After a crazy and wild season in 2015 most NFL fans will be looking toward 2016 with wide eyes and open hearts, wondering, what on Earth will we see next? I’m here to tell you that anything is possible. The game of football changes seemingly every year with the rules of the game, the players that play it, or the analysts in the media. Just like snowflakes, no two seasons are alike. Last year we witnessed a team go 15-1 during the regular season only to get completely out classed in the Super Bowl. We saw starting QBs lose more time due to injury than any other season in the past. The Rams also relocated back to LA! A million and one different things can happen on any given Sunday and even more can happen over the course of an entire season. I will be presenting to you the one fantasy-relevant player on each team (let’s face it, because of fantasy football most of us don’t know the names of half the players on any given defense or offensive line anyway) that I think have the most to prove in 2016, whether it be due to injury, under-fulfilling previous expectations, recently being acquired via FA/trade/draft, or maybe they performed well in 2015 and they need to prove that they can do it again over the course of a full season.
AFC East
Buffalo Bills – Tyrod Taylor
Tyrod Taylor was a player in 2015 that many fantasy owners were strongly opinionated about. Being a no name before the season, Tyrod surprised many of us by putting up 20+ points in standard format in a number of games. He has the arm strength to get the ball down the field, the accuracy to limit turnovers, and the legs to keep drives alive. If the Bills can find a way to be more consistent on defense (looks like they are taking the right steps through the draft) then Taylor will have a better chance to take command of some games this year and get the Bills to the playoffs, something Rex Ryan has promised, but failed to do since the day he got to Buffalo.
Miami Dolphins – Ryan Tannehill
I realize that this is now 2 QBs in a row but I promise there aren’t 32 QBs on this list! Ryan Tannehill had all the aspirations of becoming a franchise QB in 2015 and fell desperately short of that. This will be his 5th year in the league and he has not shown that he is deserving of the 100 million dollars the Dolphins are paying him. With new addition Laremy Tunsil (a steal in the draft), he should have more time in the pocket in 2016 than he did last year. This is one of the reasons that the Dolphins were bottom of the league in yards per passing attempt; with weapons like DeVante Parker and Jarvis (Juice) Landry there is no reason Tannehill can’t throw for 4,500 yards and 30 TDs in this upcoming season.
New England Patriots – Dion Lewis
Dion Lewis started out hotter than the turf on the Houston Texan’s summer camp field in 2015. Through his first 7 games he scored 4 TDs, caught 32 balls, and averaged 4.9 yards per carry, all while being someone who went predominately undrafted in many fantasy drafts. Part of that was due to the LaGarret Blount suspension in week 1 but Lewis remained active until tearing his ACL in week 8. In 2016 he has the opportunity to prove that he can be a dominate force in PPR leagues while catching passes from the Tom Brady revenge tour (you better believe Tom wants to light the league on fire after he serves his suspension).
New York Jets – Brandon Marshall
You might be thinking that Ryan Fitzpatrick aka “fear the beard” would be my choice for this list but he’s not and here’s why: he’s not currently on the roster. Ok, that’s a pretty bogus point so here’s the real reason: Brandon Marshall has been with 4 different teams in the past 7 years. Besides his rookie season, Marshall had become less productive every season after he joined a new team. This could be due to a number of different factors: defensive adjustments, roster changes, personality factors, but that doesn’t matter. The fact remains that Brandon Marshall has had trouble continuing his success with new teams and he needs to prove that he belongs in the elite tier of WRs that he may be drafted in during this upcoming fantasy season.
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens – Justin Forsett
After a stellar 2014 campaign in which he ran to the tune of 1,200 yards, 8 rushing TDs, and 44 catches, Justin Forsett saw his numbers dwindle to 641 yards, 2 TDs, and 31 catches in 2015 in 10 games last season. The journeyman has also been a member of 4 different teams in the past 5 seasons but did well enough to establish himself as the lead runner in Baltimore before 2014. Javorius (Buck) Allen may have done his job at the end of 2015 to unseat Forsett from the throne but the spot is still very much available to the highest bidder. If Forsett can prove that 2014 wasn’t a fluke then you can bet that Mark Trestman is going to use a RBBC approach in 2016.
