Fantasy Football 2014: 5 Running Backs Fantasy Owners Should Worry About

There were many fantasy football owners taking ulcer medications during the first week of NFL action.

While many fantasy owners are concerned with Tony Romo’s back, Cam Newton’s ribs and Geno Smith’s turnovers, the running back storylines coming out of Week 1 should be of the utmost interest because fantasy football still revolves around running backs.

Week 1 was not kind to several running backs thanks to injuries (Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin and Jacksonville’s Toby Gerhart) or stout defenses stopping them cold (Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles and Oakland’s Maurice Jones-Drew). But there were others that made fantasy owners press their panic buttons.

Here are five running backs fantasy owners should worry about.

Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers

If you are a running back that has a violent running style predicated on lowering your head and plowing over defenders, the last thing you want is two concussions in a year’s time. The second-to-last thing you want is being a fantasy owner who has such a running back on his or her roster.

Lacy suffered his second concussion in as many seasons in Green Bay’s NFL opener against the Seattle Seahawks last Thursday. While he has 10 days to recover for his next game and could very well be cleared in time for it, the problem here is long-term.

Could he be one concussion away from his season (or career) being ended? Will Lacy start running more tentatively and fall down in front of defenders like Torry Holt used to do?

Fantasy owners of Lacy will now be wincing every time he tries to roll over multiple defenders on his way to four-yard runs. If he stays healthy he should be one of the top 10 fantasy running backs by year’s end, but the risk is starting to outweigh the reward with Lacy.

Bernard Pierce, Baltimore Ravens

Talk about blowing a golden opportunity. Pierce was as bad as a closer in baseball blowing a 7-0 lead in the ninth inning.

With Ray Rice released, per the team's official Twitter account, Pierce could have cemented himself as Baltimore’s top tailback for the immediate future with a decent effort against the Cincinnati Bengals. Instead he ran for 14 yards on six carries and lost a fumble which got him benched in favor of Justin Forsett.

Forsett has now earned himself extra carries after running for 70 yards and catching five passes out of the backfield. Pierce will probably split time with Forsett in Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and will now have to reprove himself to the coaching staff.

And by the time Pierce gets back into everyone’s good graces, rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro could emerge as a threat to Pierce being Baltimore’s best back.

Lamar Miller, Miami Dolphins

The good news is that Miller started and ran for 59 yards on 11 attempts. The bad news is that Knowshon Moreno came in and ran for 134 yards and a touchdown and looked like he did not need Peyton Manning around to be a productive running back.

Miller’s hold on the starting tailback job in Miami was as tenuous as Stevan Ridley’s hold on any football. Many fantasy owners figured it was a matter of time before Moreno overtook Miller on the depth chart. Moreno is the better pass-catcher, the better blocker and probably the better runner, too.

The fact that it only took half of a game for Miller to be passed by Moreno is startling, however. This could be a game-to-game situation where Miami rides the hot hand each week at running back, but this opening contest did not bode well for Mr. Miller.

Ben Tate, Cleveland Browns

Fantasy owners like yours truly knew it was just a matter of time before Tate would get banged up. He could never stay healthy as a backup running back in Houston, so how the heck was he going to be injury-free as a starter?

Well, it took all of one game for Tate to get nicked. A knee injury forced him out of Cleveland’s game against Pittsburgh, so his status for this upcoming week’s game is in doubt. Even worse, Tate had a stranglehold on the starting job, but backups Terrance West (100 rushing yards) and Isaiah Crowell (two touchdowns) played well in his absence, so Tate’s workload will probably be lighter when he returns to the field.

I always though Tate was a product of a great run offense system in Houston when he was Arian Foster’s understudy and a little overrated, but Cleveland was perfect for him because of the team’s offensive line and because he had little competition pushing him for touches. His knee injury has opened the flood gates for his fantasy value to sink, however.

Bryce Brown, Buffalo Bills

It feels like decades ago that Brown ran for 347 yards and four touchdowns over a two-game span with the Philadelphia Eagles that probably vaulted many fantasy teams into the playoffs, but it was only 2012. Maybe only Josh Gordon and Aaron Hernandez’s fantasy values have fallen farther since then.

We knew Brown was going to have a hard time getting playing time and touches early on with C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson ahead of him in Buffalo’s pecking order. But with Spiller being injury-prone and Jackson being 100 years old, fantasy owners thought taking a late-round flier on Brown might not be a bad idea, especially in deeper leagues.

Buffalo ran the ball 33 times against the Chicago Bears. Brown did not run once. In fact, he did not even dress. He was inactive in favor of Anthony Dixon, who himself ran five times for 60 yards, making it doubtful that Brown will be active for Week 2 now.