Let's talk middle round RB (7-12)

[BGbootha]

Alright same deal as the WR, there are lots RB's taken in those middle five rounds that all seem to project similarly, but you know that there are going to be RB'd picked here who make a championship fantasy team come to life. Who are they? and Why? Which of these guys are you staying away from? Why?

6.11 Felix Jones
6.11 Cedric Benson
6.12 LenDale White
7.03 Ray Rice
7.06 Donald Brown
7.11 Jamal Lewis
8.03 Darren Sproles
8.04 Julius Jones
8.08 LeSean McCoy
8.1 Rashard Mendenhall
9.04 Ahmad Bradshaw
9.08 Tim Hightower
9.08 Fred Jackson
10.04 Chester Taylor
10.08 Earnest Graham
10.08 LeRon McClain
11.02 Willis McGahee
11.02 Shonn Greene
11.03 Leon Washington
11.09 Fred Taylor
11.12 Jerious Norwood
12.04 Laurence Maroney

[aaawall91]

6.11 Felix Jones: haven't seen or heard enough, I'm too high on Barber and Choice to like him though

6.11 Cedric Benson: He is a #1 and he has talent, he is a risk though.

6.12 LenDale White: Leaner, meaner, sounds motivated as long as he can keep it up I like him, but I think there is more value else where for where he is drafted.

7.03 Ray Rice: Baltimore's run game I like, I just don't know who the main beneficiary will be...

7.06 Donald Brown: Tons of upside I like him, and try to grab two younger whos (Brown/Mendy)

7.11 Jamal Lewis: Don't trust him

8.03 Darren Sproles: No idea what his role will be so I stay away

8.04 Julius Jones: I like him a lot, the safest pick of all players listed IMO and will be a strong RB3.

8.08 LeSean McCoy: like the potential if Westy goes down...not sure he is worth it here unless your a Westy owner.

8.1 Rashard Mendenhall: I liked him, but his value has been going down for me, tons of potential in Pitt so he ends up on my rosters.

9.04 Ahmad Bradshaw: Not sold on him.

9.08 Tim Hightower: I stay away.

9.08 Fred Jackson: no comment

10.04 Chester Taylor: Not worth it unless you own ADP IMO.

10.08 Earnest Graham: No idea whats up in Tampa yet.

10.08 LeRon McClain: Switched to fullback, not worth it in these rounds.

11.02 Willis McGahee: see Rice.

11.02 Shonn Greene: NYJ RB situation has me lost.

11.03 Leon Washington: see above.

11.09 Fred Taylor: Great value if you have drafted risky.

11.12 Jerious Norwood: Ends up on my rosters, tremendous upside, and if you believe in this breakdown curse thing this guy could be your gold...

12.04 Laurence Maroney: tons of potential...just don't think it will be realized. good luck getting enough touches to be fantasy starting relevant as a Patriots RB unless your ancient or get hot a couple weeks in a row.

[gmoney973]

6.11 Felix Jones - I like Jones but I feel he is being drafted higher then his worth so I am staying away.
6.11 Cedric Benson - I would not be targetting Benson this season, hes not a good RB and I doubt he will have the starting job by seasons end. 6th round is too early.
6.12 LenDale White - LenDale is a good value in the late rounds, however I am not a fan.
7.03 Ray Rice - Rice is a player i would target if he falls in the late rounds, I would see how training camp plays out first.
7.06 Donald Brown - I believe Brown has alot of upside and the colts plan to use him since they spent a first round pick on him
7.11 Jamal Lewis - staying away from lewis this season, hes too old
8.03 Darren Sproles - Sproles is a nice player but I dont see him doing much more then last season, I think LT will be heathly. Wouldnt target him.
8.04 Julius Jones - not sold on julius, i think seahawks will pass alot this year - he also wont score many tds
8.08 LeSean McCoy - yes
8.1 Rashard Mendenhall - yes
9.04 Ahmad Bradshaw - no
9.08 Tim Hightower - yes
9.08 Fred Jackson - no
10.04 Chester Taylor - no
10.08 Earnest Graham - no
10.08 LeRon McClain - no
11.02 Willis McGahee - no
11.02 Shonn Greene - yes
11.03 Leon Washington - no
11.09 Fred Taylor - no
11.12 Jerious Norwood - yes
12.04 Laurence Maroney - no

sorry got lazy at the end

[BGbootha]

