By Dan O’Shea
The Great NFL Lockout of 2011 put the free agent market on hold for a while, so what we’ve seen in recent days is a frenzied, condensed version of what usually happens over many weeks or months.
That particularly has been the case at the running back position. The Bears were not the only team to shake up the backfield with the surprise addition of a free agent – in their case Marion Barber. The most recent surprise signing was Baltimore’s pick-up of Ricky Williams, just days after cutting ties with Willis McGahee.
Veteran RBs getting signed to back-up roles can have an effect on fantasy expectations for starters. For example, I ranked the Bears’ Matt Forte in my preseason overall top 20, but I’m already a bit concerned that if Forte sits out some preseason action over his contract issues, Barber could earn some important carries in the first few games of the regular season. Likewise, Baltimore’s Ray Rice is a no-doubt Top 5 RB, but Williams could cut into his scoring and red zone carries.
Meanwhile, my preseason expectations also are being rocked by star Tennessee RB Chris Johnson’s ongoing holdout. Most of the fantasy football universe expected Johnson to be in camp by now, but it sounds from many reports like he is not anywhere near ready to end his holdout. This is a guy many of us – or at least me – ranked second overall.
Assuming his holdout persists, I’ve got to rethink my top 20 RBs. Here goes:
Read More
Posted on August 10, 2011
