Is the AFC south the best divison for fantasy football running backs?

Without a doubt, if Tennessee Titans Running Back Chris Johnson were under contract he would be my number one ranked fantasy football running back. Since we really have no good idea how long his holdout will last, fantasy football owners need to take notice and understand that this might be a down year for him. Of course with him I could rank three of the five starting RB’s in the AFC South in the top five. They still might be, and if I were a defensive coordinator in that division I would be losing a lot of sleep. With that being said let us take a look at the top 5 fantasy football RB’s for the 2011 season:

1.Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings– there is a new offense in Minnesota and they will have Peterson catching balls as well as running them. He puts up big numbers, but at times has fumbling issues. With what is going on in Minnesota I think they will be turning to him a lot to carry the load. That is good news for FF owners who start him each week.
2.Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh Steelers– depending on how your league is scored, Rashard is a great choice. He will not give you tons of receiving yards, but if your league ranks RB by what they do on the ground he is your man. NO Question!
3.Arian Foster, Houston Texans– save his injury, and the unstable nature of the team he plays for he would be ranked much higher. However, this guy should return and should carry a big load for the Texans. Since they have a ton of injuries at this position this might be a risky pick.
4.Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs– the bet here is Thomas Jones role with the Chiefs will diminish leaving Charles to gain more yards. He has scored just 8 TD’s a year in the past two years, but I think he will step up big time in 2011
5.Maurice Jones Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars– I like MJD because like all of us he is a FF addict. He has stated that he owes FF owners a big year for what he did last year. A motivated guy is nice to have. He is the centerpiece of the Jaguars offense and should do well in 2011.

Also don’t overlook Philadelphia Eagle LeSean McCoy, Baltimore Ravens RB Ray Rice, or Oakland Raiders RB Darren McFadden. All could have very nice years.