Who's buried in Grant's tomb? Brandon Jackson

OK, maybe the title of this blog post is a little misleading. Ryan Grant is not dead. He's just dead to me and the rest of his fantasy owners.

Grant is out for the year, FOXSports.com reports, after suffering an ankle injury that didn't look that terrible on Sunday against the Eagles. But it's still a terrible blow for anyone who made Grant their No. 1 RB or took him in the first or second round this year (yours truly included).

The obvious replacement is Brandon Jackson, Grant's backup, who carried the ball 18 times for 63 yards in relief of Grant on Sunday. Jackson does have the backing of head coach Mike McCarthy, who believes Jackson can be an every-down back. The fourth-year RB was actually once considered for the Packers' starting job as a rookie in 2007 before injuries and ineffectiveness eventually caused him to lose out to Grant. But he's improved since then and had time to learn the system.

Jackson's a little smaller than Grant but may be a better receiver (2 receptions for 12 yards on Sunday), and in Green Bay's offense he has a chance to at least be a 1,000-yard rusher. I've never considered Grant a supremely skilled guy to begin with; most of his value came from the consistent number of carries he's received and the benefits of the great passing game around him. Slot Jackson into that role and the production shouldn't suffer all that much, provided Jackson's up to the task.


Photo by The Associated Press

Draft recap: How my team looks

We held the 5th annual Newsroom Fantasy League draft over the weekend at Buffalo Wild Wings (highly recommend their draft party deal, by the way). We expanded from 10 to 12 teams this year, and by random draw I ended up with the 10th overall pick. I'm also the defending champion.

We have to carry 2 QBs, 4 RBs, 4 WRs, 2 TEs, 2 Ks and 2 D/ST. Regular scoring rules and a snake draft.

Here's how my squad turned out, with round of selection in parentheses and commentary below:

JERSEY SURE

QB Tony Romo (3)
QB Chad Henne (11)

RB Ryan Grant (2)
RB Felix Jones (4)
RB Marion Barber (6)
RB Donald Brown (8)

WR Randy Moss (1)
WR Hakeem Nicks (5)
WR Mike Wallace (7)
WR Mike Williams (9)

TE Owen Daniels (10)
TE John Carlson (14)

K Ryan Longwell (13)
K Matt Bryant (16)

DEF Steelers (12)
DEF Browns (15)

Chose Randy Moss over Steven Jackson with my first pick at No. 10 overall. The running backs were flying off the board and S-Jax was probably a good value at that point, but I just don't have a good feeling about him this year.

Wasn't planning to have so many Cowboys on my team, but that's the way it worked out. I had to go RB with my second pick (Ryan Grant) and then sweat it out until the third round to grab the last elite QB (Tony Romo) left. That made Felix Jones a little more appealing to me as my second RB, and Marion Barber was the best remaining RB in Round 6. I'm very aware of the Cowboys' offensive struggles this preseason, thank you.

I could tell I was a little higher on my WRs than the rest of the league. I got Hakeem Nicks in the fifth round and Mike Wallace in the seventh, and I believe they can both produce like solid WR2s.

Mike Williams of the Bucs was kind of a sleeper in the ninth round. Ditto for Donald Brown in the eighth as my RB4 - he was the one remaining back that offered the most upside if his team's No. 1 (Joseph Addai) were to miss any time.

A little concerned about my No. 1 TE (Owen Daniels) since he's coming off a torn ACL and he could be questionable for Week 1 of the regular season. But I decided to wait on a TE until the 10th round after some of the others I was targeting (Brent Celek, Zach Miller) were swiped from me. But I still think Daniels offers huge upside if he can put the injury behind him, and I feel like I have a solid, top-15 backup (John Carlson) as insurance.

I have Ryan Longwell as the No. 2 kicker on my board but I believe he was the fifth one taken. Matt Bryant is just a flier since he'll kick in a dome in Atlanta for a decent offense.

Defenses are a crapshoot, but the Steelers are usually a safe pick. I don't particularly like the Browns, but I do like the idea of Josh Cribbs returning kicks.

