Every year it happens. A former fantasy stud begins to wear down and look old. His numbers drop, a new young buck begins to steal touches, and he doesn’t produce the value of where he was taken in the draft. Last year a few former studs lost their luster. Edgerrin James, Deuce McAllister, Tory Holt, Marvin Harrison, all looked washed up. Even the mighty L.T. had a down year and looked human. There seems to be even more to watch out for this season. So here is a list of guys who aren’t as good as they once were, and will need to be drafted with caution.
LaDanian Tomlinson RB, Chargers – The former consensus no.1 pick began to look worn down last year. He missed time with injuries and when he came back, shared the load with Darren Sproles who to many, appeared to be the better back. Now many experts are torn on where Tomlinson should be drafted this year. Most agree that he shouldn’t go in the top 5, others say not in the top ten. He is hitting the dreaded of age of 30 and has lots of wear on his tires. Supposedly he as looks as good as ever in offseason workouts and is determined to prove every naysayer wrong. He is a sexy name but if you are holding a high pick, it may be wise to let someone else take the aging superstar.
Brian Westbrook RB, Eagles – Westbrook always gets injured every year, but he has always produced amazing fantasy numbers. This year he is coming into the season recovering from knee surgery and has a young stud backing him up. He will be 30 at the start of the season and has plenty of mileage on him. Westbrook was always considered to be a top 5 pick, but will now likely fall to the late first or early 2nd round, and LeSean McCoy becomes a must have hand cuff.
Joseph Addai RB, Colts – Addai was dinged up a lot last year, and when he did play just didn’t look the same. He now has rookie Donald Brown coming in to take some of his carries away. Addai is still young but with Brown in the picture, should not be considered until the mid to late second round and should not be drafted as a no. 1 running back.
Marion Barber RB, Cowboys – Barber had a good season last year and is still young and healthy but he finds himself in a 3 headed monster in Dallas. Felix Jones is healthy and he will see plenty of touches per game, and Tashard Choice will also get a handful of carries per game. Barber should still produce decent numbers but should now be considered as a late first early/2nd round pick, and not the top ten selection he was last year.
Clinton Portis RB, Redskins – Portis started the season on fire last year but began to fade as the season lead on. He has handled a heavy workload the last few seasons and should see plenty of work again in 2009. He is still a borderline first rounder but must be drafted with caution as his body could very well breakdown by midseason and into the fantasy playoffs.
Steven Jackson RB, Rams – I put Jackson on this list only because he is becoming very risky. He has missed games due to injury the last few years, and when he was healthy got terrible offensive line play. He was a very high pick last year and didn’t pay off for his owners. This year the offensive line is improved, but the passing game in St. Louis will be severely downgraded. Jackson should still be a very high pick, anywhere in the top 10, but he will be a risk/reward pick, with his durability being the biggest concern.
Braylon Edwards WR, Browns – Braylon came out of nowhere in 2007 when he scored 16 touchdowns. He suddenly was a top 5 WR last season, and had huge expectations for 2008. He was a monumental failure. He dropped 16 balls and was stuck in a pathetic offensive with poor QB play. His situation isn’t much better this year, and he has dropped from a top 5 wideout to somewhere in the top 20, and a likely mid round pick.
Some others who are losing or lost their sexiness: Terell Owens WR, Bills; Larry Johnson RB, Chiefs; Thomas Jones RB, Jets; Willis McGahee RB, Ravens; Antonio Gates TE, Chargers.
