15) Jamal Lewis: This aging veteran has one more year in the tank on a high-powered offense. The only concern, besides his age, is a tough 29th ranked SOS. He still should get over 1,000 yards and challenge for eight-10 touchdowns.
16) Reggie Bush: He is a multipurpose threat, and McAllister is injury prone. The Saints should be going back to their 2006 playbook, and that will help Bush in some regard. He is a great receiving threat that has big play potential.
17) Willie Parker: “Fast Willie” is a yardage machine that will not see the end zone often. He is rehabilitating a broken leg. Rookie Rashard Mendenhall will steal some caries and TDs from him.
18) Thomas Jones: 30-years old with Leon Washington breathing down his neck. Awesome OL in New York on paper, but it needs to develop chemistry. Jones makes for a safe RB2 if you get one of the premier studs.
The acquisition of Brett Favre will make him more dangerous in the red zone, now that defenses will have to respect Favre's talent. His one-touchdown total should go up from last year.
19) Darren McFadden: This year’s Adrian Peterson by many. Because of Peterson's 2007 success, he will be reached for. Think early third-round value.
His value is a double-edged sword: The Raiders ranked sixth in rushing last year but are still a team on rebuilding mode with unproven JaMarcus Russell at the helm.
Fargas will start the season as the starting back, with McFadden seeing time as both a runner and slot receiver. Not starting didn’t hurt Peterson’s value in 2007. McFadden is a special athlete and should get plenty of touches and is a good touchdown threat.
20) Willis McGahee: Speaking of Cam Cameron (think L.T. and Ronnie Brown), he is now in Baltimore. He has another fine weapon to coordinate and utilize in McGahee. McGahee comes with some injury concerns. McGahee is finally off crutches, but is not expected to play at all in the preseason and may not practice. The drafting of Ray Rice (think Michael Turner in SD) might limit his value a bit.
What this means is McGahee will have competition to push him, but he should keep the starting job if he plays well early. Early reports also indicate that Rice will also be playing the slot this year, which will help free up coverage on McGahee.
Rice will also help keep McGahee fresh if McGahee’s stamina is low to start the season.
21) Michael Turner: He should be ranked higher, but he is unproven as a starter. The chance to prove himself is served on a silver platter, as the Falcons’ RB will enjoy a fourth-best SOS this upcoming season.
If the Falcons' O-Line returns to their 2006 efficiency, Turner will reap some benefits. Playing with rookie Matt Ryan hurts his value.
22) Earnest Graham: One-year wonder? Probably not. Graham is a good PPR back with a new four-year contract and no threat behind him, as Warrick Dunn is 33-years old, and Carnell Williams' NFL future is in jeopardy while trying to recovery from injury. Williams will begin the season on the PUP list.
23) Ronnie Brown: We reluctantly rank Brown No. 23, but it isn’t because of last year’s injury. Brown blew out his knee last year. He is back, but the problem is that Ricky Williams has been having a great camp and will take carries away from Brown.
The Dolphins listed Williams as No. 1 on the depth chart, saying it was due to Brown’s injury. That seems odd.
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are still listed first on the depth chart. At the very least, it indicates that there is a competition for the job and both will split more time than fantasy owners would like.
Last year, had Brown stayed healthy, he was on pace to 2,200 all-purpose yards, plus 11 touchdowns. The problem is that Cameron is no longer the coach, the injury, and the emergence of Williams.
I’d still draft Brown before Williams, but pay very close attention for any updates on that position battle.
24) Selvin Young. He looks like the starter for now. "Shanahanagans," Andre Hall, and Michael Pitman are all concerns. Young had 729 yards and averaged 5.2 yards per carry last season, so the potential is there for a great season if he gets the carries.
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