Who's better -- LeSean McCoy or Adrian Peterson? Try Jamaal Charles

Recently, LeSean McCoy and Adrian Peterson engaged in a very mild "war of words" about who is the better running back. Naturally, both believe they're the best back in the NFL. It would be a disappointment if they didn't.

But while McCoy and Peterson trumpet their own merits, fantasy football owners might be sitting back, thinking, "Um, Jamaal Charles is better than both of you."

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And while it's unlikely that I'd actually argue with McCoy or Peterson (because, you know ... muscles), I'd probably be even less likely to argue the merit of the latter claim.

No disrespect to any of the players mentioned, but Charles is the guy I'd want for my fantasy team this year. 

Honestly, Peterson isn't a consideration for me, which sounds crazy, but at 29 (the oldest of the three) with a fairly notable injury history, he's not a guy I'd take 1 or 2. Oh, I'd gladly take him 3 or 4, but not 1 or 2.

With McCoy and Charles, the difference is razor thin. McCoy had 37 more touches than Charles last season, but the number I'm focused on is 40 -- that's how many more targets Charles had. It "only" resulted in 18 extra catches, but I like the idea of Charles getting the ball in space more. With Darren Sproles in Philadelphia this year, McCoy will probably see even fewer catches.

This is really splitting hairs -- Charles averaged 6.0 yards per touches last year, McCoy averaged 5.9. They're both going to produce big-time numbers barring injury, but I think Charles will produce just a little bit more. At the very least, he deserves to be in the conversation for best back in the league.

Here's a look at top-40 RBs in Fantasy Source's RB rankings: