# of 20+ touch games - '09
Let's take a look at the top 40 RBs and analyze their total touch count. Touches are everything in fantasy. - Stegman
What we did here is break down the top 40 RBs from 2009 and tally up their total touches, along with the # of 20+ carry games and # of 20+ touch games. For those of you newbies, a touch = carries plus receptions.
In that most fantasy leagues do not discriminate between a receiving yard/TD and a rushing yard/TD, touches matter most when assessing/predicting value. Furthermore, for you PPR'ers out there, receptions from RBs become even more critical.
As I look at this chart, a few things pop at me -
1) It's frightening to think what Pierre Thomas could do with 275 TOUCHES vs. the 186 he received w/ a top 20 finish in 2009.
2) Look at what Jamal Charles was able to do with just 230 touches. Do you think he's going to get a few more looks in 2010?
3) How about DeAngelo Williams and his 245 touches in just 13 games? Don't ignore him in the first round this season.
4) 197 lb Chris Johnson and his 408 touches are enough to get me thinking, but at the end of the day, Ladainian Tomlinson rattled off 2 400+ touch seasons early on in his career and he was fine. Just keep in mind, LT also carries around 23 more lbs of bone and muscle on his frame.
| Name | # of Games Played | Total Rush Attempts | Total Catches | Total Touches | # of games with 20+ carries | # of games with 20+TOTAL touches | Total Fantasy Points |
| Chris Johnson | 16 | 358 | 50 | 408 | 10 | 12 | 346.9 |
| Adrian Peterson | 16 | 315 | 43 | 358 | 8 | 11 | 290.5 |
| MJD | 16 | 312 | 53 | 365 | 8 | 12 | 272.5 |
| Ray Rice | 16 | 254 | 78 | 332 | 4 | 10 | 252.1 |
| Frank Gore | 14 | 229 | 52 | 281 | 5 | 8 | 230.6 |
| Thomas Jones | 16 | 332 | 10 | 342 | 11 | 11 | 230 |
| Ricky Williams | 16 | 241 | 35 | 276 | 4 | 7 | 216.5 |
| Ryan Grant | 16 | 282 | 25 | 307 | 7 | 8 | 211 |
| Steven Jackson | 15 | 325 | 50 | 375 | 11 | 14 | 197.8 |
| Joseph Addai | 15 | 219 | 51 | 270 | 3 | 7 | 194.4 |
| Jonathan Stewart | 16 | 221 | 18 | 239 | 3 | 3 | 193.2 |
| Jamal Charles | 16 | 190 | 40 | 230 | 4 | 5 | 189.7 |
| Rashard Mendenhall | 16 | 242 | 25 | 267 | 6 | 6 | 184.9 |
| DeAngelo Williams | 13 | 216 | 29 | 245 | 3 | 7 | 178.9 |
| Cedric Benson | 13 | 301 | 17 | 318 | 7 | 7 | 172.2 |
| Knowshon Moreno | 16 | 247 | 28 | 275 | 4 | 7 | 170 |
| Fred Jackson | 16 | 238 | 46 | 284 | 3 | 6 | 167.3 |
| Matt Forty | 16 | 258 | 57 | 315 | 7 | 8 | 164 |
| Ladainian Tomlinson | 14 | 223 | 20 | 243 | 5 | 7 | 160.4 |
| Pierre Thomas | 14 | 147 | 39 | 186 | 0 | 1 | 157.5 |
| Marion Barber | 15 | 214 | 26 | 240 | 1 | 3 | 157.3 |
| Tim Hightower | 16 | 143 | 63 | 206 | 0 | 1 | 150.6 |
| Michael Turner | 11 | 178 | 5 | 183 | 4 | 5 | 150.6 |
| Jerome Harrison | 14 | 194 | 34 | 228 | 4 | 5 | 150.2 |
| Willis McGahee | 16 | 109 | 15 | 124 | 0 | 0 | 146.9 |
| Kevin Smith | 13 | 217 | 40 | 257 | 3 | 7 | 145.6 |
| Cadillac Williams | 16 | 209 | 29 | 238 | 1 | 3 | 145.5 |
| Ahmsad Bradshaw | 15 | 163 | 21 | 184 | 0 | 0 | 140.5 |
| Laurence Maroney | 15 | 194 | 14 | 208 | 4 | 4 | 139.6 |
| Brandon Jacobs | 15 | 224 | 18 | 242 | 4 | 4 | 137.9 |
| Beanie Wells | 16 | 176 | 12 | 188 | 0 | 0 | 135.6 |
| Steve Slaton | 11 | 131 | 44 | 175 | 1 | 4 | 127.4 |
| Justin Forsett | 16 | 115 | 41 | 156 | 1 | 2 | 126.9 |
| Darren Sproles | 16 | 93 | 45 | 138 | 0 | 1 | 126 |
| Ronnie Brown | 9 | 147 | 14 | 161 | 3 | 4 | 122.6 |
| Reggie Bush | 14 | 70 | 47 | 117 | 0 | 0 | 120.5 |
| LeSean McCoy | 16 | 155 | 40 | 195 | 2 | 3 | 118.5 |
| Jason Snelling | 14 | 142 | 30 | 172 | 2 | 3 | 117.2 |
| Julius Jones | 14 | 177 | 35 | 212 | 1 | 5 | 113.5 |
| Felix Jones | 14 | 116 | 19 | 135 | 0 | 0 | 98.4 |
