Fantasy Football Sleepers: Can Tim Hightower Be Trusted?
I know what you’re thinking–there really isn’t a running back in the league that you can trust with Mike Shanahan calling the shots. Humor me a second and put aside Shanahan’s rotation-happy history and look at Tim Hightower from a fantasy perspective.
He does bring some things to the table. For starters, he can catch the ball out of the backfield—he has averaged 39.3 receptions in his three years, with a career high of 63 in 2009.
He has reputation of being a two yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust guy after averaging 2.8 yard per carry in his rookie year, but he has averaged 4.2 and 4.8 the past two years. It’s hard not to be impressed with someone who averaged nearly five yards a carry in Arizona’s dysfunctional offense last year.
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Hightower also has the size (6’0″ and 222) and the ability to get in the end zone. He has 23 rushing touchdowns in his career despite only carrying the ball 439 career times. Even if he loses the starter gig eventually, he’ll still likely be counted on in passing situations, and possibly goal line work.
Hightower’s ability to pick up the blitz assures that, barring injury, he’ll have a significant role with the Redskins. But can it be enough?
There are a couple of things working against him. For starters, he has a fumbling history. He has put the ball on the carpet 10 times in the past two years, losing four in each. That’s a high number considering how few carries he had (296 total), and fumbling is one of the quickest ways to get into the doghouse.
The other thing working against him is Shanahan’s madness. Sure, things are peachy right now, but what happens when they start losing again? Shanahan has long had a thing for Ryan Torain, so he could get a shot; as could rookie Roy Helu, who was a popular sleeper pick until Hightower’s arrival.
I wouldn’t build my foundation around Hightower, but I would consider using him as a RB3 or RB4 depending on how the rest of my team shaped out. What’s your take on Tim Hightower?
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