Cinncinnati Bengals – Andy Dalton
This one was a hard decision to make between Andy Dalton and Tyler Eifert. The only reason Jeremy Hill wasn’t in the conversation is because I think he was overhyped after an effective short run to finish out 2014 and that lead to massively overinflated expectations for him heading into 2015. Eifert didn’t receive this honor because he only caught 5 or more balls 3 times last season and only reached 70+ yards twice, anyone can see that his TD pace in 2015 isn’t something he is going to repeat ever again. Dalton wins this honor because he has struggled to keep the ball out of opposing team’s hands during his career and is still carrying around the notion that he cannot compete in the playoffs. Previously Dalton’s best TD:INT was 33:20 in 2013 which was followed up by a 19:17 in 2014. During the regular season in 2015 Dalton had an ungodly 25:7 while boosting his yards per pass attempt by a full yard over his previous career best. The man’s hair was on fire (sorry, couldn’t help myself) before being extinguished by a broken thumb during a heated Bengals/Steelers rivalry game in week 13. If he can continue that pace into 2016 he will compete for a t5 fantasy spot at likely a t10 draft price, if that.
Cleveland Browns – Gary Barnidge
Gary (Barnkowski) Barnidge was the only player on the Brown’s roster that I thought had previous success in the NFL that has the chance to do so again (RG3 will NOT be fantasy relevant). I seriously debated putting Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta (Front Office personnel) here because it has yet to be seen if Moneyball antics can be effective in football, but I decided to stick with a player. Barnidge finished the season with over 1,000 yards and 9 TDs, being the lone bright spot in the black hole that was the Cleveland Brown’s offense in 2015. He was strong enough to be a t5 TE in 2015 and he has the potential to do just that in 2016 as well, I’m just not sure the Browns aren’t going to blindly go to one of their newly drafted WRs in 2016 to see what kind of production they can get from them instead.
Pittsburgh Steelers – Markus Wheaton
As a Steelers’ fan it pains me not to be able to list Martavis Bryant as the name here but as of right now he will be suspended for the entire 2016 season due to a 2nd violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. Anyway, Markus Wheaton improved both his TD total (2-5) and yards per catch (12.2-17.0) from 2014 to 2015, all while having 9 fewer receptions. Wheaton has been on the breakout list for a few years in Pittsburgh now, with the absence of Bryant, this may finally be the year that comes to fruition. In week 9 vs. the Seattle Seahawks Markus Wheaton torched everyone not named Richard Sherman with 9 catches for 201 yards. Wheaton shined while Antonio Brown was being uncharacteristically held in check by Richard Sherman. If more teams can mirror what Sherman was able to do to Brown (don’t bet on that) then it will be up to Wheaton and Sammy Coats to keep Ben Roethisberger slinging the rock across the yard.
AFC South
Houston Texans – Brock Osweiler
This was a somewhat tough decision to make but I went with Brock over Hopkins and Miller. First of all, hopefully anyone reading this knows that Hopkins is a great receiver but his production will trend downward from his 2015 totals to his 2016 totals. I did not go with Miller because we know he’s good, he just wasn’t properly used in Miami. Finally, Houston has been dealing with 2nd rate RBs due to Arian Foster’s inability to remain on the field and Miller will be an improvement simply because of that. Now, onto Osweiler; he left Denver, the team that had been molding him into their QB of the future, and signed a hefty contract with the Texans in hopes that he will be the key component to an already playoff-caliber team. Stringing together mid-level QBs hasn’t worked for the Texans in the past so they were willing to go a different route that didn’t include giving up their entire future to sign a QB in the first few picks in the NFL draft. Osweiler needs to show that he is deserving of the 70+ million dollars the Texans will be giving him, he has the weapons around him to do just that if he proves he is capable.
