Las Vegas Raiders running backs coach Kirby Wilson informed the team on Friday that he is retiring after serving as a running backs coach for seven teams over the last two decades. In that span of time in the NFL, Wilson coached four running backs that finished in the top 15 in career rushing yards -- Emmitt Smith, Adrian Peterson, Curtis Martin and Edgerrin James. Current Raiders lead back Josh Jacobs has rushed for 1,000-plus yards in each of his first two seasons under Wilson. Jacobs finished...

The days of workhorse backs are gone. Star power will only take a player so far in the slam-bang, fast-paced, brave new world that is a reality for NFL running backs. Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders may never be caught in career yardage. The words "running back by committee" are now commonplace in NFL discussion and a players' time in the limelight depends on how durable they can be. At 29 and with multiple lower body surgeries under his belt, Minnesota's Adrian Peterson might be the last entry (for a while) into the top-10 rushers of all time if he can stay active for three more years. This season was the second straight year that a running back wasn't picked in the first round. Before that, 1963 was the last time this anomaly happened. Have athletes changed or declined? No, the game speed has ratcheted to a level where cuts and hits happen faster than ever before. Some might argue that the anti-concussion hit rules have put the lower extremities at more of a risk than ever. Running backs, much like quarter horses will be put down (career-wise) after ACL and MCL injuries. These findings have put NFL teams into a quandary about preventing a heavily invested player from seeing the field when they are run-down or less than 100 percent healthy, thus creating the running back by committee system. Sylvester Croom, the running backs coach for the Tennessee Titans (who drafted the first running back of 2014's draft, Bishop Sankey with the 54th pick) understands the process of backfield rotation. He will employ Sankey as his changeup back to complement incumbent starter Shonn Greene , as well as rotate in journeyman Jackie Battle (who just re-signed for $855,000) to spell the other two and provide a red zone presence. "We'll play the hot hand, regardless of where they were drafted," Croom said about what is quickly becoming a normal, three-deep backfield. Sankey and San Francisco banger Carlos Hyde are billed by experts as the top running backs in this year's class as far as fantasy goes. Behind them is an incredibly deep class of talent, who may or may not find a niche with the "right team" to produce immediately or not at all. Hyde and Sankey get the press, not only because of their being the first two running backs drafted, but their respective teams have an immediate opening to get carries right away. Hyde's role as Frank Gore 's heir apparent should get started right away. The 49ers have a string of drafted running backs that loom behind...

I was in a mock PPR league draft recently, when the guy with the No. 1 overall pick selected Adrian Peterson, then chatted, "no question who to take with No. 1." Well now, personally, I have a big problem with people confusing opinion -- even if it's majority opinion -- with fact. So, just to be snarky, I responded, "in your opinion, maybe. I woulda taken Jamaal Charles." The chat box was suddenly flooded with derision from the other mockers as if I had uttered some blasphemous indictment against the ghost of Walter Payton. I quickly realized that using the chat box in the midst of a mock draft was not an adequate venue for backing up my opinion that Charles should indeed be selected first overall in PPR formats this season, so I felt compelled to write this article. First, let me say, that this opinion is solely tied to PPR leagues, with the first overall pick in non-PPR formats I'd go with Peterson, all day. Secondly, let me say that I am in no way disparaging the selection of Peterson as my fantasy RB1 even in PPR leagues -- only that I would select him after Charles. And here is why. To start, let's talk about the law of averages. Peterson had an amazing season in 2012. Let me say that again; Peterson had an amazing season. He rushed 348 (!) times for 2,097 yards, a dozen touchdowns and a whopping 6.0 yards per carry. Add to that, 40 catches for another 217 yards and a touchdown. Could he duplicate, or even surpass those numbers this season? Absolutely. He has the talent to do so. But ... the law of averages says that he probably will not. If you look at the list of the top-50 season rushing leaders, only a handful of backs appear on the list multiple times. If you narrow that list to the top-20, there are only three running backs that appear more than once: Barry Sanders, O.J. Simpson, and Eric Dickerson -- who actually had three seasons in that top-20. Peterson and Charles are both in the top-20 as well (and AP also appears at #23). Narrowing this argument to the top-20 is important, though, because the dropoff from 20 to 21 is where the yardage drops from 1,800-plus yards to the sub-1,800 numbers. Dickerson, of course, holds the record at 2,105, which Peterson came just short of breaking last year. More importantly, however, is the fact that Dickerson's second best year is a full 284 yards less than his record breaking campaign. Peterson's second best is 337 yards shy of his 2013 season. Those are comparable numbers. A 2,000-yard season has ...

