A Running Back to Target in Each Round of Your Fantasy Football Draft

C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos

ADP: 11 (1.10)

When you think of a running back you'd grab in the first round of your fantasy football drafts, C.J. Anderson doesn't necessarily come to mind right away. But as we'll soon discuss, he certainly is deserving of the consideration.

As I've said before, Anderson is well worth his first-round average draft position (ADP) as the Broncos' best all-around tailback.

When I profiled the Broncos stable of running backs earlier this year, I found that, both in terms of overall production and efficiency, Anderson was the team's best back on the ground, through the air, and -- perhaps most importantly given the quarterback he's blocking for -- in pass protection.

All this makes him the clear favorite to be the bell-cow running back Gary Kubiak is looking for.

Not only has Kubiak stated his preference for a workhorse back in the Denver backfield, but his track record has shown that, in the past four seasons in which a tailback he's coached has started in at least 13 games, that primary back has garnered over two-thirds of the total touches going to the team's running backs (including 63% of the total receptions going to this skill position).

And with all the defensive attention going to future Hall-of-Famer Peyton Maning's way, Anderson will receive a significant boost from having less men stacked inside the box for him to run through.

With all this being said -- given his upside as the bell cow tailback on an offense that will not only be highly productive, but will also give him clear running lanes thanks to all the attention that will be spent on stopping the passing game -- I have no problem using my first round pick on Anderson this year, and you shouldn't either.