasy football this year. He led the league in fantasy points per touch last season, and is in line to have anywhere between 250-300 touches at the top of the depth chart if he stays healthy. The thing that will make him successful is his proven ability to catch the ball to take advantage of a pass-happy league and run the ball at the same time. The only thing working against him is that he is no longer is flying under the radar, but the talent around him with Larry Fitzgerald, Carson Palmer and a talented offensive line will allow him to perform well.

Mike Tunison

David Johnson appears to be the consensus choice to top most fantasy leagues. While he generated a lot of production on a per-touch basis in 2015, he only started five games in a rookie season that ended with 125 carries. Most likely he's ready for the full workload but with uncertainty comes some measure of caution. Were Le'Veon Bell not suspended for the first three games of the season, he'd be up there as well, though Bell has also had troubles avoiding injury the last few years.

David Matthews

I hate to be obvious, but: Adrian Peterson. There are a few guys I'd take in the first or second round of a fantasy draft, but after Teddy Bridgewater's horrific injury, and the Vikings' trade for Sam Bradford, it's clear that AP is going to be the primary option for the Vikings. Again. Even for an older back, he's not shown any signs of slowing down (missing a season will do that, I suppose) and I fully expect him to put up something like 1,800 yards and a dozen touchdowns. I've got a draft coming up in a keeper league and I'm picking third in the first round. I'm getting someone good at that slot, but I'm going to be happy if I can come away with Adrian Peterson. I think he rips the rest of the league a new one this year.

Joe Boland

Le'Veon Bell? His suspension hurts. Jamaal Charles? May not even play and most assuredly will spit carries. LeSean McCoy? Hasn't been on the field as much lately. The easy answers are Adrian Peterson and Todd Gurley … but that's pretty much it, and even those two aren't great options given the quarterback situations.

Honestly, the semi-sleeper for me is Carlos Hyde. Yes, he's had injury issues as well, but he's a complete back playing his first season under Chip Kelly. Looking back at Kelly's Eagles tenure, McCoy thrived, and he thrived by being a fast, shifty, versatile back who could catch, even amid quarterback dearth. Kelly loves to run the ball, and Hyde could explode to that top tier this season.

Shiloh Carder

Ezekiel Elliot. Fresh legs, great offensive line and Tony Romo's back. Running backs have the smallest learning curve entering the NFL and the Cowboys line made DeMarco Murray look great two years ago. With Romo out and Prescott starting Elliott could get a lot of touches. And it isn't like the NFC East is filled with defensive stalwarts.

Demetrius Bell

It's got to be Todd Gurley, right? He's clearly one of the best running backs in the game right now, and he's already reached that point without having the mileage on him that other running backs have. He's basically the only gamebreaker that the Rams have, so he'll be giving you the bulk of the production that'll come from that team. If you're in a position where you have to take a running back before the third round, Gurley would absolutely be the best choice when it comes to that position.

Jamie Neal

Todd Gurley is going to have some pretty big expectations on him with Jared Goff starting the season as the number two QB in LA and with Case Keenum under center. The Rams passing attack isn't exactly "The Greatest Show on Turf" anymore, so Gurley will have to shoulder some of the load and therefore, fantasy owners should reap the benefits.

Vincent Frank

Adrian Peterson. To me, the idea of having Sam Bradford starting under center brings back memories of the 2013 Minnesota Vikings. That's to say, the team is going to rely a great deal on Peterson to provide support to what promises to be an average passing game.

Peterson led the NFL in rush attempts in 2013 with Christian Ponder under center. After missing a vast majority of the 2014 season, Peterson then came back and led the league in attempts with Teddy Bridgewater under center. Don't expect that to change with another average quarterback tossing the rock.

Sam Greszes

Todd Gurley. For sure. I mean, I'd draft him in the first round, no question, depending on where my pick is. He was a top 5 back last year, and there's no reason to think this year will be any different -- especially since the Rams will be starting an overwhelmingly average Case Keenum at quarterback. Gurley will be getting the call more often than not, and he has the skills to make the snaps he does get count.