2013 Fantasy Football Tier Cheat Sheet

A recent back and forth with one of my readers over at Bleacher Report brought up some interesting thoughts about Jamaal Charles and the depth of RB1 in 2013 drafts. As you can see by the tiered rankings below, I have seven running backs in the top tier and admittedly the three runners in the second tier could easily be in the top tier as well.

As I make adjustments to my tier cheat sheet over the summer you may see all ten of these backs in the top tier because all of them are terrific foundation options to start your fantasy team. Some of these runner can be had at the turn in snake drafts as early second-round picks in ten team leagues.

I find this season to be a bit of a throw back to the old days when we had a good stock of Bell Cow backs in the NFL and people didn’t seem to think twice about taking them early and possibly in the second as well.

Charles is certifiably in the top ten, but as I pointed out in the Bleacher Report article linked above (in the comments section) my problem with Charles is touchdowns. Of the top ten backs, only two of those options have yet to total ten or more touchdowns in a season, Charles being one and C.J. Spiller the other.

Of those eight running backs that have over 10 touchdowns in a season, three of them did so as rookies and are coming into there second year in the league.

This could very well be the season where Charles breaks lose for over 10 touchdowns as Andy Reid is in town and we’ve seen what backs can do in his offense. I also like that old Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress is back with Reid; he will bring a steady hand of experience and insight in the film room for strategy on the field.

We can’t forget about Alex Smith as the quarterback, while he may not be Peyton Manning or some of the other elite options, he will keep this offense on schedule for sustained drives and respectability (from the defense) in the passing game to help the running game succeed.

Overall I like Charles and it’s only because we’ve yet to see him breakout in touchdowns coupled with just a projection that this offense with gel together, in year one with Reid and Smith, that I don’t have him as possibly the top running back on my list.

As I told JC in my Bleacher Report article, if you feel strong about Charles this season and want him as the top pick (or any of the top ten) go for it because all of them should be solid.

2013 Tier Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet by Fantasy Football Information (fantasy-info.com)