Fantasy Football Player Spotlight - Reuben Droughns
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By Jason Clarke http://huddlegeeks.com
Last year was a year in which Reuben Droughns proved himself to the Cleveland Browns, but 2006 may be a year in which he will have to prove himself to fantasy football fans. Droughns entered the 2005 season as a back that had to prove that he wasn't just the product of the Denver running system. He had a new team and a new challenge ahead of himself playing in Cleveland.
Droughns responded well to the challenge in 2005 by becoming the first Browns running back to rush for over 1,000 yards since Kevin Mack accomplished the feat in 1985. Droughns finished the season with 1,232 rushing yards, but only 2 TDs, which was a turnoff for fantasy football fans. The rushing yards were nice, but when you're talking fantasy football, those scores are of the utmost importance. But considering that Droughns wasn't the clear lead running back until mid season, his production made you sit up and take notice.
Entering into the 2006 season, Droughns is a player that you may find some excellent value in. Currently, Droughns has an ADP of 34, which would put him behind guys like Willie Parker and Julius Jones. We think you can get some great value out of Droughns if you get him at this point and here are a couple of reasons why.
One, the Browns have made some significant improvements along their offensive line for the 2006 season. The signing of C LeCharles Bentley should help open up more holes in the interior of the line, where Droughns does most of his damage. Bentley should also help him out with goal-line opportunities as well, since he is one of the most powerful centers in the league. The Browns are also getting back RT Ryan Tucker, G Joe Andruzzi and G Cosey Coleman from the 2005 season. Having some veteran consistency is very important to the run game and the Browns will have that for the first time in 2006.
We also like the fact that the Browns will be adding some other offensive weapons to their arsenal this season. They will be getting back TE Kellen Winslow Jr. and WR Braylon Edward back from injury along with free agent acquisition Joe Jurevicius. A lot will depend on the play of second year QB Charlie Fyre, but we believe Frye possess enough intangibles to give opposing defenses reason to respect him. So it's not like Drougns will be the Browns only offensive weapon. The Browns should also be able to take some of the load off of Droughs plate this year also, by spelling him on third downs with either Lee Suggs, or newly drafted rookie Jerome Harrison. Droughns seemed to wear down toward the end of last season, averaging only 3.2 ypc in the month of December. With more depth at the RB position, look for Droughns to be more consistent when the season wears on and the weather turns cold in Cleveland.
In closing, we are expecting Droughns to rush for somewhere around the same number of yeards (1,200-1,300) but increase his TD total significantly. Since he will be the clear-cut No. 1 back from day one, expect Droughns to total somewhere around 6-8 TDs this upcoming season. 1,250 yards and 8 TDs sounds pretty good to me!
Read More Fantasy Football Articles at Huddlegeeks.com http://huddlegeeks.com
Source
- huddlegeeks.com
- nfl.com
- clevelandbrowns.com
Date
Wed 07/12/06, 4:07 pm EST
