It's the final night before a deadline, the ass-crack of dawn approaches, and yet it's just another night for the usual Rotoworld night owls. Pouliot is still cranking out blurbs on the greatest Single-A prospects, while Evan Silva has posted nine football items since midnight. I ask him why, and he says, "I can't sleep."

People always ask how they can get into fantasy writing. Be the type of person that wakes up to post blurbs at 3:30 AM because you can't help yourself. That's why Silva makes the Godzilla bankroll.
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One of the big themes of this magazine and draft season is the questionable RB2s available. There are plenty of guys who look like solid values in the third or fourth round, but it's hard to choose any worthy of RB13-15 status. Ronnie Brown is one of my favorite candidates, but this article about Ricky Williams partially confirms my worst fears: Ronnie could be heading for a committee. Despite his claims, Ricky will not be a calming influence on Brown owners.

It makes sense. Brown hasn't topped 275 touches in his career. It would be asking a lot for him to carry the whole load in his first season after ACL surgery. Ricky, of course, is an even bigger question mark. But if Williams can stay healthy, look for Brown to ease into life under Tony Sparano. If he shows that he's strong enough, perhaps he'll get more carries as the season wears on.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

First things first. I don't think Ricky Williams will have a major impact on fantasy football this season. He's thirty years old and hasn't played football all year. By the time he's in football shape, the fantasy season will be over. And Williams will probably be a backup no matter where he plays. With that said, he's worth a look in very deep leagues where you can afford a flier. Let's rank my top-five most likely destinations for Williams.

5. St. Louis - Scott Linehan has coached Ricky before and seems open to coaching him again. But do the Rams really need a veteran backup that badly? They'd probably rather develop Antonio Pittman and Brian Leonard.

4. New England - Bill Belichick probably doesn't care about Ricky's negative perception around the league. He knows through Nick Saban and many AFC East games what kind of player Williams can be. With that said, I just don't think the Patriots will feel their need is big enough at running back to bother. Is he really that much better than Corey Dillon?

3. Denver - Mike Shanahan wouldn't relish the P.R. hit he'd take going from Travis Henry to Ricky Williams, but that's never stopped him from taking chances before. The Broncos have shown interest in Ricky in the past.

Continue reading "Ranking the Ricky Suitors" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)

Ricky Williams has to be in the top-five active players in terms of total Rotoworld posts. As I wrote the news today that Williams failed another drug test, I surprisingly was a little depressed that he may be done with the NFL. He's certainly done with the Dolphins.

That doesn't mean the posts will slow down anytime soon. We will cover the inevitable appeals and applications for reinstatement. But we doubt the NFL will let him back into the league this year. If he was suspended for a year for missing a test, then fails another during the year, why would Roger Goodell let him back in the league? Even if Goodell did let Williams back, the season will already be under way and teams may not want to take the chance.

Williams will be 31 years old in 2008 and we're guessing he'll have missed two straight NFL seasons. He's certainly still talented enough to be a quality backup and he needs the money, so Ricky is not going to give up. But the NFL may give up on him. It's a new era and pot-addled oddballs don't fit in.

For fantasy leaguers (knew I'd get here eventually), this news means that Ronnie Brown should get drafted somewhere in the top 30 picks. We have him graded as a high RB2, a borderline second round pick. Lorenzo Booker becomes his clear backup and an interesting prospect in his own right.

Perhaps Brown will have a better career than Williams, although he has a ways to go. But there's no chance Brown will be as interesting as Ricky. Williams started his career in a wedding dress and may have been on his yoga treat Friday when it ended.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 05:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)