2010 RB Rankings

2010 RUNNING BACK RANKINGS


This year's top four are more or less no-brainers for me, but then you'll spot a few surprises. I have Frank Gore of the run-heavy 49ers, the rejuvenated Michael Turner and the always dangerous Steven Jackson in the next tier of runners. I do have my annual concerns about S-Jax, who still has a weak supporting cast around him.

Next up are a few feature backs I expect to see a ton of carries, Rashard Mendenhall and Ryan Grant, and a surprise at No. 10, Jamaal Charles of the Chiefs. The breakout star of the second half of 2009 is going a lot later than many of the other backs on this list. but I believe he has the talent to produce like a top-10 RB.

I have Arian Foster ranked higher than many other experts, but with the season-ending injury to Ben Tate and the Texans' glaring need for a feature back, I think the rookie has a real opportunity in 2010.

You may also be surprised to see Michael Bush ahead of Reggie Bush, and I don't know if that says more about how much I like Michael or how much I dislike Reggie this year. Either way, I think they're best suited to be No. 4 fantasy backs in most leagues. Move Reggie up a bit in PPR leagues, of course.

I'm pretty high on Ahmad Bradshaw this year because I like his talent, I believe he's healthy, and I wouldn't be shocked to see him outperform Brandon Jacobs this year for the Giants.

I don't believe the Cardinals will be stubborn enough to favor Tim Hightower over Beanie Wells for the majority of 2010, and I've ranked the two players accordingly.

Looking for a deep, deep sleeper? The camp reports haven't been great and he's battling a shoulder injury, but I'm a fan of Steelers rookie Jonathan Dwyer. It might take him a year, but I think he can evolve into a good goal-line back. Stay tuned.

1. Chris Johnson
2. Adrian Peterson
3. Maurice Jones-Drew
4. Ray Rice
5. Frank Gore
6. Michael Turner
7. Steven Jackson
8. Rashard Mendenhall
9. Ryan Grant
10. Jamaal Charles
11. Cedric Benson
12. DeAngelo Williams
13. Ryan Matthews
14. Shonn Greene
15. Beanie Wells
16. Knowshon Moreno
17. Pierre Thomas
18. Jonathan Stewart
19. Felix Jones
20. Ronnie Brown
21. LeSean McCoy
22. Joseph Addai
23. Arian Foster
24. Brandon Jacobs
25. Justin Forsett
26. Matt Forte
27. Ricky Williams
28. Jahvid Best
29. C.J. Spiller
30. Marion Barber
31. Ahmad Bradshaw
32. Jerome Harrison
33. Clinton Portis
34. Michael Bush
35. Reggie Bush
36. Donald Brown
37. Fred Jackson
38. Cadillac Williams
39. Thomas Jones
40. LaDainian Tomlinson
41. Darren Sproles
42. Darren McFadden
43. Montario Hardesty
44. Tim Hightower
45. Steve Slaton
46. Chester Taylor
47. Laurence Maroney
48. Willis McGahee
49. Correll Buckhalter
50. Kevin Smith
51. Anthony Dixon
52. Mike Bell
53. Fred Taylor
54. Rashad Jennings
55. Toby Gerhart
56. Larry Johnson
57. Tashard Choice
58. Bernard Scott
59. Leon Washington
60. Jonathan Dwyer

Start 'Em: Week 15

- QB KURT WARNER vs. Detroit: You may be considering benching Warner after last week's stinkbomb in San Fran. Don't. As ESPN.com reminds us, Warner suffered through a six-turnover game in Week 8, and he followed it up with a stretch of 12 TDs vs. 1 turnover in the following 4 games. Plus, it's the Lions. Don't overthink this.

- RB KNOWSHON MORENO vs. Oakland: The rookie's had 19, 21 and 23 carries in the past three weeks. With that type of workload, Moreno should repeat the kind of success he had against the Raiders earlier this year (90 yards, TD).

- WR ROBERT MEACHEM vs. Dallas: Don't let last week's so-so game (4 catches, 57 yards) dissuade you from starting him this week. Meachem's become an important part of the Saints' offense, and I don't think the Cowboys' secondary can keep him out of the end zone.

LAST WEEK'S PICKS

- Jamaal Charles had his best game of the year against Buffalo: 20 carries, 143 yards, TD; 7 catches, 38 yards.

