Here's the second part of my review of this year's rookie running backs. Part 1 can be found here.

Two Stars
 
Darren McFadden, Oak - He was considered the best rookie running back prospect coming into the season, but so far he hasn't come close to that title. He had a huge 21 carry, 164 yard performance in Week 2, but has totaled less than 140 yards total in the four games since then.  He also has had fewer than nine carries in each of the past three games.  There's no way for him to succeed if the Raiders just don't use him.  That may change under new coach Tom Cable, but the early signs are that the Raiders are going back to Justin Fargas so it's just more fantasy chaos from the Raiders.  Things don't look like they're going to get better for McFadden owners this season.
 
Kevin Smith, Det - Considering the Lions have been terrible so far, and considering the Lions don't give him enough carries (only one game with more than ten carries), Jones is doing relatively well.  His 4.9 yds/carry average and touchdowns in two of the past three games are positives. However, you don't want to hear about positives if your fantasy team is losing because you had been counting on him.  Has a lot of potential upside for the second half, but right now he's unreliable for your fantasy team.   The best you (and the city of Detroit) can hope for is for a coaching change.  Very soon.  Please hurry.
 
One Star
 
Tim Hightower, Arz - He's a touchdown machine (five TDs in six games) but not much else.  In larger leagues, that's enough.  He's a gamble every week, but if Edge goes down Hightower will be a fantasy star in every league. 
 
Felix Jones, Dal - He was shaping up as a nice flex option before his injury, especially in leagues that score for kick/punt returns.   As long as the Cowboys don't panic and rush him back too soon, he should be  productive for the rest of the year. 
 
 
Zero Stars
 
Jamaal Charles, KC - He hasn't done anything yet, but with Larry Johnson benched/suspended/overpaid for the rest of the season, there's a very good chance Charles may have the starting job some time soon.  He's a guy to grab now if he's still available in your league.
 
Ray Rice, Bal - There were reports in the offseason that Rice was looking so impressive the Ravens were considering cutting Willis McGahee and handing the starting job to Rice. Eh, not seeing it.  A 3.0 yd/carry average isn't going to impress anybody.  Barring a McGahee injury (which, now that I think about it, is almost inevitable) he won't have any fantasy value.
 
Rashard Mendenhall, Pit - He was damn unlucky picking up a season-ending injury right before Willie Parker did, but to be honest he didn't look that great before the injury.

Q: Is Philadelphia's pass defense as good as it looked against the Rams?
A: No, it is not.  However, it did keep the Cowboy's rushing attack to 2.8 YPC. 

Q: How well does rookie RB Felix Jones do in the follow-up to his successful debut?
A: Not well.  Jones had ten yards on three carries and no receptions.  Marion Barber's timeshare isn't as close as Jones' potential would indicate.  From what I could tell, Barber didn't seem affected by the Week one rib injury.

Fantasy Player To Watch: WR DeSean Jackson.  Yeah, he went Leon Lett on his fantasy owners, but he looks like a 1,000 yard rookie wide receiver to me.

Leveraging the strength and knowledge of the SBNation, Fake Teams has paired with the individual blogger for each NFL team to bring you the edge you need to dominate your fantasy football leagues.  Each will bring their team's top fantasy player along with a fantasy sleeper.

First up is Dallas Cowboys blogger Dave Halprin of Blogging The Boys

Continue reading this post »

It must be good to be the Dallas Cowboys these days.  Your team is so good, and has so few needs, that you can draft to your strengths on almost every pick.  That’s what brought Felix Jones (22^nd overall) to Dallas, even though the Cowboys have (had) a rising star in  Marion Barber.

 I’ve already bitched about how I hate this pick from a fantasy perspective because it minimizes the fantasy value of  both Jones and Barber.  Since I’m just going to have to deal with it, (…grumble…) I’ll just go right into what we kind of fantasy performance we should expect from Felix.

 Felix Jones is a "speed" back – a fast runner who is better avoiding defenders than powering through them.  At Arkansas, his teammate Darren McFadden did the grinding work between the tackles while Jones blazed outside.  Jones even ran back kicks while in college – something he won’t do often in the NFL but it gives you an idea of the kind of speed and elusiveness he brings.

 Given that Marion Barber is the "power" back in Dallas,  this sets up the now-standard running back duo of one power back and one speed back, what was once called the "Thunder and Lightning" approach.  While not optimal for fantasy owners, this structure can work if the NFL team in question is dedicated to giving both players carries.  Let’s assume that the Cowboys will manage both backs the right way.

 In the past few years there have been three successful backs that came into the NFL with situations similar to Jones – in other words, "speed" backs drafted by teams that had established "power" backs.  Averaging the rookie season output of those three (Reggie Bush, Maurice Jones-Drew and Jerious Norwood) gives you totals of 713 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns.  

 I would consider that a good estimate for Felix Jones’ production in 2008. The seven rushing touchdowns are a bit high (the average is skewed by Jones-Drew’s amazing 13 TDs) but if your league scores receiving TDs and/or return TDs then I could see Jones hit seven touchdowns overall.

 Felix Jones is a good place for production and should be drafted in all fantasy leagues.  Jones would make a very good RB3, especially if your league scores for running back receptions.