Fantasy Football 2012 Rankings: Tennessee Titans Running Back Chris Johnson

Unfortunately, Chris Johnson was one of the biggest disappointments from a fantasy perspective after missing most of training camp and the preseason while holding out until the Tennessee Titans finally gave him a new long-term deal. Due to the holdout, Johnson wasn’t in the best-of-shape entering the regular season and it showed on the football as he only rushed for 1,047 yards and four touchdowns–but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be considered a top choice at running back for the fantasy football 2012 season.

Now that he’s finally playing under a new contract, there’s no excuse for Johnson to be out of shape heading into 2012 and there’s every reason to believe he should have no problem returning to being one of the league’s top running backs. This is a running back that recorded 4,598 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns over the first three years of his career and is one of six players in NFL history to break the 2,000-yard rushing mark during the regular season–so he’s obviously going to be a first-round pick in most fantasy drafts.

Everybody knows Johnson is a much better running back than what fantasy owners saw last season and it should be interesting to see how he bounces back in 2012. The Titans made a surprise run at the playoffs last year and Johnson will be a key factor for whether or not this team reaches the postseason in January.

And if Tennessee does end up competing in the AFC thanks to a productive season from Johnson–fantasy owners will be pleased as well.

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Top 10 Fantasy Football RB Rankings

1. Arian Foster
2. LeSean McCoy
3. Ray Rice
4. Maurice Jones-Drew
5. Ryan Matthews
6. Chris Johnson
7. Darren McFadden
8. Marshawn Lynch
9. Matt Forte
10. DeMarco Murray