1. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
Coming into the 2008 NFL season, many league experts thought that DeAngelo Williams would be phased out in Carolina. The Panthers had drafted Jonathan Stewart and Williams hadn’t been two impressive to date in his career. However, Williams has exploded in 2008 — leading running backs with 18 touchdowns to go along with 1337 rushing yards.

2. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
In the offseason, the Falcons paid big money to sign Michael Turner away from the San Diego Chargers. The move wasn’t popular with all Falcons fans because they thought the team had overpaid. As it turns out, Atlanta is getting more than their money’s worth. Turner has 16 touchdowns to go along with 1491 rushing yards and has the Falcons thinking about the upcoming playoffs.

3. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
After an amazing rookie season, expectations were high for Adrian Peterson coming into the 2008 NFL season. Although he hasn’t been quite as amazing as his rookie season, he’s played quite well. He’s leading the NFL with 1657 rushing yards and also has nine touchdowns on the year.

4. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins
For much of the first half of the season, Clinton Portis was the best running back in the NFL. As of late, he’s been struggling with injuries and has seen his stats level off. That said, he’s still fourth in the league in rushing yards at 1407 and has eight touchdowns on the season.

5. Thomas Jones, New York Jets
The big news in the offseason for the Jets was the acquisition of Brett Favre. Though Favre has had a solid season, the best player on the offense has arguably been Thomas Jones. Coming off of a mediocre season in 2007, Jones has rebounded nicely in 2008. He has 13 touchdowns to go along with 1289 rushing yards.

Tags: adrian peterson, clinton portis, deangelo williams, michael turner, NFL, running backs, thomas jones
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