Fantasy Football Busts

Just thinking about the name Jamaal Charles, along with Adrian Peterson for that matter, makes us lose control and frail our arms around screaming "DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!" Furthermore, looking at Average Draft Position (ADP) for Charles makes us blurt out "DOES NOT COMPUTE". And if one of us happens to be in the room during your fantasy football draft and you decide to pull the trigger on Charles too early, you can fully expect an "I CANNOT ACCEPT THAT COURSE OF ACTION!" from us. Charles has all sorts of factors that can single handedly result in a down year, let alone the potential risk of ALL of them coming through and combining their powers to pull off a mega nuke of stink bomb year for Charles at epic levels. Let's start with the most obvious, and that being Charles is returning from a major injury (a torn ACL suffered in week 2 last season). Torn ACLs and NFL RBs do not mix, and it has been shown to take typically two full years for an NFL RB to recover from such an injury to return to their pre-injury form (see our "RB Two Year Major Injury Rule" article). Next, the Chiefs added Peyton "The Juggernaut" Hillis to the roster. They also lost Pro-Bowl lead blocking FB Le'Ron McClain to the Chargers in the off-season. The one-two punch of losing a Pro-Bowl lead blocking FB and adding a former 1,000+ yard RB and former EA Sports Madden Coverboy that is in his prime is enough alone to breakout the Maalox when just thinking about Jamaal Charles. As if that wasn't enough, the Chiefs also lost Pro-Bowl C Casey Wiegmann. Wiegmann has played 9 years in KC, and now the Chiefs get to see what it is like without his services. The loss of Wiegmann followed the loss of six time Pro Bowl G Brian Waters, who left the Chiefs prior to the start of the 2011 season (and promptly earned a Pro-Bowl with the Patriots). Since Charles tore his knee early in the season, he doesn't really know what it is like not running behind Waters. He will get that opportunity in 2012 (along with McClain and Wiegmann gone), coming off a major injury, and competing with Hillis for touches.

When Adrian Peterson comes floating down to you in your draft, think Circuit City, Borders Books, or Blockbuster Video. At one time, each was the unquestioned standard for the industry, but don't fall prey to the elixir of the brand name. Looking at Average Draft Position (ADP) information, Peterson is being selected as high as the 7th overall pick in fantasy football drafts. The brand name Peterson has established is too strong for folks to pass in their draft, and there is a time and place for him in your draft, just not anywhere close to that early. Peterson has nailed double digit TDs in each season of his six year NFL career; however, the game has changed in 2012, as Peterson will be a shell of his former self. In Week 16 last season (December 24th to be exact), Peterson injured his left knee, tearing both his ACL and MCL. Major leg injuries and RBs do not mix, and it takes time (typically two full years from the season when the major leg injury occurred) to recover and return to their pre-injury form (see our "RB Two Year Major Injury Rule" article). You will hear strong reports from the media about Peterson out-running his teammates and the recovery looking good, but keep in mind the ACL and MCL have nothing to do with outrunning your teammates and everything to do with making quick cuts and sudden changes in direction, which are vital components to a RBs game when picking holes to attack opened by their offensive line. Speaking of offensive line, that brings us to another concern area for Peterson in 2012. For the first time in his career, Peterson will not be running behind 7 Time Pro Bowl Guard, Steve Hutchinson, who is now in Tennessee (good news for Tennessee RB Chris Johnson). Hutchinson is a monster and can open up massive holes, and those holes just won't be there for Peterson like they have been in the past with Hutchinson now gone. Last, QB Christian Ponder is no Tom Brady or Drew Brees, and it's all about focusing on shutting down the run when facing the Vikings. Not the best of news as far as help for a RB recovering from a major injury with a compromised offensive line.