Outlook: Peterson entered 2012 as the biggest fantasy question mark at RB and finished the season as the indisputable top-ranked player at his position. What a difference a year makes! AP put to rest any concerns that he would not be fully recovered from a torn ACL suffered in Week 16 of the 2011 season, coming within just nine yards of breaking Eric Dickerson's all-time single-season rushing record. With Percy Harvin out for much of the year and the Vikings’ passing attack among the league's worst, Peterson ran for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns on 348 carries while chipping in 40 receptions for 217 yards and another score. It was his finest season and it left little doubt that AP is the league's premier player at his position. Better yet, at just 28 years of age, he has a few more years of elite productivity left. If you land the first overall pick in your fantasy draft, you won't have to ponder long over which player to take.

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Outlook: To think, most of us believed Martin would cede some touches and the goal-line work to LeGarrette Blount in 2012. The Bucs’ 2012 first-round pick laid those plans to waste, exploding onto the scene and emerging as a workhorse back in his rookie season. By season's end, he had totaled 368 touches, 1,454 rushing yards, 472 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. At 5',9” and 223 pounds, Martin is an explosive package of power, speed and agility and a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball. If you are looking for a wart or two on Martin's rookie season (hey, that's my job, right?), you could point out that that 32 percent of his production came in just two games, Week 8 and 9 wins over the Vikings and Raiders. OK, enough with the negativity. As a threat to top 2,000 total yards playing in a backfield where the backups are a mixed bag of unproven players and veteran retreads in an offense that likes to run, Martin is fantasy gold. Consider him a rock-solid top five fantasy RB, and one who could go as early as the second pick in your auction.

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Outlook: After looking mostly like a bust for the first year and a half of his career, Spiller is coming off a run of 22 games through which he has accumulated 2,336 total yards and 11 touchdowns, including 1,703 yards and eight scores in 2012. That is the type of production a mid-tier RB1 puts up and is certainly impressive considering Spiller had six games last year with 13 or fewer touches. With a new coaching staff in Buffalo and Spiller having proven that he deserves to start and get a heavy dose of touches, he has the potential to be a top five fantasy RB in 2013. Considering Spiller averaged 6.0 yards per carry and 10.7 yards per reception last season, look for the Bills to get him far more touches than the 250 he had last season. That bodes well for his fantasy prospects in 2013.

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Outlook: Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan worked his running back in 2012, turning rookie sixth-round pick Alfred Morris into the league's second-ranked rusher, with 1,613 yards on the ground. The Florida Atlantic product propelled himself into a workhorse role in the Redskins backfield with 335 rushes, 13 of which resulted in touchdowns. Morris was good at taking what the defense gave him, with a propensity for running over defenders when necessary but displaying decent agility as well. While Morris has only a couple of holes in his game (pass blocking, receiving and a lack of blazing speed), questions remain as to how much he benefitted from playing alongside Robert Griffin III at quarterback. While it is easy to remain skeptical of Morris's ability to once again top 1,600 yards, it is difficult to dismiss him as a one-year wonder. Consider him a mid-tier RB1 and a player you just might get as a bargain on draft day.

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Outlook: Despite having topped 2,000 total yards twice in four seasons with the Ravens and having never missed a game during that span, Rice’s fantasy value is taking a hit in 2013. That is because of the emergence of his backup, Bernard Pierce. Pierce had a healthy 115 touches as a rookie in 2012, including 77 in the Ravens last six games (counting the team’s four playoff appearances). While Rice may not be a candidate to be a top five fantasy back or to top 2,000 yards this season, he does has a very high floor. Last season, he totaled 1,143 rushing yards and 478 receiving yards while scoring a total of ten touchdowns and with question marks at wide receiver, he should approach that production once again in 2013. That would translate into mid-tier RB1 production, not to mention a very safe option given his lack of injury history.

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Outlook: Over the last two seasons, Lynch has emerged as one of the league's most consistently productive running backs. After rushing for 1,204 yards and 12 touchdowns during his first full season in Seattle in 2011, he followed that up with a 1,590-yard, 11-touchdown season. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is clearly sold on the importance of a heavy rushing attack and on the benefits of giving Lynch a major role in that effort (his 348 touches last season were a career high). Lynch reached double-digit fantasy points in 13 of the Seahawks’ 18 games (counting two playoff contests) in 2012, and he had nine points in three other games. Furthermore, he’s hit double digits in 23 of the Seahawks’ last 30 games. The Beast shows up every week, and with 25 touchdowns in his last 28 games, he usually finds the end zone. Lynch seems to have put some major character concerns to rest, and that solidifies his position as a top five fantasy RB, even though the team now has a pair of talented players behind him on the depth chart.

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Outlook: Coming off a torn ACL that ended his 2011 season in Week 2, Charles had an outstanding season with 1,509 rushing yards, 236 receiving yards and six touchdowns. What's more is that Charles was remarkably consistent, topping 100 rushing yards in seven games and hitting double-digit fantasy points in nine games. If you make the assumption that he wasn't fully healthy for all of 2012, then the sky is the limit in 2013. While new head coach Andy Reid can go pass heavy at times, his running backs have always been a big part of his passing attacks, and Charles is one of the league's most explosive receivers out of the backfield. He was disappointing in that role last season, averaging just 6.7 yards per reception, but a 500-receiving-yard season isn't out of the question in 2013. With the offensive line having been fortified with the selection of Eric Fisher, and with Alex Smith a clear upgrade over Matt Cassel, the Chiefs offense should see significant improvement this year. Consider Charles a mid-tier RB1 with the upside to finish the season in the top three at the position.

