Beanie Wells Injury: Assessing the Fantasy Value of Backup RB Chester Taylor

With Arizona Cardinals running backs Beanie Wells and LaRod Stephens-Howling inactive in this afternoon's game against the Seattle Seahawks, Chester Taylor will be getting the majority of the carries.

Never a viable fantasy starting option, Taylor now has a great opportunity to step up for his team today and potentially for your fantasy roster as well.

Taylor's fantasy value this season began as a simple handcuff for the injury-prone Wells, and for those GMs who chose to take that route, the move is about to pay off.

Both as a Minnesota Viking and a Chicago Bear, Taylor played second fiddle to star running backs and was never able to realize his full potential. His production as a Viking was on track to keep him as the starter—that was, until Adrian Peterson eclipsed him almost immediately.

That means Taylor has primarily sat on the bench for much of his prime. 

However, this doesn't mean he won't be of benefit to your fantasy team this week, especially with Wells and Stephens-Howling out for the game; it's just difficult to determine how well he will perform.

Through two games, Wells has had an average of 15 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown. It is safe to say that Taylor will see about as many hand-offs this week, but his average yards per carry are well below that of Wells.

Wells averaged 5.0 yards per carry in the first game and 6.6 in the second; Taylor averaged just 2.4 in 2010 and has yet to run for the Cardinals this season.

So keep in mind that while Taylor will be getting the carries, he won't likely be getting the yards should you choose to install him in the starting spot usually reserved for Wells.