2013 RB Rankings

Coming out of Boise State many draftniks felt Doug Martin had the skills required to be a three down workhorse for an NFL team. Martin has it all but one thing we failed to see from him in the early going was big plays in the running game or in the passing game.

This led to LeGarrette Blount working with Martin for a short time in a committee but by week six we started to see the big plays come from the talented rookie with a 23-yard run and a 42-yard reception against the Chiefs.
That performance was followed up with a 36-yard touchdown run against the Saints the next week and by the time their week eight Thursday night game against the Vikings came along, Martin was the feature back again.

Against the Vikings Martin carried the football 29 times for 135-yards and a rushing score, but it was his 64-yard reception for a touchdown that was just as impressive.

We all know what happened the following week as Martin shocked the fantasy world with his 251-yards and four rushing touchdowns in his hometown of Oakland, CA bolting him into the fantasy elite.

Martin finished up the season with 319 carries for 1,454 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns to go with 49 receptions, for 472 yards through the air. Impressive numbers and there is no surprise he is regarded as one of the top five selection in 2013 fantasy drafts.

On To Bigger And Better Things?

Not only did Martin post elite numbers but he did so despite losing his feature back role for three weeks and without Pro Bowl guards Carl Nicks (injured receiver after week seven) and Davin Joseph (injured reserve during the preseason) for most of the season.

Both guards are primed to return and that will be a huge boost for Martin. Not sure if we will see Martin improve on his 4.6 yard per carry average mainly because defenses will pay more attention to him and he’s likely to carry the football up to or over 350 times.

Expect big things from Martin in 2013 and I wouldn’t blame you if you took him over Adrian Peterson as the top selection in your draft. As per my rankings, Martin is sitting just behind Peterson as the second running back in all league scoring formats and the second player overall we should target on draft day.

While Martin posted some impressive numbers in his rookie season, we shouldn’t expect a sophomore slump and I wouldn’t be surprised if he surpasses his numbers from a year ago.

2013 Fantasy Rankings:: QB | RB | WR | TE | K | D/ST

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Running Back Rankings