Packers: Aaron Jones listed as future star in NFL running back rankings
5. Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints)
Kamara was surprisingly the best rookie running back last year. He is a better receiver than he is a running back, and he was a key cog in the Saints’ offensive machine last year.
Both Kamara and Mark Ingram will play a key role in extending Drew Brees’ career, and those two will easily be the best running back tandem in the league. I am fascinated to see how Kamara does while Ingram is suspended this season.
4. Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas Cowboys)
I was a little conflicted about where to put Ezekiel Elliott in these rankings. He had an excellent rookie season and was ranked number one in my rankings last year, but he had a bit of a sophomore slump.
He didn’t seem as motivated in 2017 as he was his rookie year. His effort was atrocious in the Denver game. Still, some of Dak Prescott’s struggles last year were due to Elliott’s suspension, which shows you just how valuable he is to the team. Don’t underestimate his ability in pass protection.
3. David Johnson (Arizona Cardinals)
We unfortunately didn’t get to see the talents of Johnson for almost all of last season due to injury. His absence had a clear impact on the Cardinals offense. Combined with Carson Palmer’s injury, it definitely spoiled Bruce Arians’ last season.
Despite all of these negatives, I am fascinated to see how Johnson does with Josh Rosen over the next decade.
2. Le’Veon Bell (Pittsburgh Steelers)
I was very close to putting Le’Veon Bell number one on this list, but that just shows you how talented Todd Gurley is.
The Steelers may have the best offense in football. Bell is a key cog in their offensive machine and deserves a lot of credit for this.
My favorite Bell stat from last year was that he had 85 catches. That’s more than a lot of receivers.
The loss of Todd Haley may have some impact on the Steelers offense, but I wouldn’t be too worried about that affecting Bell. The Steelers have an experienced offense and they should be able to handle this as the season goes on, but it could affect them early in the year.
Expect Bell to be an All-Pro running back again this year. He will be motivated to get that long-term deal he has been coveting.
1. Todd Gurley (LA Rams)
Todd Gurley and Bell both have strong cases to be the best running back in football, but I ended up going with Gurley here.
Bell is usually credited as the better receiving back, but Gurley actually had more receiving yards and triple the receiving touchdowns last year. Gurley also had 4.7 yards per carry, while Bell had four YPC.
The Rams offense will dominate the league over the next decade, and Gurley is the biggest reason for this after Sean McVay and Jared Goff. If he plays like he did last year (may have been the best non-quarterback on the offensive side of the ball) for the rest of his career, he will be a first ballot Hall-of-Famer.
One last thing: I am fascinated to see how Les Snead and the LA Rams handle the contracts of Goff, Gurley and Aaron Donald in the near future. Gurley and Donald are superstars. Goff is becoming one.
I guess there are worse problems to have.
Next: Top 30 moments in Green Bay Packers history
If you want to see an archive of my positional rankings click here. It will be updated throughout the ranking process.