8.04 Julius Jones - not sold on julius, i think seahawks will pass alot this year - he also wont score many tds

The Seahawks will be much more balanced than recent past. Greg Knapp (new offensive Coord) is a running machine. There are reasons not to like Julius but I don't think that should be one of them.

[Dan Lambskin]

6.11 Felix Jones - i like him a lot, just not sure i'll spend a high enough pick to get him. has home-run potential in any given week which is great for by week fill ins

6.11 Cedric Benson - meh...i'm more interested in Bernard Scott

6.12 LenDale White - i still think his value is too TD dependant...again, good for a bye week play, but too much risk for a 2-3 point game if he doesnt score

7.03 Ray Rice - me likey

7.06 Donald Brown - definately worth a gamble, however, if Addai is healthy and effective wont be worth a lot, but if not could be a league winner

7.11 Jamal Lewis - DO NOT WANT

8.03 Darren Sproles - not willing to pay the price

8.04 Julius Jones - excellent late value pick

8.08 LeSean McCoy - agree needs a Westy injury to be effective, but if so, he's gold Jerry...GOLD!

8.1 Rashard Mendenhall - pass

9.04 Ahmad Bradshaw - i like him, although could end up being a turd

9.08 Tim Hightower - DO NOT WANT

9.08 Fred Jackson - better value in PPR leagues

10.04 Chester Taylor - if you have AD worth the handcuff, if not, not so much

10.08 Earnest Graham - barf...i'd rather take a late round flier on Caddy

10.08 LeRon McClain - will be this years (i dont know, who's a guy that comes out of nowhere and then you never hear of again...Nick Goings )

11.02 Willis McGahee - Do Not Want

11.02 Shonn Greene - i just dont see the value unless you are in a Dynasty

11.03 Leon Washington - i like him, especially in PPR leagues that credit return TD's

11.09 Fred Taylor - good late round value, cant trust the Pats on how they'll use their backs though. i think they adjust their game plan for every team and even adjust in game, so hard to tell who gets the carries each week

11.12 Jerious Norwood - i like him but my guess is he goes much earlier than this

12.04 Laurence Maroney - DO NOT WANT

[Azrael]

Good thread topic. I think it's a good idea to do this to help weed out what we want from what we don't want. I also keep in mind that with 16 roster spots I'm probably going to roster 6 RBs max. By the time I get to these guys I've probably got 3 backs on my team, maybe 2 if you are in 12 teamers+. Guys in red below I'd only target to back up the starter. The picks are very expensive otherwise and you are basically crossing your fingers for an injury to the starter. Guys in green I'm definitely wouldn't mind getting on my team.

