Once the unquestioned king of fantasy football positions, the 2012 crop of running backs has three hammers -- Arian Foster, Ray Rice and LeSean McCoy -- then a lot of questions.

-- Will Maurice Jones-Drew's holdout end before your draft?

-- Where do you draft former no-doubt-about-it No. 1 overall fantasy pick Adrian Peterson, who is recovering from a torn ACL?

-- Can you trust Chris Johnson after last year's holdout/four-TDs-in-16-games debacle?

-- Is the injury-prone Ryan Mathews going to be as good as everyone seems to think he will be now that goal-line vulture Mike Tolbert has left town?

-- Will Matt Forte be as good now that Michael Bush could serve as the Bears' goal-line vulture?

-- Can Darren McFadden stay healthy?

-- Should you be concerned that Trent Richardson is already banged up?

-- Can DeMarco Murray sustain his 2011 rookie success over a full season?

You get the idea.

On to our second set of rankings for 2012, which reflects updates we made Aug. 12:

Rank, player, team (bye week): GP, Rushing yards-Avg-TD, Receptions-Yards-TD
1. Arian Foster, Hou (8): 13, 1,224-4.4-10, 53-617-2

2. Ray Rice, Bal (8): 16, 1,364-4.7-12, 76-704-3

3. LeSean McCoy, Phi (7): 15, 1,309-4.8-17, 48-315-3

4. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac (6): 16, 1,606-4.7-8, 43-374-3

5. Chris Johnson, Ten (11): 16, 1,047-4.0-4, 57-418-0

6. Matt Forte, Chi (6): 12, 997-4.9-3, 52-490-1

7. Darren McFadden, Oak (5): 7, 614-5.4-4, 19-154-1

8. DeMarco Murray, Dal (5): 13, 897-5.5-2, 26-183-0

9. Steven Jackson, StL (9): 15, 1,145-4.4-5, 42-333-1

10. Ryan Mathews, SD (7): 14, 1,091-4.9-6, 50-455-0

11. Adrian Peterson, Min (11): 12, 970-4.7-12, 18-139-1

12. Marshawn Lynch, Sea (11): 15, 1,204-4.2-12, 28-212-1

13. Fred Jackson, Buf (8): 10, 934-5.5-6, 39-442-0

14. Michael Turner, Atl (7): 16, 1,340-4.5-11, 17-168-0

15. Frank Gore, SF (9): 16, 1,211-4.3-8, 17-114-0

16. Jamaal Charles, KC (7): 2, 83-6.9-0, 5-9-1

17. Trent Richardson, Cle (10): Rookie

18. Darren Sproles, NO (6): 16, 603-6.9-2, 86-710-7

19. Shonn Greene, NYJ (9): 16, 1,054-4.2-6, 30-211-0

20. Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG (11): 12, 659-3.9-9, 34-267-2

21. Reggie Bush, Mia (7): 15, 1,086-5.0-6, 43-296-1

22. Isaac Redman, Pit (4): 16, 479-4.4-3, 18-78-0

23. Willis McGahee, Den (7): 15, 1,199-4.8-4, 12-51-1

24. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Cin (8): 16, 667-3.7-11, 9-159-0

25. Doug Martin, TB (5): Rookie

26. Stevan Ridley, NE (9): 16, 421-5.1-1, 3-13-0

27. Jonathan Stewart, Car (6): 16, 761-5.4-4, 47-413-1

28. Beanie Wells, Ari (10): 14, 1,047-4.3-10, 10-52-0

29. Roy Helu, Was (10): 15, 640-4.2-2, 49-379-1

30. DeAngelo Williams, Car (6): 16, 836-5.4-7, 16-135-0

31. Ben Tate, Hou (8): 15, 942-5.4-4, 13-98-0

32. Donald Brown, Ind (4): 16, 645-4.8-5, 16-86-0

33. Peyton Hillis, KC (7): 10, 587-3.6-3, 22-130-0

34. C.J. Spiller, Buf (8): 16, 561-5.2-4, 39-269-2

35. Toby Gerhart, Min (11): 16, 531-4.9-1, 23-190-3

36. Mark Ingram, NO (6): 10, 474-3.9-5, 11-46-0

37. James Starks, GB (10): 13, 578-4.3-1, 29-216-0

38. Kevin Smith, Det (5): 7, 356-4.9-4, 22-179-3

39. Felix Jones, Dal (5): 12, 575-4.5-1, 33-221-0

40. Michael Bush, Chi (6): 16, 997-3.8-7, 37-418-1

41. Evan Royster, Was (10): 6, 328-5.9-0, 9-68-0

42. Daniel Thomas, Mia (7): 13, 581-3.5-0, 12-72-1

43. LeGarrette Blount, TB (5): 14, 781-4.2-5, 15-148-0

44. Jahvid Best, Det (5): 6, 390-4.6-2, 27-287-1

45. David Wilson, NYG (11): Rookie

46. Ryan Williams, Ari (10): Didn't play
47. Ronnie Brown, SD (7): 16, 136-3.2-1, 0-0-0

48. Mike Goodson, Oak (5): 16, 452-4.4-3, 1-4-0

49. Shane Vereen, NE (9): 5, 57-3.8-1, 0-0-0

50. Bernard Scott, Cin (8): 16, 380-3.4-3, 13-38-0

NOTE: All statistics are from the 2011 season.

QUICK SLANTS: In the last two seasons, Foster has rushed for 2,840 rush yards, caught 119 passes for 1,221 yards and scored 30 total TDs in 29 games. … Rice’s 15 TDs in 2011 were one more than he had combined in otherwise productive 2010 and ’09 seasons. … McCoy’s TDs were way up (from nine in 2010 to 20 last season), and his receiving numbers were significantly down (from 78 catches for 592 yards in 2010). … Jones-Drew had 30 total TDs in 2008 and ’09, but has averaged nine TDs in the last two years. … In 2009 and ’10, Johnson had 28 total TDs. … The Rams' Jackson has 60 total TDs in 115 career games, and 16 were in 2006. … Lynch had 24 TDs in his first five NFL seasons. … McFadden has missed 19 games in four years. … Turner has 50 rushing TDs in 59 games in four seasons with the Falcons. … Gore had 13 TDs in 14 games in 2009. He has 39 total TDs in the other 86 contests in which he has played in his career. ... Reggie Bush had never run for more than 581 yards in his first five NFL seasons. … In the last two games of the Steelers' 2011 season, including a postseason loss at Denver, Redman had 213 yards rushing, one TD and five catches for 39 yards. … Green-Ellis has 24 TDs the last two years. … The Panthers' Stewart had 21 TDs in his first two seasons and has eight in the last two. … DeAngelo Williams had 20 TDs in 16 contests in 2008. He has 22 total TDs in the other 64 games in which he has played. … Hillis had 13 total TDs, 1,654 total yards and 61 catches with the Browns in 2010.

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