For years, fantasy football was all about running backs. Leagues were won and lost based on who had the best corps of running backs. But that was back when every team had one guy that did everything. Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders and Marshall Faulk were just a few stud backs that always carried their weight, and then some. As the years have passed, big time ball carriers have become scarce, making the few that do really shoulder the load that much more important. Arian Foster, Ray Rice and LeSean McCoy were consensus top picks, and have performed as advertised thus far, but they're now the exceptions to the rule. Week 3 was absolutely huge for running backs, as players emerged from out of nowhere, and studs returned to form. And naturally, injuries would play a part. But don't worry. We'll talk about some other guys, too. And I'm adding something extra this week. Our friends over at fleaflicker.com will provide information on player availability by the percentage of leagues in which that player is owned. If he's in a New York Giants uniform, put him in your lineup. Thursday night's game between the New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers was incredibly one-sided, but it wasn't expected to be that way. Hakeem Nicks, Ahmad Bradshaw and Domenik Hixon were all inactive due to injuries. That meant guys like Andre Brown and Ramses Barden would be starting. Yikes. But when the dust settled, the Giants had an impressive road win, and Brown and Barden were focal points of their offensive attack. Brown would start and rush 20 times for 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Barden caught nine of his 10 targets for 138 yards. But it was the way they played that was impressive. Brown ran tough, breaking multiple long runs, along with tackles. Barden ran free across the middle of the field and caught everything with his seemingly endless wingspan. Each of them earned more playing time going forward, even when those previously ahead of them on New York's depth chart return. Barden may have played himself into three-wide sets, and Brown may have earned himself at least a share of the backfield workload. And he may even take Bradshaw's job outright. According to fleaflicker.com, Brown is owned in 44 percent of leagues, while Barden is owned in just two percent of leagues. Both are worth a shot, with Brown at the top of the list. Mikel Leshoure is the guy in Detroit. Didn't take long, huh? To be fair, the Lions have little else, with alternatives like Joique Bell and...

As seasons go by we are treated by the rise of some players but also must be witnesses to the decline of others. No player is impervious to seeing their production fall as move further past the apex of their career, including legends. Just picture Joe Montana playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, Emmitt Smith as an Arizona Cardinal or Brett Favre as a New York Jet or a Minnesota Viking.

Running Wild Knowshon Moreno gets his starting job back for at least a week with the broken hand suffered by Willis McGahee. Even though it's by default, Moreno will be in the backfield and get most of the carries for Denver on Sunday. He does go up against a fairly tough run defense in Detroit, but his pass catching abilities will help counter that. Remember he did score his first and only touchdown of the season on a nice 28-yard screen play. The big question for Moreno's value in Week 8 has to do with new starting quarterback Tim Tebow. With his running skills, it's almost a certainty that Tebow will take some carries away from Moreno so this might hamper his fantasy output. He will still see double-digit carries and a handful of receiving targets, which makes him a nice play. Nonetheless, Moreno should be seen as a decent RB2 or strong flex option for the weekend. The Dallas Cowboys may have found a gem in rookie DeMarco Murray, who rushed his way into the Dallas record books in his first game as the feature back. Murray exploded for 253 yards on 25 carries, which included a 91-yard touchdown scamper on his first carry of the game. This performance broke the single-game rushing record set by some guy named Emmitt Smith, so clearly Murray has been the fantasy buzz all week. Chances are he's not available in your league. If you own him, he is a must start in Week 8 against Philadelphia. Murray will get almost all the work out of the backfield against a defense that has given up the most fantasy points to running backs this season. That sounds like a dream matchup to me. The only thing the rookie out of Oklahoma doesn't contribute much of is receptions, but if he runs for 250 yards again then that won't matter. Expect a solid follow up game out of Murray with close to 100 yards and a score. Injuries to starting running backs are happening all over the league lately and a potential midseason fantasy star could be born in Washington. With news that starting rusher Tim Hightower is done for the season with a torn ACL Ryan Torain now steps back into the spotlight for the Washington Redskins as the primary back. He has shown flashes of greatness this season when given the work. This was evident in Week 4 when he went off for 135 yards and a score on 19 carries. Now that he is the starter, Torain should see a more consistent workload and get into a comfort zone. Although owners should be weary because coach Mike Shanahan has a strange way of dealing with ...