Bleacher Report - Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football: Can Chris Ivory Be a Sleeper Running Back in 2013?

Ryan Lester — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:25:03 -0400

The New York Jets have become a punch line of sorts because of their comedy of errors at quarterback. Their passing attack offers little hope to make an impact for fantasy football owners.

However, they could have a sleeper at running back.

During the 2013 NFL Draft, the Jets acquired Chris Ivory from the New Orleans Saints. He has shown signs in the past, but he never got an opportunity to show what he could do in a lead role. That will likely change in 2013.

According to New York Post reports, Ivory has been impressive during the Jets' OTAs. He has shown some flash to go along with his power. At this point, the starting running back job is his to lose.

Ivory has just 256 career carries. More than half of them came in 2010. While it's a small sample size, he has been effective. Ivory has run for 1,307 yards on 5.1 yards per carry. He has also run for eight touchdowns.

His career numbers are essentially a full-season workload for a feature back in the NFL. His 1,307 yards and eight touchdowns would be numbers that any fantasy football owner would be happy with, particularly when you consider where he'll likely go in fantasy drafts.

There will obviously be a lot of movement between now and fantasy draft time, but he'll likely go in the fourth round or later.

Ivory only has three career receptions, but he has played with Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush. While he won't confuse anybody for LaDainian Tomlinson, he should easily be more active in the passing game.

Ivory has the potential to be a solid number two running back, but you're likely to secure him as your third back. There is plenty of upside if Ivory can stay healthy.

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2013 Early Fantasy Football Team Defense Rankings

Ryan Lester — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:49:07 -0400

We continue on with our early fantasy football rankings. This time we take a look at the 2013 fantasy football team defense landscape.

1. Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks allowed the fewest points last year, yielding just 15.3 points per game. They finished fourth in the league with 306.2 yards per game allowed.

Adding Antoine Winfield's veteran presence to an outstanding secondary anchored by Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas makes this an elite unit. Cliff Avril, who recorded 9.5 sacks last year for the Detroit Lions, gives them even more beef up front.

2. San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers finished just behind the Seahawks with 17.1 points per game allowed. They ranked third in total defense with 294.4 yards per game allowed.

Patrick Willis anchors the defense, while Aldon Smith, who recorded 19.5 sacks last year, is a total menace.

3. Houston Texans

The Texans took a slight step back defensively last year but still finished in the top 10 in both scoring defense (20.7 ppg) and total defense (323.3 ypg).

Their struggles were primarily in pass defense, but the addition of future first ballot Hall of Famer Ed Reed should help. Having a healthy Brian Cushing will also be huge. Oh, and they still have J.J. Watt.

4. Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens will miss the leadership of Reed and Ray Lewis, but they reloaded. A clerical error allowed Elvis Dumervil to slip out of the Denver Broncos' grasp.

Baltimore snatched him up to pair with Terrell Suggs, who should be healthy after missing half of the season with an Achilles injury. Michael Huff came over from the Oakland Raiders to soften the blow of Reed's departure.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers led the league in total defense with 275.8 yards allowed per game. They ranked sixth in scoring defense (19.6 ppg). Troy Polamalu's health will be the key to their success or lack thereof.

6. Denver Broncos

The Broncos will miss Dumervil, but they still have Von Miller terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. Denver finished second in total defense (290.8 ypg) and fourth in scoring defense (18.1 ppg).

7. Chicago Bears

Da Bears finished third in scoring defense (17.3 ppg) and fifth in total defense (315.6 ypg). A lot of their success last year was predicated on their ability to turn turnovers into touchdowns.

That isn't something you can bank on every year.

8. Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals finished sixth in total defense (319.7 ypg) and eighth in scoring defense (20.0 ppg). Geno Atkins (12.5 sacks) and Michael Johnson (11.5 sacks) form an underrated one-two punch.

9. New England Patriots

The Patriots bend (373.3 ypg) but don't break (20.7 ppg) on defense. Their offense tends to make opposing teams one-dimensional.

10. Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons had similar numbers as the Patriots (365.6 ypg, 18.7 ypg), which isn't surprising since they have a potent offense of their own.

They added Osi Umenyiora and rookie Desmond Trufant to bolster their defense.

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2013 Fantasy Football Profile and Projection: Jets RB Chris Ivory

Kevin Hanson — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:53:37 -0400

When it comes to fantasy sports, a player's opportunity can be nearly as important as his talent. Chris Ivory should finally get the opportunity to showcase his talent in 2013.

Although Ivory led the New Orleans Saints in rushing in 2010 as a rookie with 716 yards, he has been buried on the team's depth chart over the past two seasons behind Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles. In fact, he played in only 12 games over those two seasons combined.

In the offseason, the New York Jets traded their fourth-round pick to the Saints for Ivory, who agreed to a three-year deal with the Jets.

With Shonn Greene leaving in free agency, Ivory will compete for touches with Mike Goodson, Bilal Powell and Joe McKnight. Of those backs, Goodson is Ivory's biggest competition when it comes to workload.

Considering that Goodson was recently arrested, however, it's possible that his days with the Jets are numbered. Speaking of Goodson's arrest, teammate Willie Colon recently said to Seth Walder of the NY Daily News: "It's one of the things where it's zero-tolerance with stuff like that. It's sad. Mike could have been huge for us."

Whether or not Goodson is given his walking papers, Ivory should still lead the squad's backs in touches.

Over the past three seasons, Ivory has been productive when given the opportunity. Carrying the ball 256 times during that span, he rushed for a total of 1,307 yards, for an average of 5.1 yards per carry. Ivory was little used as a receiver with the Saints, though, as he caught only three passes in his career.

As a big back (6'0" and 222 pounds), Ivory scored eight touchdowns for the Saints. With the Jets, he should get the short yardage and goal-line opportunities as well. Considering the team's low-powered offense (2012: 30th in total offense, 28th in scoring offense), however, there may not be many goal-line opportunities.

The days of Mark Sanchez under center appear to be numbered, and it's possible that the Jets will start Geno Smith, their second-round pick, at some point this season. Whether it's the turnover-prone Sanchez or the inexperienced rookie under center, it would make sense for the Jets to go with a ground-and-pound approach to limit turnovers.

With RB2 upside, Ivory is a nice value from where he is currently being drafted. Based on current average draft position (ADP) data from Mock Draft Central, Ivory is the 28th running back, on average, off draft boards recently.

Fantasy Strength of Schedule

Based on the cumulative fantasy points allowed by their opponents from Week 1 to 16, Ivory and his fellow Jets' running backs have the league's most favorable schedule in both standard-scoring and point-per-reception (PPR) leagues.

In the fantasy postseason (typically Weeks 14, 15 and 16), the Jets face the Oakland Raiders, Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns, respectively.

Projection: (rushing) 245 attempts, 1,176 yards, eight touchdowns; (receiving) five receptions, 45 yards

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