Although the 2009 fantasy football season is a long ways away, here’s an early look at a mock draft of the first round. It should be noted that the first round of the 2009 fantasy football draft looks like it will be all running backs in virtually every format.
1. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
2. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
3. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears
4. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles
5. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
6. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans
7. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
8. Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants
9. Steve Slaton, Houston Texans
10. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars
11. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins
12. Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers

QB Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
Throughout the season, Philip Rivers has been a dependable fantasy football quarterback. In Week 16, he was very good once again. He finished the game with four touchdown passes to go along with 287 passing yards. On the season, Rivers now has more than 3800 passing yards and 32 passing touchdowns.
RB DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
It’s hard to call DeAngelo Williams anything other than a fantasy football phenom. Against a tough New York Giants defense, Williams had four rushing touchdowns and more than 100 yards. On the season, Williams has more than 1300 yards and 18 …read more

1. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
It’d be difficult to get much hotter than DeAngelo Williams is right now. He has 11 touchdowns in his last six games. In five of those six games, he rushed for more than 100 yards. In the other one, he had four touchdowns.

2. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles
Although Briant Westbrook went through a slump, he’s come up huge the last two weeks. He has six total touchdowns during the span — three rushing and three receiving. He also has more than 330 total yards in the last two weeks.
3. Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints
In the last …read more

QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
The Packers knew Aaron Rodgers was talented, however fantasy football owners wouldn’t have guessed that Rodgers would have such an impressive first year at quarterback. He’s been a top three performer as a fantasy quarterback and considering his relatively late average draft position, he has to be making his owners very happy.

RB DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
Coming into the 2008 fantasy football season, DeAngelo Williams wasn’t a wanted man in the fantasy world. He was a part of a dreaded running back by committee situation in Carolina. However, now he’s emerged as the hottest back in …read more

QB Matt Cassel, New England Patriots
In place of Tom Brady, Matt Cassel has had some good games and some not so good games. In Week 11, Cassel played one of his better games. Against the rival New York Jets, the Patriots quarterback had 400 yards passing and three touchdowns. He also didn’t have an interception on the week.
RB DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
Early in the season, it appeared as if DeAngelo Williams would never live up to his expectations. Now, Williams is regarded as one of the best fantasy football running backs in 2008. In Week 11, Williams finished the game …read more

This season, a number of rookie running backs have become fantasy football sleepers. If you can get these players on your fantasy team without using a high draft pick, you could be sitting pretty if sleepers pan out.
Kevin Smith, Detroit Lions
All indications point to Kevin Smith starting for the Lions at running back. Smith doesn’t have much competition — considering that Tatum Bell is his backup. He could be a big factor if he can stay healthy.
Matt Forte, Chicago Bears
Like Smith, Forte is also expected to be the starter. While Forte is arguably the more talented …read more

Jack Delhomme is traveling in uncharted waters right now. Delhomme is attempting to return from Tommy John surgery after he blew out his elbow last year in Week 3. The Carolina Panthers are hoping that their starting quarterback will be able to come back healthy, but it’s difficult to project how Delhomme’s elbow will react to the stress of an NFL season.
The good news is that Delhomme is already practicing and the team expects him to be able to go once training camp starts. Delhomme will get a few extra days of rest along the way but …read more

The Carolina Panthers weren’t sure whether DeAngelo Williams could carry the load for them in the 2008 season. With that in mind, it wasn’t a huge surprise when Jonathan Stewart was drafted by the Panthers in the first round. The Panthers used the 13th overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft to draft the running back out of Oregon.

Stewart is a tough, physical running back who could come in his rookie season and help carry the load in Carolina. Since Williams is a bit undersized, Stewart has a good chance to become a starter. Williams could …read more