4 Running Backs Ready to Make the Leap to the Next Fantasy Football Tier

Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals

Jeremy Hill jumps to elite RB1 status, finishing in the top five.

Whew that was fun to type.

The Cincinnati Bengals have themselves one of the best young running backs in the league in last year's phenom Jeremy Hill. Already being drafted as the 11th running back off the board according to FantasyFootballCalculator.com, how much higher can Hill climb?

Well, according to our metrics at numberFire, we have plenty more to see from Hill. Finishing with the fourth highest Rushing Net Expected Points (NEP) out of all running backs last year, there's reason for optimism in Hill outperforming such a task.

For those unfamiliar with numberFire's metrics, NEP is our signature statistic indicating how a player's performance on any particular play affects his team's expected point total. Hill added more points to Cincinnati's scoring output than all but three other running backs in the league last year. He crushed teammate Giovani Bernard's paltry output, adding a net 27 more points to Cincinnati's offense compared to Bernard when the Bengals rushed the ball.

Rushing 47.6% of the time last year -- fifth most in the league -- the Bengals will once again call on Hill as he's expected to shoulder the load once again in 2015. Breaking out last year in a Week 9 game against Jacksonville, Hill went on to finish the season rushing for the most yards in the league, the highest yards per carry, the fourth most rushing touchdowns, and the seventh most PPR fantasy points. In those final nine weeks, Hill had two different weeks finishing as the number two overall scoring running back and four weeks with top-12 finishes with a fifth narrowly missing finishing as RB13.

After adding consecutive first and second round picks to their offensive line this offseason, look for Cincinnati to continue rushing the ball in offensive coordinator Hue Jackson's offense as the Bengals look to return several starters from injury and elevate their offense even more in 2015.

As our own Brandon Gdula so succinctly phrased it, "you should definitely draft Jeremy Hill". Gdula noted just how heavily a rushing team Cincinnati was in the red zone, in which they were second in red zone rushing frequency, first in rushing percentage from within the 10-yard line, and first in rushing frequency from inside the 5-yard line.

Considering the Bengals rushed the ball 59% of the time in the red zone -- well above their overall 47.6% total -- Hill could be a touchdown fiend entering his sophomore year as the team's biggest scoring threat. Hill scored on 19.4% of his attempts within the 20, while Bernard was held to 12.9%. The two were used somewhat evenly -- Hill with 36 attempts and Bernard with 31 -- but that could see a shift in 2015 after seeing how Hill ended the season on such a high note.

Hill is in for a monster year -- perhaps a Le'Veon Bell-type breakout year -- and could potentially be a top-five draft pick in fantasy drafts next season.