Week 3 Fantasy Football: Chris Johnson and Most Disappointing Backs

For every fantasy stud picked in the early rounds of your fantasy draft, there are dozens of duds. Some emerge early on and others emerge later in the season. 

Here are a few running backs that can be considered questionable picks at this point. 

Chris Johnson 

Chris Johnson called out his teammates after the disappointing Week 2 loss by saying that people need to do their job. 

Unfortunately for the running back formerly known as CJ2K, he may want to take his own advice considering the 21 yards he has this season. 

Twenty-one yards is not from the last game or the game before; it’s the combined total of yards he has run, which is bad for any starting running back in the NFL, not just Chris Johnson. 

Johnson and the Titans face the Detroit Lions at home in Week 3, which may be a good sign for the running back’s production.

Detroit, in two games, has allowed 112.5 yard per game to rushers, which may bring some relief to the frustrated running back. Look for Chris Johnson to rush for considerably more yards than he has totaled this season, but don’t expect anything spectacular. 

Darren McFadden

Surprisingly, Raiders running back Darren McFadden was only able to run for 22 yards in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins, a team generally considered as being in rebuilding mode. 

Even in Week 1, McFadden did not live up to his expectations of being a first-round fantasy draft pick as he ran for 32 yards and gained 86 receiving yards.

Week 3 won’t be an easier for Darren McFadden as he faces the dominant Pittsburgh Steelers defense.

McFadden still does not have a touchdown this season, and going up against a great defense like the Steelers’ isn’t going to help him in terms of fantasy production. 

Steven Jackson 

If the Rams are looking to improve from their less than stellar performance of 2011, then Steven Jackson needs to step up his production. Jackson has only rushed for 111 yards this season, making him an average fantasy running back at best. 

Much like Raiders running back Darren McFadden, Steven Jackson has not seen the end zone this season either.

Notably, Steven Jackson was benched against the Washington Redskins. Head coach Jeff Fisher has already stated that this was due to a groin injury, but many are concerned that this may signal that Jackson is not on good terms with the new Rams head coach, which can hinder Jackson’s production, if not stop it altogether.