Fantasy Football Week 3: Fantasy Owners Keep an Eye on Chester Taylor

Chester Taylor’s roller coaster ride of a career may be skyrocketing once again. He has been cursed by a league full of talented runners, but his luck has turned for the better once again. 

Taylor will start this week for the Arizona Cardinals, and fantasy owners must pay attention to the 32-year-old halfback.

Taylor’s offseason wasn’t an ideal one. After a season where he was limited in action backing up Matt Forte, the Chicago Bears signed Marion Barber, which signaled the end of Taylor’s time in the Windy City. The former Minnesota Viking is no stranger to having his playing time plummet.

In his first and only season as a full-time starter back in 2006, Taylor rushed for 1,216 yards. The very next year, the Vikings drafted Adrian Peterson. and Taylor’s role was reduced.  Now though, according to SeattlePI, Beanie Wells and LaRod Stephens-Howling are inactive, so Taylor is the Cardinals’ No. 1 halfback.

So far this season, Wells has put up solid numbers behind an Arizona offensive line that looked questionable heading into the year. In the first two games, he has recorded 183 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 5.7 yards a pop. Taylor most likely won’t be able to equal Wells’ production, but at least the Cards’ running game is having success.

Through the air, Taylor will be able to outperform Wells. The former Ohio State Buckeye has just four receptions this season for 12 yards.

Taylor has been a reliable weapon out of the backfield his entire career posting four seasons with at least 40 catches. Kevin Kolb has played extremely well so far this year; if the quarterback’s play keeps up, that’ll translate to more room for Taylor to run and more targets out of the backfield.

With halfbacks like Arian Foster and Jamaal Charles being plagued by injury, and Chris Johnson and Felix Jones not living up to expectations, you may be in need of a fix at the running back position. Taylor could be your man, so add him while you can.

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a Syndicated Writer. Follow him on Twitter.