2010 Fantasy Football Mailbag Notes: Note that the e-mails I received have been italicized and left mostly unedited. My responses follow them.
5/29/10
2010 Fantasy Football E-mails – Running Backs
Like you, I really don’t like going WR early, but this year seems funny. Wanted to get your take on something when you got a second.
Lately (and I know it’s stupidly early) I’ve been drafting in the 8 spot since I’ll draft their in one of my leagues, and I’m getting these results…
I got Reggie Wayne or Andre Johnson in 1, Calvin Johnson in 2, Sidney Rice in 3, then some combination of LeSean McCoy, Felix Jones, Ben Tate, Reggie Bush, Clinton Portis, Montario Hardesty at RB by waiting. Wondering if you thought those RBs were good enough to really load up on WR early. Just don’t like any of the RBs left at that 8 spot, and by the 2nd and 3rd rounds, the RBs I can get later are just as good as teh ones I could get there.
My Response:
I don’t think going WR-WR is a bad strategy, but I wouldn’t go WR-WR-WR. I’d like to have a top-15 running back in there just in case those guys don’t pan out.
I really like LeSean McCoy, but every other back you mentioned has red flags. Felix Jones gets hurt often. Ben Tate plays for Gary Kubiak, who won’t hesitate to bench him if he fumbles a few times. Reggie Bush always misses at least a quarter of the season. Clinton Portis has 2,100 carries on his resume and may not start. Montario Hardesty may give up half his carries to Jerome Harrison. You’re taking a huge risk by going with those guys.
Taking receivers isn’t safe. Andre Johnson should be fine, but Reggie Wayne is a 32-year-old who had knee problems last year. Sidney Rice’s quarterback is a 41-year-old coming off ankle surgery. Those guys could easily bust – I actually wouldn’t even touch Wayne in the first three rounds.
I’m not sure why you are so high on the Carolina running backs. I think Stewart could be like Derrick Ward. Although Ward’s decline was because he didn’t play at all, I think Stewart could have just had a good year as a RB2 for the Panthers. He only got to 1.1k yds because the Giants didnt feel like playing defense in the last game against them where he got about 200 yds.
I’m not denying his talent or the fact that he will put up numbers. I just think his stats were inflated due to a bad defense and DeAngelo’s injuries. I’m not sure how the Panthers are going to put up 2200 rushing yards, and I’m not sure that the running backs will split evenly.
I agree that Stewart isnt gonna be good, but I just dont think he is a top 50 pick because hes in a timeshare.
My Response:
I have to strongly disagree. Carolina’s running backs had 2,250 rushing yards in 2009 and 2,350 rushing yards in 2008. They’re going to rack up tons of yardage again, and I was actually being conservative with their projections. Stewart is the more talented of the two backs, and he’s going to be getting the goal-line carries.
Let’s say you’re in a 12-team league and you get 12th pick in snake draft. Do you go DeAngelo at 12, then Stewart at 13? Maybe the week to week ceiling for points isn’t as high as taking higher ranked guys, but you’ll have a very high floor.
My Response:
I don’t know if I’d pick either at 12-13… I’d rather have 2 players I could rely on every week. By doing that, you’re hedging your bets and getting only one really good fantasy player.
I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger on either in the middle or late second round, but I’d want a sure thing with one of my first two selections.
You have Ryan Mathews way too high. The Chargers are not only a pass-first team, but a pass-first AND second team, so what makes you think a rookie running back is going to have an above average seaon.
My Response:
LaDainian Tomlinson had a very good fantasy season last year even though he sucked in real life. That’s because San Diego’s offense was so good that Tomlinson had so many scoring opportunities. Norv Turner loves running the ball, and he didn’t trade all the way up to No. 12 to ignore Ryan Mathews on offense. Doing so would be illogical.
How high would you put Leon Washington and Forsett now that Big Fat LenDale White isnt on the team anymore? Also, who do you think gets the start?
My Response:
Hey, let’s give LenDale some credit here. He’s not a fat, lazy slob anymore. He’s just a lazy slob.
I actually made some modifications to my Seattle Seahawks 2010 Fantasy Football Rankings page. In the wake of LenDale White’s release and reports that Justin Forsett has been lighting up minicamp, I really like Forsett a lot.
MISSING
More 2010 Fantasy Football Articles:
2010 Fantasy Football: Home
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings:
2010 Fantasy Football Playoff Rankings - 1/5 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Week 17 Fantasy Rankings - 1/2 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks - 8/31 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks - 6/6 (Steve)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs - 9/6 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs - 7/3 (Steve)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 9/7 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers - 7/14 (Steve)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends - 8/31 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Tight Ends - 7/20 (Steve)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Kickers - 6/10 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Defenses - 6/11 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Auction Values - 9/2 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: IDP Defensive Linemen - 8/3 (Steve)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: IDP Linebackers - 8/7 (Steve)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: IDP Defensive Backs - 8/14 (Steve)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Team-by-Team - 6/7 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Dynasty Rookie Rankings - 4/30 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Rookie Rankings - 4/29 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets:
2010 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 150 Traditional - 9/6 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 150 PPR - 9/6 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet: Top 150 Touchdown League - 9/6 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Rankings: Downloadable Spreadsheets - 9/7 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts:
2010 Fantasy Football Draft: WF.com Free League - 9/7 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Draft: Real Traditional Draft - 9/1 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Draft: Real PPR Draft - 8/26 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Draft: Real PPR Draft - 8/18 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Draft: Real Experts PPR Draft - 8/12 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Experts Mock Draft - 8/12 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Draft: Pros vs. Joes - 7/28 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: PPR Draft with AKA - 7/20 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Mocking ESPN's Fantasy Mock Draft - 7/7 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: The Four-Man PPR Fantasy Draft - 7/1 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Articles:
2010 Fantasy Football Injury Reports: Week 17 - 1/2 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Start Em, Sit Em - 12/29 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Add/Drop - 12/20 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Stock Index - Week 8 - 10/29 (John)
2010 Fantasy Football Buffet: Week 8 - 10/28 (Steve)
2010 Fantasy Football Stock - 9/7 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Preseason Stock - 9/3 (Walt)
2010 NFL Preseason Recap, Fantasy Football Notes - 9/3 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: High-Upside Late-Round Sleepers - 8/25 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Top 12 Players to Avoid - 8/25 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Undervalued Players - 8/13 (John)
2010 Fantasy Football: Buy Low - 8/6 (Walt)
ESPN's 2010 Fantasy Football Magazine Errors - 8/3 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Defense Strategy - 8/2 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: My Round-by-Round Strategy - 7/27 (Walt)
Lack of 2010 Fantasy Depth: Blame the 2008 NFL Draft Class - 7/26 (John)
2010 Fantasy Football: Why You Should Pass on Chris Johnson - 7/14 (John)
2010 Fantasy Football: Draft Strategies - 7/13 (John)
2010 Fantasy Football: Wide Receiver Scarcity - 6/30 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Sleepers (Late-Round) - 6/2 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Sleepers (Mid-Round) - 6/1 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Busts - 5/31 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football Mailbag - 5/29 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Quarterbacks with New Receivers - 5/1 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: 2010 NFL Draft Stock Up - 4/29 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: 2010 NFL Draft Stock Down - 4/29 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Free Agency Stock Up - 4/15 (Walt)
2010 Fantasy Football: Free Agency Stock Down - 4/12 (Walt)
Running Backs with Most Carries - 4/10 (Walt)
NFL Picks - Dec. 15
2025 NFL Mock Draft - Dec. 11
NFL Power Rankings - Dec. 9
2026 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 29
Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4