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Outlook: The man they call Shady took a bit of a pounding in fantasy circles last season as his PPG average dropped from 18.8 in 2011 to just 12.6. Not helping matters was that he was unavailable from Week 12 to 15 with a concussion, basically extinguishing several fantasy teams with his absence. However, a closer look reveals that McCoy remained a solid producer, averaging 101 total yards per game, just a half a yard off his production in 2011. His 20 touchdowns in 2011 were what padded his PPG totals that season, and expecting a repeat of that was unrealistic. And it's unrealistic to again expect 20 touchdowns in 2013. McCoy isn't getting the fantasy love that he deserves because of the drop in his touchdown production and the solid performance of Bryce Brown as his fill-in last season. I say Brown's presence is being overblown. Consider the 25-year old McCoy a mid-tier RB1 and a player worthy of being taken as early as the fourth overall pick in your fantasy draft.

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Outlook: After totaling 1,114 touches over the past three years, including 391 last season, there are concerns that Foster is a candidate for a subpar, injury-riddled campaign in 2013. The naysayers will point out that his yards per carry have declined from 5.0 in 2010 to 4.4 in 2011 and to a career-low of 4.1 in 2012. Perhaps that would dictate more touches for backup Ben Tate. With the team having used a first-round pick to acquire wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and with Andre Johnson posting a career-high 1,598 receiving yards in 2012, the Texans may decide to open things up in the passing game. Of course they’d have to ignore the fact that they have enjoyed most of their success using a run-based offense featuring Foster. To put it another way, would you put your Super Bowl aspirations on the shoulder of Foster or Matt Schaub? The bottom line is that the Texans will ride Foster as long as he remains healthy, and he has missed just three games over the past three seasons. A calf strain suffered in the offseason is cause for concern, but he will be ready for opening day. With 5,700 total yards and 47 touchdowns over the past three seasons, Foster's upside is well known, and given his ability to remain healthy, his injury risk seems to be overstated. After Adrian Peterson, there is no better fantasy running back than Foster.

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Outlook: After five years in the league, the Bears know what they have in Forte. He is among the league's top 10 running backs, capable in every facet of the game except for one, as a short-yardage runner. He has also been remarkably consistent, reaching 1,400 total yards every year and reaching 1,000 rushing yards three times and just missing twice, falling 71 yards short during an injury-plagued 2009 season and a yard short in 2011, when he missed four games. Last season, he was once again a key cog in the Bears attack with 1,094 yards and five touchdowns on the ground while chipping in 44 receptions for 340 yards and another score. The reception and receiving yardage totals were the lowest of his career, but new head coach Marc Trestman has vowed to increase Forte's usage in the passing game, so a return to the 50-plus reception totals in each of his four years seems likely. Basically, Forte would rate as a top-five fantasy RB if he were a solid goal-line option, but backup Michael Bush will steal those looks. Consider Forte a safe, low-end RB1.

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Outlook: While most rookie running backs haven't lived up to their offseason billing over the past few years, Trent Richardson certainly bucked that trend in 2012. The Browns runner had a solid rookie season, rushing for 950 yards and 11 touchdowns while catching 51 passes for 367 yards and another score. He managed to stay productive while playing through knee and rib injuries—issues that caused him to average a somewhat disappointing 3.6 yards per carry, although Cleveland's porous offensive line also contributed in that regard. The injury issues continued this offseason with Richardson missing time with a shin injury that should be fully healed by training camp. Just one year into his career, Richardson has already proven that he has the potential to be an elite, workhorse running back, provided he can stay healthy. He excels as a short-yardage runner, is already one of the league's better pass-catching backs and is obviously a solid runner, both inside and outside the tackles. Let's just hope his career doesn't parallel that of Steven Jackson, another do-it-all, workhorse back who was saddled with an inferior team for the majority of his career. Consider Richardson a mid-tier RB1 who is a bit of an injury risk.

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Outlook: It’s hard to find a more polarizing running back in fantasy than the Titans’ Chris Johnson. Contract holdouts and a lack of consistency have accompanied his outstanding production over a five-year career, and this past offseason the team acquired a proven backup for the first time in his career in Shonn Greene. That came on the heels of Johnson's second consecutive subpar year as he struggled early in the season (45 rushing yards, 63 receiving yards and no touchdowns in his first three games) and finished the year with 1,475 total yards and six touchdowns. Although Johnson too frequently bounces runs outside and fails to follow his blocking, the fact is that he has been a remarkably productive back and his speed and ability to make tacklers miss remain unchanged. This is a player who has 8,546 total career yards and has averaged 1,709 total yards and 9.6 touchdowns per season. Throw in the fact that the Titans bolstered their offensive line in the offseason and that CJ2K's perceived fantasy value is at an all-time low, and you could have a potential bargain for your 2013 fantasy squad. While Greene will likely vulture some touchdowns, Johnson is a fairly safe option as an upper-tier RB2 with upside if you can accept the inconsistency.

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