Indianapolis Colts – Dwayne Allen
This was another tough decision to make as for whom to talk about. T.Y. Hilton is a great WR but just doesn’t have the skillset to make it into that elite tier of WRs, Frank Gore is over the hump and coming into the last leg of his career, and we already know Andrew Luck is good. It seems that the Colts finally decided to go with one primary TE as they did not resign Coby Fleener this offseason. This leaves Allen as the primary dump-off option for the scrambling Andrew Luck. Over the past few years Luck has tried his best to force feed Frank Gore in times of desperation but Gore has never been a quality receiving back. With Ahmad Bradshaw leaving (once again) this leaves receiving RBs at a minimum in the Colt’s depth chart. If Dwayne Allen can show that it wasn’t a mistake for the Colts to go all in on him this year then expect his red zone targets to rise and rec/game to rise as well.
Jacksonville Jaguars – Blake Bortles
I could have easily gone with Allen Robinson or even Allen Hurns for my selection here but I went with Bortles for one key reason, garbage time may be at a minimum for Bortles this year. 35 TDs and nearly 4,500 yards is something that may scream “t5 QB” to you but the majority of these numbers came when the game was already out of hand. Now, in fantasy, garbage time is real time, this is something you can hope for or even expect, but I expect that the Jags may be in a different place this year than they were last year. With the draft picks they made and the FA they signed their defense will be a lot better (not hard to improve their terrible defense from 2015) which will lead to less air-it-out time and more control-the-clock time for Bortles. He will need to be more efficient with fewer opportunities than he had in 2015 in order to remain in the conversation of quality fantasy QBs in 2016. His INT total of 18 isn’t terrible but combining that with 14 fumbles (5 lost) yields a high turnover rate that needs to be reduced in order for the Jags to become competitive in the division this year.
Tennessee Titans – Demarco Murray
Mariota seemed like the obvious choice here but I’d rather talk about the 2014 rushing champion who turned 1,800 rushing yards into 702 rushing yards in 2015. Many will place the blame on Chip Kelly and a system that seems destined to fail in the NFL but Murray did not seem like himself last season even when Chip gave him a fighting chance. Murray was behind arguably the best NFL offensive line with the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 but he has shown during his career (4.6 career yards per/carry average) that he is a reliable, bruising back that can keep the clock moving. His biggest concern before the 2014 season was also his health. He is an oft-injured back that has all the talent in the world. He can roll over and finish his career bouncing between teams until he can no longer find a job, or he can take handoffs from Marcus Mariota and keep the game clock moving while also keeping the ball out of defender’s hands.
AFC West
Denver Broncos – CJ Anderson
Paxton Lynch will take over starting duties for March Sanchez sooner rather than later, don’t be fooled into thinking that Sanchez will be the team’s starter for the duration of 2016. That leaves me to talk about CJ Anderson. Before last season’s fantasy drafts, I was very cautious in which RBs to choose early. I wanted no part of CJ Anderson or Jeremy Hill because I am a strong believer that a solid month of football does not make a player great. I need to see sustained dominance before I am willing to draft a player in the first round. Both CJ and Hill proved that to me but that does NOT mean that they have nothing left to prove to anyone else. Dominance in the NFL is still dominance; there is something that lies within them that made both of them great for the stretch of games to end the 2014 season. If he can get back to that level while being put into a position to succeed by Gary Kubiak then there is no reason to believe that CJ Anderson is done in the NFL. He signed a contract that obviously indicates that the Broncos think the 2014 CJ Anderson may return, why can’t we?
