Quick Reads: Don't spend on RBs

This week, Arian Foster and Peyton Hillis finished atop our statistical rankings at running back. So the two best performances at their position came from an undrafted free agent and a seventh-round pick, respectively. Neither was expected to be his team's starting running back heading into the season, but it seems absurd now to consider the possibility that either might lose his job anytime soon.

It's nothing new, of course, to see either back toward the top of the running back charts; Foster leads the league in rushing DYAR, while Hillis ranks sixth. And it's certainly not the first time we've seen unheralded backs step up and make a dramatic impact.

To read why spending big in the backfield doesn't equate to great production, plus FBO's list of the best, worst and most surprising performances of Week 9, you must be an ESPN Insider.

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Email
• Subscribe

Bill Barnwell

• Follow
• Archive

Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) is a staff writer for Grantland.