People don’t like drafting 30-year-old running backs. They tend to come at a discount in fantasy drafts. No tread left on the tire. Long in the tooth. They’re hitting the wall. You know the drill. But as these guys actually bad investments?
With the attention paid to nutrition and training, a lot of these guys can perform just fine. Bodies hold up. And they have the advantage of being smarter, more experienced players.
Of the top 20 running backs last year, five of them were guys who were at least 30.
There have been as many in previous years – about two per season.
Some of these older backs will wear down. Some will fizzle out. Some don’t have it anymore. But my leaning is that these older running backs actually tend to get unfairly discounted at fantasy drafts.
I was just playing around with the numbers. In this century (the last 16 seasons) 34 running backs who were at least 30 years old finished in the top 20 in their particular season. Here they are, using scoring system of 6 for TDs and 1 for every 10 yards.
30-YEAR-OLD RUNNING BACKS IN THE TOP 20 (since 2000) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Age | Run | Rec | Total | TD | Rank |
2005 | Tiki Barber, NYG | 30 | 1,860 | 530 | 2,390 | 11 | 4 |
2004 | Curtis Martin, NYJ | 31 | 1,697 | 245 | 1,942 | 14 | 4 |
2002 | Charlie Garner, Oak. | 30 | 962 | 941 | 1,903 | 11 | 9 |
2006 | Tiki Barber, NYG | 31 | 1,662 | 465 | 2,127 | 5 | 7 |
2008 | Thomas Jones, NYJ | 30 | 1,312 | 207 | 1,519 | 15 | 5 |
2000 | Ricky Watters, Sea. | 31 | 1,242 | 613 | 1,855 | 9 | 9 |
2015 | Adrian Peterson, Minn. | 30 | 1,485 | 222 | 1,707 | 11 | 2 |
2009 | Thomas Jones, Chi. | 31 | 1,402 | 58 | 1,460 | 14 | 6 |
2009 | Ricky Williams, Mia. | 32 | 1,121 | 264 | 1,385 | 13 | 7 |
2005 | Mike Anderson, Den. | 31 | 1,014 | 212 | 1,226 | 13 | 10 |
2004 | Priest Holmes, K.C. | 30 | 892 | 187 | 1,079 | 15 | 12 |
2015 | DeAngelo Williams, Pitt. | 32 | 907 | 367 | 1,274 | 11 | 4 |
2013 | Fred Jackson, Buff. | 32 | 890 | 387 | 1,277 | 10 | 11 |
2005 | Warrick Dunn, Atl. | 30 | 1,416 | 220 | 1,636 | 4 | 12 |
2001 | Garrison Hearst, S.F. | 30 | 1,206 | 347 | 1,553 | 5 | 12 |
2002 | Garrison Hearst, S.F. | 31 | 972 | 317 | 1,289 | 9 | 19 |
2000 | Emmitt Smith, Dall. | 31 | 1,203 | 79 | 1,282 | 9 | 20 |
2013 | Frank Gore, S.F. | 30 | 1,128 | 141 | 1,269 | 9 | 13 |
2003 | Marshall Faulk, St.L. | 30 | 818 | 290 | 1,108 | 11 | 16 |
2004 | Jerome Bettis, Pitt. | 32 | 941 | 46 | 987 | 13 | 18 |
2006 | Fred Taylor, Jac. | 30 | 1,146 | 242 | 1,388 | 6 | 18 |
2006 | Corey Dillon, N.E. | 31 | 812 | 147 | 959 | 13 | 19 |
2011 | Fred Jackson, Buff. | 30 | 934 | 442 | 1,376 | 6 | 14 |
2005 | Corey Dillon, N.E. | 30 | 733 | 181 | 914 | 13 | 16 |
2003 | Curtis Martin, NYJ | 30 | 1,308 | 262 | 1,570 | 2 | 19 |
2001 | Lamar Smith, Mia. | 30 | 968 | 234 | 1,202 | 8 | 15 |
2015 | Frank Gore, Ind. | 32 | 967 | 267 | 1,234 | 7 | 11 |
2010 | LaDainian Tomlinson, NYJ | 31 | 914 | 368 | 1,282 | 6 | 17 |
2015 | Danny Woodhead, S.D. | 30 | 336 | 755 | 1,091 | 9 | 12 |
2009 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 30 | 730 | 154 | 884 | 12 | 19 |
2012 | Michael Turner, Atl. | 30 | 800 | 128 | 928 | 11 | 18 |
2007 | Fred Taylor, Jac. | 31 | 1,202 | 58 | 1,260 | 5 | 18 |
2014 | Frank Gore, S.F. | 31 | 1,106 | 111 | 1,217 | 5 | 17 |
2015 | Rashad Jennings, NYG | 30 | 863 | 296 | 1,159 | 4 | 19 |
—Ian Allan