After reading these comments by Mike Shanahan, it's clear Ryan Torain will get every chance to tote the rock this year for Denver. The question is how much and how soon.

They are one of the toughest teams to project carries on. I could see Travis Henry getting cut, but that's not really something you can build strongly into the projection. I like Torain to get a shot at some point and for Selvin Young to fill a change-of-pace role. That leaves Henry with the rest.

My initial reaction was 165 carries for Henry, 125 for Torain, and another 115 for Young. Evan Silva would give a whole let less to Henry and more to Young. What say you, Pancake Blockers.

And yes, posting is going to be real sporadic over the next two weeks until our magazine is done.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

While dynasty leaguers get all excited about the new crop of running backs, don't forget how badly the top-five keeper picks of old are struggling. Cedric Benson is being replaced. Cadillac Williams may not play this year. Ronnie Brown turned a corner last year, but he's coming off a torn ACL. Kevin Jones is looking for a job.

Jones' agent said he got a few nibbles early in the process, but clearly no one is in a hurry to sign him. He may have to wait for an injury elsewhere, but I do expect him to go to training camp for a team. I'm trying to think of a great situation, and Cincinnati is the best one comes to mind. There has to be more, but it just shows how fast fantasy value can sink.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I ranked all rookies for dynasty leagues today, and there were a lot of tough decisions. Darren McFadden over Jonathan Stewart is not a slam dunk, and I'd take Stewart over McFadden for 2008.

That leads me to my projections for the Raiders. They were among the league leaders last year with 445 carries. I'm going to project about 430 this season. How would you divide them up?

Continue reading "How much will McFadden get the ball?" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It looks like Dominic Rhodes, not LaMont Jordan, will be walking the plant in Oakland. Jordan survives, at least for now. Any foolish souls like myself holding out hope Jordan will have a career revival should pray he gets released this summer. There are too many bodies in front of him in Oakland.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I spent most of my morning working on a column of dynasty rookie rankings to be posted tomorrow. Along those lines, Rotoworld dynasty pro Chris Wesseling selected his 15 dynasty tumblers of the weekend. Willie Parker owners are just now cleaning off the footprint on their stomachs.

It's a great list, with my only small complaint being LenDale White being ranked fifth, four spots ahead of Chris Henry. Chris Johnson isn't going to help White, but I think there are enough carries to go around. White finished sixth in the NFL in carries last year despite Henry's presence and Chris Brown topping 100. I figure Johnson just replaces Brown's carries. And Henry remains a bust.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Here are some veterans who got a value boost or a surprising hold on draft weekend ... I may use some of these in a future column.

Ronnie Brown - Nice lead blocker.

Jason Campbell: Lots of new toys to play with

Continue reading "Veterans who were helped by Draft" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

The Browns continue to trade away picks, moving up twice to grab inside linebacker Beau Bell (nice IDP prospect), then send next year's third-round pick for Martin Rucker. Odd pick. Rucker is a no block, all catch tight end with a high ceiling. Does that indicate anything about how the Browns see Kellen Winslow's future?

Tashard Choice gives Dallas options at running back if Marion Barber ever leaves. He is a complete back I was watching closely in this draft. This isn't a great landing spot for him in the short-term for fantasy leagues, as he'll be their third back.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 01:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I don't know enough about Kevin Smith to say if he'll succeed or not. 450 carries last year is a concern. But getting drafted by Detroit makes him a serious fantasy sleeper because he'll have a chance to start sooner than later.

Jamaal Charles is a very interesting pick by Kansas City. While he's more of a third-down threat, they could have flexibility to dump Larry Johnson next year if he doesn't bounce back quickly. He adds some explosiveness to the backfield that LJ and Kolby Smith lacks.

Continue reading "Third-round thoughts" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I'll get deeper on why these players made the list in a column, but here's a list, focusing on day one, of players who saw their 2008 fantasy value take a hit to varying degrees.

Willie Parker
DeAngelo Williams
Cedric Benson
Jason Witten
Aaron Rodgers
Justin Fargas

Continue reading "Veterans who lost value in fantasy leagues" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Wow this is going fast today. I got up to Stamford, CT. at work in time to see the first picks off the board. We'll be doing analysis on all skill position picks on the news page. I will stop by with some thoughts after each round.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)