Kansas City Chiefs – Charcandrick West
Surprised that it isn’t Jamaal Charles here? Let me tell you why he’s not. First and most importantly is the dreaded 30th birthday, Charles turns 30 this December. While turning 30 isn’t some magical occurrence that makes an RB in the NFL lose his mojo, avoiding RBs over the age of 30 is a rule of thumb for a good reason. RB’s efficiency tend to decline sharply around the 30 year mark, pair this with the fact that Charles played in 5 games in the 2015 season before suffering from a season ending injury AND the fact that he missed the playoffs in 2014 due to injury and I think we have a recipe for disaster in 2016. Charles could easily come out of the gate and prove me wrong but it is just as likely that either bad production or another injury could sideline one of the NFL’s all-time greats sometime during 2016. Instead we will be looking onto the likes of Charcandrick West again in 2016 as the lead dog in the Chief’s backfield. It’s no secret that Andy Reid likes to run the ball; it is also not a secret that he tends to use a bell cow and not a RBBC approach when it comes to his backfield. In 2015 we saw Knile Davis get benched in favor for West, only for West to get hurt and watch Spencer Ware step in successfully for him. Then West returned and split time with Ware in the backfield for the remainder of the season. I think West fits in Reid’s system better than Ware does as a bell cow but I also see Ware being used in the red zone to punch it in from the 2 yard line more than West. There is also what I talked about with CJ Anderson above coming into play here. Just because he was successful for about a month last year doesn’t mean he is a great NFL running back. I need to see more before I can make that claim.
Oakland Raiders – Latavius Murray
This may seem like a lot of RBs in a row now and I apologize for that but it’s understandable since having a reliable running back in today’s game is more of a rarity than it is commonplace. Murray didn’t receive more than 4 carries in the 2014 season before coming onto the scene in week 9 and running to the tune of 5.0 yards/carry for the rest of the season. With the additions of Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree keeping defenses honest, Murray was able to rack up over 1,000 rush yards in 2015 with a 4.0 yard/carry average. As an emerging threat in the AFC the Raiders have put themselves in a position to fight for a playoff spot for years to come. In the NFL there are 2 options for a team when it comes to controlling the clock; 1, have a QB who is able to effectively check down to his receivers in order to insure a completion, or 2, have a RB who can churn out yards when necessary. The Raiders may have both this season but with an improving defense (much like the Jaguars) it will be more important than ever for them to not only score points, but to secure a lead when they have one. Murray has to opportunity to be a t10 RB in 2016, if he can develop his pass catching skills as well as keep his productivity on the ground where it was in 2015.
San Diego Chargers – Melvin Gordon
I’ll keep this one short and sweet because it is yet another RB. Gordon had 1 big knock against him coming out of college, he struggles with pass blocking. This kept him off the field on 3rd downs in 2015 and never allowed him to gain the complete trust of Philip Rivers. Not scoring a touchdown in his rookie season may deter many away from Gordon in 2016 but if his blocking skills can improve and Rivers can learn to lean on him as an escape option in the passing game then Gordon has the skills to be a reliable RB in the NFL. Personal note: the University of Wisconsin football program has not been successful in turning out quality NFL RBs as of late, maybe there is a negative correlation between a run dominate offensive scheme in college and a pass dominant scheme of the NFL?
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys – Tony Romo
Is there anyone else this could have been? Tony Romo doesn’t need to prove to everyone how talented he is; we have seen that in years past. Instead, he needs to prove that he can stay on the field for 16 games in a season. A healthy Romo can lead these Cowboys to a division championship. This division could be a close race all season but this offense just has too many weapons to tear apart the pitiful defenses that are in the NFC East. A quick note: both times he hurt his collar-bone last year he tried to protect himself by falling on an outstretched arm. This is NOT something that can be taught out of someone, it is instinctual. He will be an injury risk for the rest of his career.
New York Giants – Eli Manning
Eli Manning is a two-time Super Bowl winning QB, what else does he have to prove to us? Maybe nothing to you, but honestly he has not proven to me that he can remain a consistently good QB. Year after year fantasy owners roll the dice on Manning in the later rounds. Some years he has rewarded those owners, others? Well, they likely had a high draft pick the following season. Eli needs to show me that he can take the reins with this new regime and compete with a healthy Dallas team. The Cowboys and Giants may be battling it out all year for the division title if the good Eli shows up this coming season.
