The 10 Most Productive Running Backs of 2015

10. Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals

Rushing NEP: 2.28 
Rushing Success Rate: 43.51%

Giovani Bernard started off the season blazing hot, far outperforming his teammate Jeremy Hill, who'd gotten far more attention in the offseason as a potential top-10 fantasy running back.

Through Week 5, Bernard had accrued a 6.98 Rushing NEP, good for fifth best in the league among running backs, whereas Hill was cellar-dwelling as the 49th-most productive back out of the 55 with at least 25 carries at that time.

Unfortunately, after Week 5, Bernard only saw three more games in which he logged double-digit carries as the Bengals' offensive staff made a concerted effort to get Hill going. But Hill ended up finishing with a woeful -0.06 Rushing NEP per rush.

Still, despite accruing net negative Rushing NEP from Week 5 on, Bernard's impressive start to the season was enough to crack the top 10 most productive running backs on the season. And his impressive 43.51% Rushing Success Rate, good for eight-best in the league, shows he was one of the more consistent chain movers when given the rock.

Sometimes coaches have a prototypical back that they envision running in their system and ignore evidence that points who is actually more effective in their system. In the Bengals' case, they got it right in 2014 by giving more work to Hill than Bernard. But based on the numbers, Bernard should've been the lead guy in the Cincy backfield in 2015.