The Most Consistent Fantasy Running Back of 2016
David Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals was the most consistent fantasy running back of 2016, scoring 406 fantasy points across 16 games at 25 points per game, with a best single week of 38. No other back that season combined a full slate of games, the highest per game average at the position, and the top total score all at once. Le'Veon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers matched the scoring rate almost exactly, 24 per game, but did it over 13 games. On week to week dependability, Johnson's season stands alone at the top.
Who Was the Most Consistent Fantasy Running Back in 2016?
The record answers this one cleanly. David Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals scored 406 fantasy points in 16 games, averaged 25 points per game, and peaked at 38 in his best week. He was the only running back in the top ten who led in total points, per game average, and games played all in the same season. That combination, a full schedule with the highest weekly scoring rate at the position, is what dependability looks like in the numbers.
Le'Veon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers sits second in the table and posted 315 points, but the shape of his season is different: 24 points per game over 13 games, with the single biggest week any back managed all year at 52. Bell's rate matched Johnson's almost exactly, yet the shorter run of games is why the consistency verdict goes to Johnson rather than Bell. Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys played all 16 games as well, totaling 325 points at 20 per game with a best week of 41, a steady season that ranked third on total score.
What Were the Top 10 Fantasy RB Seasons of 2016?
Here is the full top ten as the record lists it, with each back's team, games played, total fantasy points, per game average, and best week.
| Rank | Player | Team | Games | Points | Points per game | Best week | | 1 | David Johnson | Arizona Cardinals | 16 | 406 | 25 | 38 | | 2 | Le'Veon Bell | Pittsburgh Steelers | 13 | 315 | 24 | 52 | | 3 | Ezekiel Elliott | Dallas Cowboys | 16 | 325 | 41 best week | | 4 | LeSean McCoy | Buffalo Bills | 16 | 296 | 19 | 33 | | 5 | DeMarco Murray | Tennessee Titans | 16 | 294 | 18 | 28 | | 6 | Devonta Freeman | Atlanta Falcons | 16 | 284 | 18 | 34 | | 7 | Melvin Gordon | Los Angeles Chargers | 16 | 251 | 16 | 36 | | 8 | Jordan Howard | Chicago Bears | 15 | 230 | 15 | 30 | | 9 | Mark Ingram | New Orleans Saints | 16 | 238 | 15 | 31 | | 10 | LeGarrette Blount | New England Patriots | 16 | 233 | 15 | 26 |
How Did the Total Race Compare With the Per Game Race?
The order of the table says something the per game column quietly disputes. Ezekiel Elliott's 325 points beat Le'Veon Bell's 315, so Elliott holds third on total score even though the table places Bell second, a product of Bell's 24 per game against Elliott's 20. Bell played 13 games to Elliott's 16, and the ranking clearly rewards the scoring rate that a shorter season still showed.
Further down, three backs sit within a narrow band: Jordan Howard of the Chicago Bears at 230 points, LeGarrette Blount of the New England Patriots at 233, and Mark Ingram of the New Orleans Saints at 238, all averaging 15 per game. Howard did it in 15 games while Ingram and Blount each played 16, yet Howard holds the higher spot in the table, eighth, ahead of Ingram in ninth and Blount in tenth. Their best weeks, 30, 31, and 26, show how even the weekly peaks were at the bottom of the top ten.
The middle of the list is nearly bunched. LeSean McCoy of the Buffalo Bills at 296, DeMarco Murray of the Tennessee Titans at 294, and Devonta Freeman of the Atlanta Falcons at 284 finished fourth, fifth, and sixth, with McCoy separating himself at 19 per game against 18 for Murray and Freeman. Melvin Gordon of the Los Angeles Chargers landed seventh at 251 points and 16 per game, but his best week of 36 was larger than Murray's 28, proof that the highest single game and the season score do not always belong to the same tier of finisher.
What Makes a Running Back Season Consistent?
Consistency in a season record comes down to three columns agreeing: games played, per game average, and total points. A back who appears in 16 games and sustains a high weekly average never leaves a fantasy manager searching for a replacement, and that is the profile David Johnson's 2016 row shows. A back with a spectacular best week but fewer games, like Bell's 52, delivers a higher peak but a shorter stretch of dependable starts.
Judged on that standard, 2016 splits into a clear tier of one, a rate match who played less, and then a wide field of full season grinders. Johnson is the verdict, Bell is the counterargument the games column answers, and everyone from McCoy through Blount forms the dependable middle that made the position deep that year.
Common questions
How many fantasy points did David Johnson score in 2016?
- David Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals scored 406 fantasy points in 2016 across 16 games, an average of 25 points per game, and his best single week was 38.
Which running back had the biggest single fantasy week in 2016?
- Le'Veon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers had the largest single week among running backs in 2016 at 52 points, and he also averaged 24 per game, but he played 13 games that season.
Did Ezekiel Elliott or Le'Veon Bell score more total points in 2016?
- Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys outscored Le'Veon Bell on total points, 325 to 315, playing 16 games to Bell's 13. Bell's 24 points per game topped Elliott's 20, which is why the ranking places Bell second and Elliott third.
Which teams had a top 10 fantasy running back in 2016?
- Ten different teams placed a back in the top ten: the Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, and New England Patriots. No team placed two backs in the group.