Fantasy Football Preview - Jonathan Stewart

by Skeller on Jul 21, 2008 4:51 PM EDT in Football

I’ve noticed that fantasy RB rankings have Jonathan Stewart rated somewhere around thirty, so putting him in my Top 20 makes me look a bit strange.

There are plenty of reasons to think I’m strange for doing this too. QB Jake Delhomme is coming off Tommy John surgery, a procedure that only two NFL QBs have ever returned from. It’s a huge risk considering the only backups are Matt Moore (who looked barely adequate last year) and untested former college star Brett Basanez. Basanez is on my sleeper list this season, but you don’t want to risk a Top 20 RB pick on that.

The offensive line is also a concern, as every single position on the line has a new starter including first round draft pick Jeff Otah. The rebuild of the offensive line is obviously key to Stewart’s success and – let’s face it – it doesn’t look great right now.

So why am I high on Jonathan Stewart? Simply because of the huge upside the guy brings. The Panthers are moving to a run-heavy offensive plan and Stewart is the lynchpin. DeAngelo Williams will provide a nice change of pace, but Stewart will the man. I expect he'll get 20-25 carries and as long as that's the case, I think he’s going to consistently put up solid stats.

The Panthers also have a nice WR corps this season. Everybody knows Steve Smith, but the addition of Muhsin Muhammad and DJ Hackett means the quarterback (whoever that turns out to be) will have a nice set of targets. Opposing defenses will have to respect the receivers enough that they can’t target the running game every single play.

I realize this justification sounds a bit flimsy, and I argued with myself over whether or not to put him into Tier 4. In the end, I felt Stewart has huge potential and when you get to the running backs rated 15-20, you’re taking a risk anyway. Every once in a while, you need to take a home-run swing. I think Stewart could be that season-changing RB2 to explodes into RB1 status.

Image via athlonsports.com

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Comments

Jamaal Charles

Skeller-where do you rank Charles among rookie RBs. I think he will get lots of looks in Gailey’s new offense in KC. He’s a breakway threat, and I have a feeling we will see a RRBC in KC this year. Thoughts?

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Jul 21, 2008 5:27 PM EDT reply actions

I actually hope so

A RRBC in KC would be far better than running LJ into the ground (and the D-line) over and over and over. Charles is behind Stewart, McFadden, Jones, Mendenhall, Forte, KSmith and probably CJohnson among rookies right now, at least until we know how/if Gailey will use him. I’m not optimistic he’ll get his shot, though he has a lot of potential.

by Skeller on Jul 22, 2008 1:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Tommy John surgery

Correction: No NFL QB has ever returned from it. Only 2 NFL QBs (Craig Erickson, Rob Johnson) ever had it and attempted comebacks, but it could be argued they didn’t belong in the NFL before the injury.

There’s no bigger risk/reward player in the NFL than Delhomme this year. If everything goes right, he has at least 3 top-notch receivers (and potentially two more very good ones), 2 RBs who can catch and run, and a sizable OL in front of him. The downside… well, it goes without saying. We should know over the next month if he’s back or not.

by nuke187 on Jul 21, 2008 7:34 PM EDT reply actions

good point

Two QBs have returned in the sense they’ve suited up again, not that they were ever effective again. Or in Johnson’s case, effective for the first time.

by Skeller on Jul 22, 2008 1:28 AM EDT up reply actions