Important Backup QBs, RBs and Third Receivers
It is late in your draft, your team is pretty much set, but you have a couple of picks left. Who is out there who doesn’t have a starting job now, but with a couple of lucky breaks could have a good impact this season? Who might be the guy you aren’t thinking about now, that becomes a fantasy household name by the end of the season? The following guys seem to have a decent chance of starting for their teams at some point during the season, for various different reasons.
Quarterbacks
Brady Quinn, Cleveland Browns. There are a couple of reasons I think that Quinn might be worth a spot on your bench. The first is his contract. Quinn has a nice contract after being a first round draft pick, and the Browns certainly want him to earn his money. The second reason that Quinn might be worth having is who saw the breakout season coming from Derek Anderson last season? I am far from convinced that Anderson will be able to repeat last season’s performance, and although he just got a new contract as well, I don’t think he will be irreplaceable. If Anderson is really bad over the first four or five weeks, I believe you will have a decent chance of Quinn getting his chance.
Sage Rosenfels, Houston Texans. In his eight starts for the injured Matt Schaub, Rosenfels showed a good deal of talent for the Houston Texans. In those eight games Rosenfels completed 64 percenet of his passes for almost 1,700 yards and 15 TDs. He did throw 12 picks, but he definitely showed that the Texans aren’t completely screwed if there is another injury to their starter.
Todd Collins, Washington Redskins. Collins started the last four weeks of the season in place of the injured Jason Campbell, and the most impressive part was he didn’t throw an interception. Collins was good in three of the four games and threw for 888 yards and five TDs in those four games. He isn’t going to wow you and put up Peyton Manning numbers, but if your starter is injured and most or all of the starters are gone from your league, Collins might not be your worst option.
Other good backups to consider: Kevin Kolb, Philadelphia Eagles; Seneca Wallace, Seattle Seahawks; J.P. Losman, Buffalo Bills; Matt Leinart, Arizona Cardinals
Running Backs
Chester Taylor, Minnesota Vikings. We have talked at length on this site about the injury history of Adrian Peterson, so we aren’t going to run through the whole list of sprains, breaks, and other problems that Peterson has had. Just know that the year before the Vikings brought AP to Minnesota, Taylor had a very good year. He rushed for over 1,200 yards, caught 40+ balls out of the backfield, and scored six times. Even last year when Peterson was part of the team, Taylor got a decent amount of carries (5-10 in most games), and in the games when All Day was hurt, Taylor filled in nicely. To me, he is the best backup running back to own.
Kenny Watson, Cincinnati Bengals. With the injuries to Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh the Bengals have reportedly been shopping the services of Rudi Johnson around the league in search for some help at wide receiver. If that is indeed true and the Bengals find a willing trade partner, the stock of Kenny Watson could shoot through the roof. To be honest, even if Rudi is on the team, I think Watson might be a viable fantasy player if Johnson has anything near a repeat of last season’s nightmare. In the five games that he was asked to start, Watson collected 410 yards and four TDs. For the season he rushed for 768 yards and scored seven times, including a 31 carry, 130 yard and three score game against the Jets. The other part of his game that makes him valuable, even if Johnson is playing, is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, an area that Rudi is terrible at. He caught 52 passes last season, which ranked him fifth among all running backs in receptions. Keep an eye on the trade winds in Cincy, and if they ship Rudi out of town, you might be able to land a starting RB off the free agent wire.
Jerious Norwood, Atlanta Falcons. I keep waiting for this guy to break out, and the Falcons keep putting people in his way. For the last two years, you would have figured that Norwood would have eclipsed the aging and unspectacular Warrick Dunn, but no, Dunn kept getting the majority of the carries. In the offseason when the Falcons said goodbye to Dunn, you figured, now they are ready to give the job to Norwood. Nope. The Falcons went out and threw a boat load of money at free agent Michael Turner, so Norwood will be riding the pine again. However, since Turner has never carried the load before there is a chance that he will either be ineffective, or possibly injury prone from taking the beating that comes with 20 carries every Sunday. Norwood has breakaway speed (not that Turner, nicknamed ‘The Burner’ doesn’t) and has averaged over six yards a carry for his career. He seems like he has all the tools to be a good NFL back, he just needs the chance. Perhaps, at some point during the season, he will get that chance.
