Sleeper Watch

Few teams have as murky a situation at running back as the Broncos. The focus of Denver’s 2003 offense, 1500-yard rusher Clinton Portis, will be delighting fans in the nation’s capital this season. Quentin Griffin performed well last year, but there are concerns about his size. New acquisition Garrison Hearst has proven that he can never be counted out, but once again finds himself trying to come back from injury trouble. And don’t count out rookie Tatum Bell.

A second-round pick in this year’s NFL draft (#41 overall), Bell is coming off a season in which he rushed for 1286 yards in 213 attempts for a phenomenal six yards per carry, racking up 16 touchdowns for Oklahoma State. He relies on pure speed and explosiveness, attributes which should enable him to succeed in the pro game as well. And as fantasy owners have learned through experience, rookie RBs have a history of succeeding in Denver.

Unfortunately, we’ve also learned that predicting Mike Shanahan’s intentions is about as easy as avoiding a Tom Nalen block. As it stands, any of these four rushers could wind up receiving the bulk of the carries. All we know is that whoever emerges as the feature back (assuming the dreaded running-back-by-committee approach doesn’t come to pass) in Denver should wind up being a very valuable fantasy factor. Follow this situation closely, and consider taking a flyer on a longshot like Bell.