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Sleeper Running Back : Kolby Smith
Published: November 9, 2009
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The Kansas City Chiefs today released troubled starting RB Larry Johnson after a week-long suspension for posts on his Twitter page that disparaged head coach Todd Haley and gays. Johnson’s release now clears the way for the return of his former backup Kolby Smith to share carries with Jamaal Charles.
Kolby Smith’s best year was in 2007, where he played in 16 games for 407 yards and two TDs as Johnson’s backup. In 2008 he sustained a severe knee injury requiring surgery eight weeks before the end of the season. Smith played his first NFL game in Week Nine—gathering a token handful of yards and carries.
Smith’s workload is figured to increase over the course of the rest of the season as he works out a timeshare with Jamaal Charles. Smith is 5’11” 217 lbs and is thought to be a between-the-tackles runner—more suited to taking over the every down back role that Johnson has vacated. Charles is figured to be a change of pace back with strong receiving skills and could be used in that role.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a relatively inexperienced offensive line that has struggled this season to open up holes consistently for the running game. The Chiefs are a team that tends to fall behind early and often, putting more pressure on the passing game. This could be a factor in the number of carries both Charles and Smith receive from game to game.
Nevertheless, the potential is there for either or BOTH backs to become statistically relevant in the fantasy realm because they will share starting carries. The Chiefs also have a favorable schedule ahead for running backs with the porous Buffalo Bills on tap for Week 14. Running backs with at least a 50-50 timeshare split are becoming more difficult to find off waivers and Kolby Smith is a player worth stashing to see how the timeshare plays out.
He is my Sleeper RB and Top Waiver Add for Week 10.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
NFL Draft Day Headline
Published: April 27, 2009
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The Jets were the talk of the first round, leaping all the way from 17th to fifth—to pounce for Trojan star quarterback Mark Sanchez. The Jets now have their franchise quarterback. The trade works for the Cleveland Browns, which swapped its fifth pick with the Jets. The team avoided the big money guaranteed contracts that top ten picks command in the NFL, holding tight to that loot for signing other players down the line. The Browns’ strategy today is to keep trading down and collect more picks because they’ve got a lot of holes to fill; this is very smart and cost-efficient. The new Browns brain trust is already earning its money.
The Jets needed a franchise quarterback in a bad way, and probably made the big move up to fifth to beat the Washington Redskins—who were also in the market for a starting signal caller. Sanchez is a big time player who commandeered So Cal’s dazzling pro style offense to a 12-1 record. USC’s offense more than prepares its quarterbacks for the NFL and the fact that Sanchez excelled in that sophisticated offense, shows that he is NFL-ready. Sanchez has pro Bowl-caliber talent, following in a recent line of quality USC quarterbacks: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, and Matt Cassel.
At the seventh spot (the Oakland Raiders make a bizarre pick) is Darrius Heyward-Bey WR. He’s very raw and and doesn’t have great hands. Why they didn’t draft Michael Crabtree is beyond me, but these are the Oakland Raiders. Al Davis went for blinding speed and that’s why this pick was made. At 10, the San Francisco 49ers grabbed Crabtree. That was the correct pick—he is the most talented player available at 10 and the 49ers must be ecstatic to find Michael Crabtree still on the board. Crabtree is 6’1″ and 215 lbs., with great hands, and he is a pro bowl-quality receiver. Some character concerns coming into the draft: Mike Singletary will weed those out in a hurry; it’s an excellent pick. Crabtree has speed to burn, a great work ethic, fights for passes, and scores touchdowns, and is a special talent. Is Crabtree the new Jerry Rice? Time will tell.
