It is obviously going to be hard to mention every player that has had a good season but before I talk about the 5 that have made my shortlist I thought I'd briefly discuss a few others that have caught my eye for one reason or another.
I'll start with players who have not lived up to expectations this season and 2 that spring to mind would be Steve Slaton of Houston and Matt Forte of Chicago.
A lot was expected from both players in their second season in the NFL but I felt neither really fulfilled the potential that was expected. I know Slaton is now on the IR list but his early fumbles cost him his place in the side during the year and gave opportunities to Ryan Moats and Chris Brown. When healthy Slaton may well return and live up to the promise but 2009 was not his year.
Similarly with Matt Forte, he was high on many fantasy teams wish lists as some thought Jay Cutler was going to make The Bears a force but it really wasn't to be. Forte drifted in and out of form. His 3.4 yards per carry will not be what he was looking for and he is ranked 20th overall with total rushing yards of 827, compare this to his rookie season in 2008 when he notched up 1,238 and things have not progressed for Forte or Chicago.
A few names that I'd like to mention positively are Rashad Mendenhall who has had a solid season for Pittsburgh breaking the 1000 yard mark and has really made the RB position his own in the last few weeks.
Denver found a peach in rookie Knoshon Moreno who has managed 897 yards averaging 3.8 a carry and he looks like he will offer the Broncos a lot more in seasons to come.
Deangelo Williams will feature in a lot of top 5's but due to recent injuries he is just going to miss out. Carolina have a wealth of talent at RB, I think Jonathan Stewart could walk into any NFL team and play a big part it just seems unfortunate for him that he has Williams to compete with.
Both Stewart and Williams have more than 1000 yards on the board and if the Panthers can plug a few holes in the off season they really must be a force next year.
Adrian Peterson is regarded by many as the best RB in the football league, but he misses out narrowly from my top 5. Yes at 17 touchdowns he has scored more than any other RB but he is the go to man for a strong Vikings team. He is 400+ yards down on last season and has made 6 fumbles, more than any other RB ranked in the top 60.
Cedric Benson has also had a great season for Cincinnati but he too misses out on the top 5. Benson has 1,251 yards this season which is more than he has scored in his 4 previous seasons combined, he has had a big hand in the Bengals improvement and I expect he will be even better next season when he may find himself closer to that elusive Nuttie.
So the top 5 in no particular order, Chris Johnson (Tennessee), Steven Jackson (St Louis), Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville), Ryan Grant (Green Bay) & Ray Rice (Baltimore).
Obviously all 5 have had tremendous seasons and surprisingly only one has secured post season football (Grant) although Rice will be hopeful of a wildcard spot still.
Considering how poor St Louis have been it is a sign of Jackson's talent that he has notched up 1,353 yards at an average of 4.5 a carry. Likewise, Jones-Drew at Jacksonville has been responsible for a lot of their good work this season notching 1,309 yards at an average of 4.4 a carry. Both players have produced career high years and will be solid choices for fantasy teams again next year.
However in 3rd place this season we have Ray Rice of Baltimore, in his 2nd season Rice has rushed for 1,269 yards at an average of 5.3 a carry scoring 7 touchdowns. A great improvement on his rookie year where he managed only 454 yards. Baltimore have unearthed yet another quality RB.
In 2nd place we have Ryan Grant. Grant may be ranked as low as 8th in the NFL with 1,202 but his form has played a big part in The Packers progress this year and his consistency has resulted in zero fumbles. Grant has also contributed 10 touchdowns thus far.
And therefore the winner is Chris Johnson. Quite a straightforward choice I'm sure you will agree. Johnson has been incredible this season and needs only 128 more yards against Seattle on Sunday to break the 2000 barrier. I wouldn't bet against him either. The fastest man in the NFL has averaged 5.8 yards per carry has scored 12 touchdowns and fumbled only twice from 322 attempts. I am sure you will agree Chris Johnson is a very worthy winner of the first Nuttie.
Tomorrow the wide receivers will be on edge as they await the Nuttie announcement.
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