- Ryan Grant had his second-best game of the year against Chicago: 20 carries, 137 yards, 2 TDs.

- Kenny Britt had 2 catches for 75 yards and no TDs. Can't win 'em all.

Photo by The Associated Press

Start 'Em: Week 14

- RB JAMAAL CHARLES vs. Buffalo: Did you realize the Bills have allowed opposing running backs to run for 100 yards or score a TD in every game this year? I'm optimistic Charles can do both this week. He's scored in four straight weeks, and the trend should continue.

- RB RYAN GRANT at Chicago: Yeah, RG's last game was disappointing (41 yards on 16 carries), but the Ravens defense is actually still good. Chicago's is living off its reputation from a few years ago and is pretty ghastly nowadays. Grant had 61 yards and a TD against them in Week 1 and should easily duplicate, if not better, those numbers here.

- WR KENNY BRITT vs. St. Louis: The kid from Rutgerse has scored a TD in each of his past three games. Bet he does it again this week against a middle-of-the-road Rams secondary that just lost its best player, safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, for the season.

LAST WEEK'S PICKS

- Alex Smith threw for a season-high 310 yards and two more TDs in a win over the Jaguars.

- Knowshon Moreno racked up 86 yards and, more importantly, scored twice against K.C.

- Pierre Garcon caught 6 passes for a season-high (and career-high) 136 yards. Boo yah.

Photo by The Associated Press

Week 7 recap

- Wow, nice game, Frank Gore (13 carries, 32 yards) - welcome back, guy. Here's hoping the switch to Alex Smith at QB will help the 49ers' offense really get rolling.

- I'm not sure what a lung contusion feels like, but I'm hoping it's not bad enough to keep Andre Johnson out of a juicy matchup against the Bills this week. Dude was on quite a roll before getting hurt Sunday.

- Big-time effort from Ryan Grant (27 carries, 148 yards, TD), even if it was against the Browns. Unfortunately, up next he's got the Vikings, who held him to 51 yards a few weeks ago.

- Keep rolling, Philip Rivers (268 yards, 3 TDs vs. Kansas City). Oakland's up next.

- Steven Jackson keeps piling up the rushing yardage (134) but has yet to hit paydirt this season. That should end at Detroit this week.

- Vikings WR Sidney Rice posted another huge output (10 catches for 136 yards) and is putting up the numbers Bernard Berrian was supposed to this year. Could be in line for a third straight big game against Green Bay.

- Laurence Maroney did end up with the lion's share of the carries again for the Patriots (13) but his 43 rushing yards didn't quite live up to last week's 123 or 7.7 average. He did score a TD, but then again, who hasn't against the Bucs?

- The season-ending broken leg suffered by Leon Washington is a shame, but it's actually good news for Thomas Jones (26 carries, 121 yards, TD) and Shonn Greene (19 carries, 144 yards, TD). And just when the Jets are morphing into a running machine, they slam headfirst into the Dolphins' run defense.

- Finally, a respectable game for the Panthers' Steve Smith (6 catches, 99 yards) - this despite Jake Delhomme's 3 INTs and 56.5 passer rating. Is a QB change in Carolina's future? And will it make a difference?

- It's official: Miles Austin (6 catches, 171 yards, 2 TDs) is everything Roy Williams was supposed to be for the Cowboys, and then some. Unfortunately if you still own Roy it's probably too late to make that roster move. If it's not - you should.

- Thanks for nothing, Matt Forte (49 total yards). Do something against Cleveland this week or consider yourself dropped.

- Ricky Williams, dependable fantasy starter? Sunday's stats (9 carries, 80 yards, 3 TDs) and his season totals say yes.

- Beanie Wells had his best outing of his rookie season against the Giants (14 carries, 67 yards, TD) and appears to have supplanted Tim Hightower (4 carries, 9 yards). But be careful here - he did fumble, too, and that's the reason the Cardinals have been reluctant to use him too much.

- Could Brian Westbrook's concussion be the opening LeSean McCoy needed for fantasy stardom? Possibly, but don't get too pumped if you've had Shady sitting on your bench. McCoy's averaging only 3.6 yards a carry so far, and it wouldn't shock me to see Westbrook facing the Giants this week.