Chris Johnson: Big Play Potential Still Makes CJ2K a Fantasy Must-Start

Chris Johnson has been the worst value pick of any player in this year's fantasy football class, especially after predictions had him producing more than yards on 33 carries through three games.

Although his fantasy outlook doesn't get any better this week against the Houston Texans and his offensive line isn't suddenly going to dominate, CJ2K is still an RB2 in all formats for one reason.

He can break the big play at any time.

Johnson hasn't lost any speed or the ability to make people miss. Although his first two games featured virtually no running room, he found some on the outside against the Detroit Lions, picking up three double-digit gains against a pretty solid Lions front seven.

His offensive line isn't doing him any favors, either. Johnson's had to carry the brunt of the criticism because of his big contract and lofty expectations, but the inside running game has been nonexistent.

That's odd, especially with Bruce Matthews running the offensive line. But when you watch the Titans play on Sunday, look at the way the Texans are able to collapse running lanes inside against this offensive line.

His 4.2 speed is what made Johnson so attractive as an NFL prospect. He can't use that speed if he's getting clobbered in the backfield, which is what's happening early on this year.

Of course, the inexperience of Jake Locker also factors into his fantasy production. Locker has been great, but he must do a better job of finding Johnson room to run on early downs. Tennessee hasn't seen the loaded boxes they used to see against Johnson, so there have to be holes in opposing schemes.

Still, teams are determined to keep Johnson under control, so defensive game plans always focus on him.

If you look at the numbers, Johnson shouldn't have such low rushing totals. In the Lions game, for example, he put up those three double-digit runs, including a long of 13, but only finished with 24 yards on 14 carries. He had three carries for 35 yards. On his other 11 carries, he rushed for -11 yards.

You can talk about dancing in the hole and not accelerating the way he once did. But when you're getting hit in the backfield on the majority of your carries, I'm sure that has an effect on the way you run, especially when it hasn't happened much in your career.

But Johnson is far from done. He can still break a 99-yard run just as easily as he has been getting stuffed. No doubt, there are better options in your lineup than CJ2K, and if you took him in the first round, you might feel a little foolish.

But Johnson finished last year with runs of 10 or more yards in 10 of 16 games last season. And while he's off to a slow start yet again, all he needs is one long touchdown run to get back out of the fantasy doghouse and into your good graces.