Philadelphia Eagles – Nelson Agholor
Many of you might me thinking that there are plenty of other players I could have picked instead of Agholor. Indeed there are. I think the woes of the Eagles in 2015 were compounded with all the hell that was breaking loose in that locker room and they actually have the potential to be a team to watch come Sunday during the regular season. Once Bradford is unseated by Carson Wentz the Eagles have the making of a decent offense with the right system. In 2015 I had hopes that Agholor could be the deep threat that Chip Kelly would utilize like DeSean Jackson but that never came to fruition. With Jordan Matthews dominating possession catches and red zone targets, look for Agholor to stress defenses deep this season, like I was hoping he would in 2015 (can you sense the bitterness?).
Washington Redskins – Kirk Cousins
I think Kirk Cousins made a HUGE mistake in not taking the long-term offer the Redskins had laid out for him. With the franchise tag, Cousins will be making $4 million more than the offer they had, but after this season he won’t be getting a contract of the same value as the one he recently declined, due to his lack of success. Besides Jordan Reed, his only reliable option is a speeding DeSean Jackson streaking down the sidelines. When the defensive coordinators get smart in the NFC East they will run a Cover 3 scheme to put safety help over Reed and a deep corner over Jackson and force the Redskins to win with their RBs or by Kirk Cousins creating something out of nothing (which I don’t think will happen). If Kirk can show that he really is talented and that 2015 wasn’t a fluke, either the Redskins will open up their checkbook or someone else will (see Osweiler, Brock).
NFC North
Chicago Bears – Jeremy Langford
I thought about putting Kevin White or Alshon Jeffery on here but decided to go with Langford instead. Langford rejuvenated many-a fantasy season last year with some savvy FA moves by some lucky/smart fantasy players. With Forte hurt, Langford shouldered a load that yielded some very good fantasy numbers. Based on his fantasy numbers alone he may be taken in the t10 of running backs in many drafts this upcoming season. Anyone who does that is foolish. His numbers dictate that he was simply the product of a massive workload. Once Forte came back Langford was forced into the 2nd spot of a RBBC role. Even with the 1st position in the RBBC, Forte wasn’t too effective. With the drafting of Jordan Howard the Bears made it clear that Langford isn’t promised anything heading into the 2016 season. The Bear’s camp has been all about competition at each position; nothing is given to you in Chicago, you must earn it for yourself. I don’t think Langford will dominate even if Howard gets hurt or simply falls out of favor, I think it would take an injury to Cutler and/or Alshon Jeffery in order for him to become a reliable RB in 2016.
Detroit Lions – Golden Tate
Ameer Abdullah and Matthew Stafford both were good options as well but honestly, I’m done with Stafford. I’ve been thinking for years that he could finally right the ship in Detroit but not anymore, I’m moving on and not looking back. Abdullah was the player with the biggest bandwagon before the 2015 season but he fell short of everyone’s unbelievably high expectations of him. Instead, I’m going with Tate. When Megatron was hurt in the 2014 season it was Tate that stepped up and kept the Lion’s offense from skipping a beat. I was low on Tate in 2015 because I wasn’t convinced that he could continue his success with Megatron still commanding targets but now that Megatron is gone, it’s Golden time. If he can step up again like he did in 2014 Tate may be the steal of the draft for anyone who takes him after the 3rd round. You heard it here first folks.
Green Bay Packers – Eddie Lacy
There were no other options here. Lacy was a beast his rookie season, exploding onto the scene like hot lava. Last year he showed up to camp overweight and out of shape (I guess round is a shape though…). This year McCarthy has publicly challenged Lacy to get back into 2014 form, which would likely make him worthy of that top draft pick that he was in many fantasy drafts last season. He had already dropped 20 lbs. before camp in June, another 10-15 and we may be looking at a deal here in 2016 fantasy drafts.
