Fantasy Football Preview - Ryan Grant

What a season Ryan Grant had last year.  After the Packers plucked him off the trash heap of the Giants’ practice squad, Grant muscled his way into the starting role and finished with a fantastic 956 rushing yard, 8 rushing touchdown season.  Hey, I love that as much as anybody, but who is this guy?  How did he do it?

OK, never mind that, can he do it again?

Grant has excellent speed (he had runs of 62 and 66 yards last season) and had 30 receptions last year so he can catch the ball as well.   There’s only one major reason he may not repeat last year’s totals: the loss of Brett Favre.  Grant – and his outstanding offensive line – faced defenses concerned with stopping the all-out aerial attack of Brett Favre.  Can Aaron Rodgers continue to keep opposing defenses on their back foot?  If he can, Grant and his still-outstanding offensive line should have a big season.  But if Aaron Rodgers is a train wreck and defenses start to stack the line, Grant could end up being a late-first round bust. 

Then again, if Favre actually returns at QB, it's a $1-Longnecks-No-Cover-For-The-Ladies type of party all year long for Grant.  In that case, Grant should be a second round steal.

So determining what kind of season Grant will have is a tough call, and one that doesn’t really have much to do with Grant himself.  I’m a little wary of Aaron Rodgers, so Grant may slip down into Tier 4 once the Packers open their camp.  Assuming it's Rodgers starting this season, Grant would make a very good RB2, but I’d hate to have to count on him as an anchor of my fantasy team.