Fantasy Football Profile: Michael Turner

Michael Turner more than proved he was capable of stepping out of LaDainian Tomlinson's shadow to be a feature back. Early in the season, he was inconsistent. He would dominate bad defenses such as Detroit, Kansas City, Green Bay, Oakland, and Denver and get bottled up by good ones such as Tampa Bay, Carolina, Chicago, and Philly. 

Something happened in Week 12 though as he destroyed Carolina for 117 yards and four touchdowns. He became a machine putting up solid games against everyone he faced, including TB and a tough Minnesota run defense. He had 100-plus yards and/or a TD in his last nine games. 

There is some cause for concern though despite the monster numbers (1699 yards, 17 TDs). He had 376 carries last year. That is a lot for a back even if he didn’t have much mileage prior to the season.

Historically, running backs with such a huge workload see a dip in production the following year. I’m already calling for his touchdowns to reduce because of the addition of Tony Gonzalez, who is great inside the 20-yard line.

He’ll face a tougher schedule this year with games against Miami, New England, Dallas, Washington, NY Giants, Philadelphia and the Jets, along with two games against Carolina and Tampa Bay. His fantasy playoff schedule consists of matchups with New Orleans, the Jets and Buffalo, which isn’t terrible.

Despite the likely dip in production, I still think Turner will be a top four 'back. I’m expecting 1,700 total yards and 13 touchdowns.

Originally published at LestersLegends.com.