By Dan O’Shea
At the beginning of this season, three running backs sat atop the fantasy draft heap, but only one of them has stayed there. Arian Foster has brought a better return on investment than either of the other two top-tier RBs, Ray Rice and LeSean McCoy.
Foster’s Week 12 performance for 102 yards rushing and 2 TDs wasn’t the biggest fantasy performance of the week, and often this year Foster hasn’t been the top scorer in a given week. But he has been the picture of dependability, the No. 2-ranked fantasy player overall behind Robert Griffin III (RG3 being this year’s shocker, of course)
Foster is not even the top RB in rushing yards, a distinction that belongs to the resurgent Adrian Peterson, who has run for 1,236 yards to Foster’s 1,064. Where Foster is better than anyone else is in the scoring department, with 14 TDs overall.
Rice, meanwhile, hasn’t exactly been a disappointment, second in receiving yards among RBs with 404, almost 800 rushing yards and seven TDs. Nice, but not a top 5 RB.
McCoy has exactly been a disappointment, with 750 yards rushing, five TDs overall, three lost fumbles and now a concussion that kept him out last week and possibly longer.
I don’t know how things will shape up for next year’s fantasy draft, but right now Foster looks more likely the clear No. 1 pick than he did this year, possibly followed by rookie sensation Doug Martin and maybe RG3 or Rice.
Expert Wire
* Yahoo! Roto Arcade recommends picking up Michael Bush for your fantasy playoff run. With Matt Forte hobbled and Bush’s ability to push into the end zone, it sounds like a good bet.
* SB Nation ranks this week’s top QBs, with Colin Kaepernick not surprisingly on the top of the heap.
* Rant Sports advises never sitting Trent Richardson. When was the last time anyone said that about any Browns player?
–
Dan O’Shea is our man in fantasyland. He welcomes your comments.
Posted on November 28, 2012