Minnesota Vikings – Stefon Diggs
Stefon Diggs and Doug Baldwin were 2 WR that were practically untouchable for a good stretch in the 2015 season. They are also similar because I don’t see either of them doing anything close to that again in 2016. Diggs was scoring a long TD seemingly every week last year. I can see him putting up 6-8 again as a WR1 but I don’t see him putting up 100+ yards and a TD every week. Besides the fact that many were expecting Charles Johnson or Mike Wallace to step up last year, it was indeed Diggs that became the true #1 for the Vikings. On the other hand, as long as AP is wearing a purple uniform don’t expect too much from a Vikings WR. If AP retires in the next season or 2 Diggs may be in the conversation of a WR1 but for now let someone else overpay for him come draft day. I hate even typing this but if something happens to AP where he misses game time, Diggs may be in the WR1 conversation in 2016. I feel dirty now.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons – Devonta Freeman
Before the 2015 season kicked off the general consensus was that Freeman and Tevon Coleman would be splitting time in the backfield. Kyle Shanahan has typically used the RBBC approach and both Freeman and Coleman were thought to have the same talent level (they were taken back-to-back in almost all of my fantasy drafts last year). An injury to Coleman changed that as Freeman stole the show in Atlanta with a TD extravaganza. As I have already mentioned, success in the NFL sometimes comes in little bouts that are impossible to predict and even most impossible to explain. I think the RBBC approach comes back and Freeman ends up somewhere in the RB15-20 range after 2016. As of right now many will likely look to take him in the 2nd or 3rd round, if they aren’t oblivious enough to take him in the 1st. Maybe Freeman proves me wrong and finishes in the t5 at the position again but unless Coleman is injured or released, I highly doubt that happens.
Carolina Panthers – Kelvin Benjamin
After a marvelous rookie season in which I owned Benjamin in all of my fantasy teams (drafted round 12 or later in each), he tore is ACL before the 2015 season even began. Benjamin’s success came when Newton was not his normal self; Newton has been a t5 QB in every season he has been in the NFL except for Benjamin’s rookie season in 2014. Even with an abnormal Newton throwing to him, Benjamin finished in the t15 of WR in 2014. Imagine what he would have done in the offensive juggernaut that was the Carolina Panthers last season! If Cam can keep the ball rolling there is no reason to expect Benjamin coming up with anything short of 1,200 yards and double-digit touchdowns. He may have a low price due to his injury last year, if he does, jump all over him and don’t think twice about it.
New Orleans Saints – Brandin Cooks
Every year there is 1 player that you target in drafts, someone who you truly believe in that is going later than you would expect. Last year that was Brandin Cooks for me until the preseason started. I loved Cooks going into the 2014 season as a rookie because I have seen, first-hand, what a player the size of Antonio Brown can do with an elite QB. Unfortunately, he was hurt and missed a majority of the season. After a great preseason in 2015, he climbed draft boards almost as fast as Ameer Abdullah. Most drafts he was likely selected in the late 2nd, early 3rd round. If I saw him in the 3rd round of a draft last year, I was frothing at the bit. A slow start in 2015 began to dishearten me but eventually he became the player I expected when Drew Brees finally rounded into midseason form and overcame his injuries. Cooks has all the potential in the world to become the next Antonio Brown (maybe a lesser version, AB is a BEAST), but he needs to sustain his success over an entire season. If he does that in 2016 he will be up there in t5 conversation at the WR position for as long as Drew Brees is a Saint.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Doug Martin
Let me put this out there now. I hate the muscle hamster from a fantasy perspective. His rookie season when he put up 250 yards and 4 TDs in a single game, yeah, I was on the receiving end of that shellacking in multiple leagues. The following season (2013) I drafted him in the 1st round (against my better judgment) because I fell prey to the “I need to take a RB in the first 2 rounds” mentality that has since fallen out of favor. In 2014 he again struggled and just when almost everyone had given up on him, Lovie Smith says something that just about every head coach ever has said about 1 player per preseason, “this is the best he has ever looked in his career”. Generally when a HC says that, it’s crap; Lovie, however, somehow got it right. Martin rewarded all of those who took a filer on him later in the draft and carried many through the fantasy regular season. What I need to see in 2016 is that Martin didn’t have a flukey season in 2016 and that he somehow found his true self and has finally become the great RB many expected him to be when he entered the league in 2012. Draft at your own risk.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals – David Johnson
Why does David Johnson have the most to prove of any player on the Cardinals roster? Well, if I have to explain it again then you haven’t been reading. I don’t trust running backs that have a string of success over a short period of time; I need to see sustained success before I become a believer. DJ has the talent deserving of a high 2nd round pick in the upcoming fantasy drafts but he is too risky to take there. CJ2K showed a spark in 2015 that we haven’t seen in a while. He also dominated reps once Ellington went down, yet again. Based on Bruce Arian’s past, he simply does not like giving rookies too big of a workload too soon when they enter the NFL. In my opinion, he just likes pissing off fantasy owners. DJ will be one of the running backs we take early in drafts for years to come if he can show that last year wasn’t simply him surprising the league. The NFL adapts, never forget that.
