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Besides A.P., Round One fantasy RBs get off to rocky starts

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Recent posts by Michael Blunda

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By Michael Blunda

The first round of a fantasy draft is supposed to be when you grab the player who's going to be the foundation of your team. That player is supposed to be someone you can expect big production from on a weekly basis. And more often than not, that player is a running back.

Well, for the majority of fantasy owners out there who spent their first-round selection on a RB, Week One didn't exactly go as planned. Sure, the guy who had the No. 1 pick is celebrating today after Adrian Peterson tore the Browns up for 180 yards and three TDs, and those who grabbed Maurice Jones-Drew can't complain about 123 yards from scrimmage and a score, but everyone else who took a back early probably isn't smiling. That's because, overall, the Round One RBs flopped.

Here's a quick rundown of their struggles:

  • Michael Turner got 22 carries to make something happen against the Dolphins, but he finished with just 65 yards and no TDs.
  • Matt Forté looked to have a nice matchup vs. the Packers, but he could only muster 55 yards on 25 attempts, catching no passes in the process.
  • On the whole, DeAngelo Williams' day wasn't terrible (79 scrimmage yards and a TD), but his rushing performance against Philly — 14 carries for 37 yards — was quite poor.
  • The same can be said for Frank Gore, who did score twice at Arizona. On the ground, however, he was downright awful, carrying the ball 22 times for 30 yards.
  • Steven Jackson ran for a respectable 67 yards on 16 attempts, but he was kept out of the endzone and didn't record a catch at Seattle.
  • Although he had the excuse of playing the dominant Steelers, Chris Johnson ran two big runs and nothing else Thursday night, finishing with 15-57-0 on the ground.
  • Brandon Jacobs also had a tough matchup with the Redskins, but he still should have been able to do better than 16 carries for 46 yards.
  • Steve Slaton probably had the worst day of all, finishing with nine carries for a paltry 17 yards and losing a fumble against the Jets. At least he added 35 yards receiving.

While this is not the start any of you were expecting from your first-round investment, it's much too early to panic. We're only one game into the season, and if your guys are going to have a bad outing, you'd rather it come in Sept. than Dec. Don't go trying to sell off any of these guys just because they're off to a slow start.

In fact, you should try to do the opposite, seeing if you can find an impatient owner in your league who might be eager to trade away their top pick for a player coming off a big Week One. If you can acquire one of the aforementioned RBs for less than face value, make the move. You'll be thanking yourself down the line.

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