6.11 Felix Jones - will likely play the Julius Jones role in Dallas but with more big play ability. Good upside as 4th back.
6.11 Cedric Benson - full time starter, plays in a tough division, revamped Oline, still only 26 though, worth a 4th back
6.12 LenDale White - I wouldn't take him unless I owned Chris Johnson, might look expensive but well worth backing up your first rounder
7.03 Ray Rice - I'd target Rice and McGahee in tandem, Baltimore is going to run the ball alot and one of these 2 guys should be a beneficiary
7.06 Donald Brown - only target if I own Addai.
7.11 Jamal Lewis - would not touch, don't see the upside here, he's a worn down power back
8.03 Darren Sproles - only target if I own LT
8.04 Julius Jones - could be excellent flex player, should grind up a good amount of yardage this year
8.08 LeSean McCoy - only target if I own Westbrook
8.1 Rashard Mendenhall - only target if I own Parker
9.04 Ahmad Bradshaw - I'm staying away from Bradshaw for 2 reasons; Jacobs gets all the goal line love and I'm not sure he will be a true back up like some other backs
9.08 Tim Hightower - Hightower is interesting because Wells is ALREADY hurt, definitely grab if I own Wells (who is not a guy I'm targeting anyway) but does have feature back potential due to Wells injury history
9.08 Fred Jackson - definitely worth this selection, get 3 games out of him to start off, though I personally won't target him unless I own Lynch
10.04 Chester Taylor - won't target unless I own AP
10.08 Earnest Graham - won't target unless I own Ward
10.08 LeRon McClain - not targeting him as he went back to his FB role
11.02 Willis McGahee - target in tandem with Rice
11.02 Shonn Greene - can't see Green really doing a whole lot this year, I think if Jones gets hurt Washington's role opens up more
11.03 Leon Washington - very explosive player, I'm undecided on him, definitely lock him down if I own Jones though
11.09 Fred Taylor - well worth a 4th or 5th back
11.12 Jerious Norwood - only target if I own Turner
12.04 Laurence Maroney - won't target, disappointed too many times, too many RB in NE

[Dawinner127]

The only three players on the list I am actually somewhat interested in are:
1) J Jones - Flying extremely low on peoples radars, but not on mine. I wouldn't mind having him as my RB3 at all, but if I can land him as a RB4, that would be tremendous.

2) Ray Rice - Definitely going to be able to produce if given the carries. Just worried about McGahee returning to old form like he was in Buffalo.

3) Greene - Start of the season he is going to have all the goal line carries for the Jets. By half way through the season he will be taking the majority of the carries.

[aaawall91]

10.08 LeRon McClain - will be this years (i dont know, who's a guy that comes out of nowhere and then you never hear of again...Nick Goings )

Haha thats funny, when I did this I had a Samkon Gado reference typed out but figured people would nit pick since Gado went else where and disappeared and McClain just moved to FB.

[Azrael]

3) Greene - Start of the season he is going to have all the goal line carries for the Jets. By half way through the season he will be taking the majority of the carries.

I am always puzzled when people say this about a player coming in to take another guy's job. Unless there is an injury or the first stringer becomes a malcontent with the coaching staff this just NEARLY never happens. Why? There are only so many reps to go around. When one guy is entrenched as the starter he gets all the first team reps in the Wed-Fri practices. It's so important that everyone is on the same page and gets live reps each week, they don't have time to say "well let's throw the rookie in there and see if he's getting it, how he can do, etc." If Greene isn't starting coming out of camp (which isn't expected), he won't gradually take over as long as Jones is healthy. After camp is over and the season starts, there is very limited practice time and they don't have the time to mess with giving a guy substantial reps that isn't going to play much.

[Stelly]

3) Greene - Start of the season he is going to have all the goal line carries for the Jets. By half way through the season he will be taking the majority of the carries.

I am always puzzled when people say this about a player coming in to take another guy's job. Unless there is an injury or the first stringer becomes a malcontent with the coaching staff this just NEARLY never happens. Why? There are only so many reps to go around. When one guy is entrenched as the starter he gets all the first team reps in the Wed-Fri practices. It's so important that everyone is on the same page and gets live reps each week, they don't have time to say "well let's throw the rookie in there and see if he's getting it, how he can do, etc." If Greene isn't starting coming out of camp (which isn't expected), he won't gradually take over as long as Jones is healthy. After camp is over and the season starts, there is very limited practice time and they don't have the time to mess with giving a guy substantial reps that isn't going to play much.

Greene could be a great guy to stash away in a keeper league. I think T. Jones is done in NY after this season, and Greene could step in as the new starter next season. In a keeper league, I'd be pretty happy to pick this guy up in the 11th round (assuming I'm happy with my RB depth ahead of him).