Los Angeles Rams – Everyone not named Todd Gurley
Yup, I’m doing this. Todd Gurley, like AP, is the exception to the rule. I don’t need to see more from him, I’ve already seen all I need to know that this guy is just made from a different substance. The reason for his decline in 2015 was due to the fact that he was a man amongst boys in St. Louis (now LA). It’s easy for a defense to stack 8 in the box when the opposing defense knows the Rams had a poor excuse of a QB commanding the offence and no threats at WR that would hurt them more than Gurley could. Gurley will be the next superstar in the NFL if the Rams can give him a supporting cast. Jared Goff will need some time to get the offense under control; his game-plan will be to keep defenses honest and to hand the ball off to Gurley while their own defense shuts down the opposing offense. If the Ram’s offense can get some value out of their WR core then they should already be considered contenders for one of the NFC wild card positions and we should all prepare for the Todd Gurley show. I already have my soda and popcorn.
San Francisco 49ers – Carlos Hyde
Honestly, I wasn’t sure who else to put here. I considered Colin Kaepernick as he is still on the roster but I just don’t see him coming back into the spotlight of the NFL ever again. I hope I’m wrong about that though. As it is, Carlos Hyde is the only fantasy-worthy player on the 49ers. He is a RB who has the potential to command the majority of the touches on an NFL team. Ignore the fact that they will be trailing the majority of games they play and will likely look to throw the ball; having a RB who is guaranteed touches is valuable in today’s game of fantasy football. Hyde had a few good games before receiving his last snap in week 7 during last season. Shaun Draughn received the majority of the carries once Hyde was out but he didn’t inspire anyone, he was only worth the speculative add because of the same reason Hyde will be worth a look again in 2016, all the carries.
Seattle Seahawks – Thomas Rawls
Thomas Rawls, the one I was looking forward to most on this list, saving the best for last. In Marshawn Lynch’s absence Thomas Rawls exploded on the scene and became one of the best FA additions of the year. The Seahawks didn’t miss a beat between when Rawls took over for Lynch. This lead to the Seahawks choosing Rawls as the RB of the future for them as Lynch retired following the season. If Rawls can have as great a career as Lynch had after leaving the Buffalo Bills, then Seattle will continue to be in the playoff picture over the course of the next 5-7 years. I will say this one last time however; don’t assume the success of an NFL RB over a short time means it will be sustained for the duration of the RB’s career. Rawls looks like he will be the 2nd coming of Marshawn Lynch. Just don’t be the one who overpays for an unproven player come draft day. Be smart, and stick to fantasy football foundation.
*Image taken from: http://images.classicalite.com/data/images/full/25964/green-bay-packers-rumors-could-the-packers-move-on-from-rb-eddie-lacy-following-2015-season.jpg?w=600
