Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick's Post-Preseason Week 1 Fantasy Advice

Detroit Lions rookie running back Ameer Abdullah and third-year man Theo Riddick had quite the preseason debut in the backfield against the New York Jets on Thursday night during a 23-3 victory.

Here is a look at their stats: 

Player	Carries	Yards	Average	Long
Ameer Abdullah	7	67	9.6	45
Theo Riddick	8	35	4.4	9

Abdullah gave Lions fans and fantasy football owners a glimpse of what he's capable of during the first quarter with the Lions leading 7-3, as the NFL showed on Twitter:

Riddick, on the other hand, was not about the flash but more of the grit as he exerted a hard-nosed brand of running despite his 5'10", 201-pound frame. His showing impressed the Detroit Free-Press' Carlos Monarrez:

While it's the first week of the preseason, being able to rattle off a run like that against the New York Jets is no easy feat. Last season the Jets ranked fifth in the NFL, allowing just 93.1 yards per game. 

They did all this without Joique Bell, who is recovering from ACL surgery in the offseason. He better come back soon, or his starting job could be in serious jeopardy if Abdullah continues to put together preseason performances like this one.    

The better Abdullah performs, the lower Bell will sink on fantasy draft boards too.

The Lions offense contains the aerial threat of the Matthew Stafford-to-Calvin Johnson connection, so defenses could take their attention away from the running game in order to shut that duo down.

Expect there to be some focus on the Lions' end in getting the running game sorted out and in top gear by the season's start, whether it's Bell or Abdullah as the leading man.

If Riddick continues to show this kind of hard running, he could be the short-yard or goal-line back and could rack up some touchdowns for fantasy owners looking for a quick fix.

Owners who are looking for a potential sleeper could go for Abdullah, who showed in his first competitive NFL game that he can motor with the best of them and has the potential to be the starting back come September.  

Stats courtesy of NFL.com.