This is another installment of our “Tops” series of rankings
for the 2013 NFL season. This week we will be breaking down the top 3 running
backs in the NFL.
#3: Ray Rice
One word describes Ray Rice: consistency. Rice has been in
the National Football League for 6 years and the only season in his career in
which he finished with less than 1,500 all purpose yards was his rookie year in
2008 where he received less than half the carries he has any other season. The
problem with playing at that high of a level consistently is that you are then
expected to perform at that high level all the time. So how did Rice set 2012
apart from every other year? He simply carried the offense on his back during
the entire regular season and playoffs in route to a Super Bowl title.
#2: Arian Foster
Running backs are usually the easiest position to evaluate
talent and draft in the National Football League with a low percentage of those
picks being draft busts and even fewer draft steals but the Texans got lucky
when they signed undrafted free agent Arian Foster. Foster only got the
starting job in 2010 after injuries decimated the Texans backfield but Foster
rose to the challenge as he put up a career high 2,200 all purpose yards along
with 18 total touchdowns. He has been solid ever since and the Texans are looking
for even more ground success in 2013 behind Foster.
#1: Adrian Peterson
Adrian Peterson’s nickname in Minnesota is AD for All Day
but in 2012 Peterson ran ALL YEAR. After suffering a torn MCL and ACL in the 2nd
to last week of the 2011 season the outlook for 2012 looked bleak. Peterson was
known for nagging injuries throughout college and some experts even predicted
this to be a career ending injury. Wow were they wrong! Peterson responded to
the injury with the most rushing yards of his career, shy of the all time
record by just a handful of yards, and 12 rushing touchdowns to back it up.
Outside of individual awards Peterson also carried the entire Vikings team to a
wildcard playoff spot culminating in a head to head matchup against the rival
Packers in a game that the Vikings eventually lost.
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