Klein: Players to Keep an Eye on During Your Fantasy Draft

It'ssssssssss fantasy time! With fantasy drafts right around the corner I am going to start posting brief advice posts to help you win your league and look really cool! I'm sure you all remember last year when your #1 RB was deactivated for a hand full of weeks and you wish you had picked their back-up either in the draft or off of the waiver wire. This method is called "handcuffing". I am going to show you how to handcuff for this season and give you a two players at the running back position that are VITAL to draft if you select the starter ahead of them in the earlier rounds.

RUNNING BACKS
RB Lesean McCoy (PHI)
I have been a fantasy owner of the B-West Express the past 3 season and I can only say one negative thing about what he has done for me. Mr. Questionable always seems to have some type of nagging injury that bothers him throughout a season. As an owner of him, each week you will find yourself checking the injury status of Westbrook and you will more than likely see a (Q) next to his name. As the owner of him I always made sure to have Correll Buckhalter chilling on my bench to assure myself that I would always have a starter for the upcoming week just incase Westy actually did not play. Now with Buckhalter splitting the backfield with Knowshon Moreno in Denver there is a new guy you MUST select, rookie Lesean McCoy. McCoy will be your man to get you 80 yards and 1 TD in the 2-4 weeks that B-West is not playing. At Pitt, he rushed for over 1,300 yards in his two seasons as a started and proved he is a comparable back to Westy. McCoy, the step-brother of Colt McCoy (just kidding), has the speed and tools to become a solid backup and fantasy RB2. Make sure to look for him in rounds 7-8.

RB Felix Jones (DAL) and RB Tashard Choice (DAL)
Let me just give you Marion Barber's combined stats for the LAST 4 weeks of this past season (This isn't a joke because trust me, I know it looks like one). Marion the Barbarian rushed for 15 yards and 0 touchdowns...WOW. Barber was nagged by injuries for the last quarter of the season and there is a clear reason why. Just like Brian Westbrook, Barber carried the ball so many times to a point where his body couldn't take it anymore and an injury plagued him. If the Cowboys reduced his carries through the season then maybe he would last all 16 weeks and they would get to the playoffs. Obviously that is not their philosophy so we will let them give Barber the ball 225 times through 13 weeks and then when it comes time for FANTASY PLAYOFFS he will be on the bench and one of these two studs will lead your team through the playoffs. Felix Jones would have been the starter if he didn't get hit with an injury in Week 6 that sidelined him for the rest of the year. Jones showed plenty of promise by scoring 3 touchdowns in 5 games playing a reduced role behind Barber. Choice became the starter when Barber was Questionable for 4 weeks and he was an absolute stud (325 yards rushing, 163 yards recieving, and 2 TDs). These two second-year running backs will play a vital role during playoff time for your fantasy team. Look for Jones first in rounds 9-10 and Choice in rounds 11-13.

Thanks for reading,
Wills