Long gone are the days of running backs carrying the rock for 300, 350, 400 times in a season. It just doesn’t happen anymore. Combine that premise with the fact RBs take the most hits of any skilled position and thus get injured often and it shouldn’t come as a shock to see such volatility at the position. One year a player will finish in the Top 3 and the next he’ll finish outside the Top 30. It’s the nature of the beast. While we as Fantasy Managers must feed that beast to draft a consistent and dominant fantasy team, we can also avoid the ones who are likely to give us the most trouble. Sometimes it’s better to be a year early than a year too late. This is our attempt to help you avoid those RB grenades that would typically blow up your team.
Arian Foster, Texans: We hope Foster's back injury is a thing of the past, especially since it made him miss seven games in 2013. Unfortunately, we don’t think it is. Back surgery for a running back is practically the kiss of death. Add in the fact Foster sat out the 1st half of preseason and Training Camp with a sore hamstring, leads us to believe he’s at the point of a body meltdown. When healthy, he's the focal point of an offense without a very exciting QB, meaning he'll get a ton of touches both running and catching, but what good would that do if he’s only on the field for 10 games? We know he’s productive when healthy, but at this point we just don’t trust him to stay at 100% for all 16 games.
Trent Richardson, Indianapolis Colts: We don’t want to believe this one but have to trust what we are seeing. T-Rich just isn’t running the ball like he once did at Alabama or during his rookie season with the Browns. We gave him a pass last year because he was learning a new system, but even in the 2014 Preseason he just seems clueless when hitting the right hole or finding the open running lane. Very disappointing because he’s on such a great Offense and could really shine if things just started to “click” again for him.
Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens: Suspended for the 1st two games of the season because of the altercation/assault on his then fiancee (now wife), Rice is no longer the Ravens workhorse. We fully expect Bernard Pierce to not only shine while Rice is suspended but to also rotate with Rice once he's back from the 2-game punishment. After a season of just 660 yards and career worst 3.1 yards per carry a year ago, it’s hard for us to trust this once very productive Fantasy RB.
Stevan Ridley, New England Patriots: Fumbling is the only thing in the way from Ridley being the Patriots workhorse between the tackles and on the goal-line, especially since LeGarrette Blount is gone. Sadly, he just can’t find the medicine for fumblitis. It’s a terrible sickness that has plagued many RBs throughout their careers. Once you are labeled a fumbler its hard to shake that moniker and even more difficult for Ridley since he quickly lands in Bill Belichick’s dog house (a cold and dreary place that is difficult to escape). He’s already put the ball on the carpet in the Preseason, not a good start for the player with 8 fumbles the last two seasons.
Steven Jackson, Atlanta Falcons: In 2013 an early season hamstring injury plagued S-Jax all year, resulting in major BUST status for anyone that spent their valuable 2nd or 3rd round pick on the veteran rusher. Care to guess what happened on the 1st day of Training Camp this year? The FIRST DAY!!! S-Jax goes down with a hamstring injury (this time the other leg). He’s been out of the Preseason and Training Camp ever since. He’s doing a great job on Hard Knocks mentoring the younger backs, but don’t let his past performances and reputation fool you, it's nearing the end for Jackson. Plus rookie Devonta Freeman is expected to contribute from the get-go.
Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders: He makes our bust list every year, and guess what, he’s here again. All the potential in the world doesn’t mean SQUAT if you can’t stay on the field. Fully expect MJD to run away with the starting job. McFadden is simply the most injury prone player in the NFL. Sad? Yes. Fact? Yes. Truth hurts, deal with it Raider Nation.
Knowshon Moreno, Miami Dolphins: We were never fans of Knowshon Moreno and that opinion came back to haunt us in a MAJOR way in 2013. If you were lucky enough to draft him, he was without question the best pick of your draft given the round you selected him. But let's be honest, running the ball in the Broncos record setting offense was pretty easy considering defenses were so focused on stopping (containing) Peyton Manning. Now that he's in Miami, we think he'll return to his previous major letdown status. Should also mention his surgically repaired knee has kept him out of the 1st half of Training Camp and is admittedly not yet in football shape.
Chris Ivory, New York Jets: The Jets will once again be a run heavy team, especially if they can get creative with Mike Vick under-center. Early reports indicate a RBBC with Chris Johnson, which is fine for Ivory, because last year he couldn't handle the workload by himself. Then again, he is quickly earning the label of injury prone. He went down with a rib injury in the team’s 1st preseason game
Shonn Greene, Tennessee Titans: Two right knee surgeries in the past year forced the Titans to draft Bishop Sankey and we expect the rookie to handle the bulk of the Titans workload, leaving Greene a fantasy non-factor.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Cincinnati Bengals: The Law-Firm lost his committee role to rookie Jeremy Hill back in June. BJGE is now a serious afterthought in Fantasy and should only be considered as a bye week filler in the deepest of 16-20 man leagues.
It appears the accusations against FSU running back Karlos Williams are starting to mount. According to reports, not only is Williams the subject of an ongoing domestic battery investigation, he is also alleged to be looked at in an alleged armed robbery case apparently from a botched pot deal.
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