Klein: What To Do With #2?

We all know to take Adrian Peterson with the first overall pick in your fantasy draft, but who do you take 2nd overall? Let's look at the pro's and con's of each of these three running backs.

Michael Turner
This Falcon back is ready to continue his success as one of the top in the league. As a guy who ran the lights out of the Georgia Dome last year expect a bit of a drop off. If you are a real football fan you should know about the 370 rule. The 370 rule is quite simple. Any running back that has come off of a 370 carry season has dropped off in their next season to one of the lower tier backs in the league. Turner is a case of the 370 rule, but could be an exception. Although he ran the rock 370 times in 2008, it was his first year of running the ball consistantly. All of the backs who continued this tradition (Curtis Martin, Shaun Alexander, Marshall Faulk) ran the ball for many seasons before their 370 season, which differs from Turner completely. Turner can still be hit by this plague, but expect another 1,400 yards and 12 TDs from the burner.

Maurice Jones-Drew
One of the toughest guys in the league may have a bit of trouble leading his team on the ground in and out of every game this season. The small and mighty Jones-Drew is ready to make big things happen, but those big things may not come for 48 minutes a game. This back may miss out on 3rd downs with Greg Jones and Rashad Jennings getting looks. Do not get me wrong here! Jones-Drew is still an elite back in the league, but his size puts him at an extreme disadvantage. Expect to see a good season out of mighty mouse, but the passing game may hurt him. David Garrard has shown his struggles and that will hurt the running game. The deficiency in the pass game will lead to Jones-Drew looking for holes that he may not find.

Matt Forte
If you have the 2nd overall pick this is your man. Forte has shown in every single preseason game that he is worthy of being the 2nd best running back in the league. The addition of Jay Cutler will help his stats and make him compete with Peterson in the category on consistency. Forte ran the lights out with Orton under center last year, so imagine what he will do with Cutler. This is the man you want to take at this pick and I can promise you this. Their veteran offensive line will not let you down and their defense will keep the offense on the field.