So if you still think guys like Eddie Lacy and Adrian Peterson dominate fantasy football leagues, you are sadly mistaken my friend. As you can see in the chart below, the running backs who finished as top-20 running running backs in 2013 were able to boost their stats and stay healthy when they were heavily involved in the passing game. You will have anomalies such as Alfred Morris and his 78 receiving yards, but the future of fantasy football involves the backs who can help their quarterbacks beyond little dump offs. As you can see in the chart below, running backs in the top 20 had an average of 381.70 receiving yards and close to two touchdown receptions on the season.
| Running Back | Receiving Yards | Receiving Touchdowns |
| Jamaal Charles | 693 | 7 |
| LeSean McCoy | 539 | 2 |
| Matt Forte | 594 | 3 |
| Marshawn Lynch | 316 | 2 |
| Knowshon Moreno | 548 | 3 |
| Eddie Lacy | 257 | 0 |
| Adrian Peterson | 171 | 1 |
| Chris Johnson | 345 | 4 |
| DeMarco Murray | 350 | 1 |
| Fred Jackson | 387 | 1 |
| Ryan Matthews | 189 | 1 |
| Reggie Bush | 506 | 3 |
| Frank Gore | 141 | 0 |
| Alfred Morris | 78 | 0 |
| Le’Veon Bell | 399 | 0 |
| Joique Bell | 547 | 0 |
| Zac Stacy | 141 | 1 |
| Giovani Bernard | 514 | 3 |
| Maurice Jones-Drew | 314 | 0 |
| Danny Woodhead | 605 | 6 |
| AVG: 381.70 | AVG: 1.9 |
Backs 21-40, however, had drastically different numbers with an average of 220.9 receiving yards and almost one receiving touchdown on the season.
| DeAngelo Williams | 333 | 1 |
| Rashad Jennings | 292 | 0 |
| Pierre Thomas | 513 | 3 |
| Rashard Mendenhall | 134 | 0 |
| Andre Ellington | 371 | 1 |
| Donald Brown | 214 | 2 |
| LeGarrette Blount | 38 | 0 |
| C.J. Spiller | 185 | 0 |
| Stevan Ridley | 62 | 0 |
| Ray Rice | 321 | 0 |
| BenJarvus Green-Ellis | 22 | 0 |
| Steven Jackson | 191 | 1 |
| Ben Tate | 140 | 0 |
| Trent Richardson | 316 | 1 |
| Chris Ivory | 10 | 0 |
| Darren Sproles | 604 | 2 |
| Bilal Powell | 272 | 0 |
| Bobby Rainey | 46 | 1 |
| Lamar Miller | 170 | 0 |
| Mike Tolbert | 184 | 2 |
| 220.9 | 0.7 |
Granted, backs lower in rankings may not have been on the field as much as those who ranked in the top 20, and they could have also been part of a committee, but could the lack of pass-catching ability lead to a decrease in time spent on the field? If these backs were able to contribute to the passing attack more, could they have found themselves with more opportunities?
I know with early picks in my drafts, I will be targeting pass-catching running backs very heavily.
Follow Coach Jack on Twitter @YourFFcoach
Categories: Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Strategy
Your Fantasy Football Coach 
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