DeShaun Foster, San Francisco 49ers. Foster has been the main back in Carolina for the last handful of years, and his main problem has been his inability to stay healthy. Well, the Panthers finally got tired of seeing his name on the injury report, and sent him packing. Now in San Francisco, Foster will no longer be the main man with the presence of Frank Gore in the Niners backfield. Although he has only missed a few games in his career, the 49ers were able to draft Gore where they did because of his extensive injury problems while he was at the U. That’s the University of Miami for those of you not in the know. Gore was going to be a starter in front of Willis McGahee, and looked like a top 10 draft pick before blowing out his knee. He rehabbed, worked hard, and came back the next year and blew out his other knee. There were a few other minor injuries for Gore as well, so if his bad luck would ever come back to bite him in the pros, Foster is a guy who has rushed for almost 900 yards many times during his career.
RBs who could have an impact: Chris Johnson, Tennesee Titans; Ahmad Bradshaw/Derrick Ward, New York Giants; Lamont Jordan, New England Patriots; Ladell Betts, Washington Redskins; Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh Steelers; Dominic Rhodes, Indianapolis Colts; Felix Jones, Dallas Cowboys.
Wide Receivers
Shaun McDonald, Detroit Lions. With all the attention paid to the young studs Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson, Shaun McDonald flew under the radar and caught 79 passes for 943 yards and six touchdowns last season. Not too bad for a guy who is clearly the third option on his team. Now to be fair, both Calvin and Roy did miss some games, so it wasn’t like McDonald was always the slot guy, but that is a pretty impressive season nonetheless. One last thing to remember is that pass happy offensive coordinator Mike Martz is no longer in Detroit, so the Lions might look to run more in 2008. But if you are at the end of the draft, McDonald could be a nice selection.
Anthony Gonzalez, Indianapolis Colts. When Marvin Harrison went down to injury, many wondered who Peyton Manning would throw to when Reggie Wayne was covered. Well, although he was fairly inconsistent (as most rookies will be), by the end of the season, Gonzalez proved that he could be relied on to make a big catch when they needed it. In the last five games that he played (including the playoffs, Gonzalez had 20 catches for 303 yards and four touchdowns. If Harrison is ok and ready to go, Gonzalez becomes a third receiver on his team, and his fantasy value will be somewhat limited. However, if Harrison has a problem with that knee again, which is possible he did turn 36 on 8.25, Gonzalez could have a big role on one of the most potent passing attacks in football.
Jabar Gaffney, New England Patriots. Speaking of potent passing attacks, Jabar Gaffney looks to fill the role that belonged to Donte Stallworth last season. Even after Thanksgiving, Gaffney started to steal time, and made the most of what he got. In the last five weeks, Gaffney caught 21 passes for 304 yards and four scores. I can’t believe that the Patriots will pass as much as they did last season, but they still will air it out with plenty of regularity. With all the attention paid to Moss and Welker, Gaffney should catch his fair share of passes, look for a good season from him.
Steve Smith, New York Giants. After missing most of the season to injury, Smith came back in December and made some big catches for the Giants down the stretch, and especially in the playoffs. In the five games from the Week 17 matchup with the Pats to the Super Bowl win, Smith caught 17 passes for 181 yards. He isn’t a tall guy at 5′11″, but he runs good routes and has good hands. He is having just a so-so preseason as he is dealing with more injuries, but it really seemed like the Giants were willing to give him more responsibility at the end of last year. And with an aging Amani Toomer on the other side of Plaxico, Smith could be in line for a decent amount of catches if he can stay on the field.
More great slot receivers: Jacoby Jones, Houston Texans; Robert Meachem, New Orleans Saints; Nate Burleson, Seattle Seahawks; James Hardy, Buffalo Bills; Joe Jurveicious, Cleveland Browns; Brandon Stokely, Denver Broncos; James Jones, Green Bay Packers
As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.
