by Jared Smola

Let’s do a blind comparison of the 2-year averages of 2 RBs– one who I think is over-rated and one who I think is a tad under-rated:

Player A is clearly the pick here, but by how wide of a margin? Their yardage totals are almost idential, despite player A’s big TD advantage.

So who are these 2 mystery men?

Player A is Joseph Addai

Player B is Edgerrin James

Don’t get me wrong. By no means am I urging you to even consider James over Addai. Addai is clearly the younger, better player on a better offense. But James is considered a 4th or 5th round pick, while Addai is a top-5 pick in virtually every fantasy draft.

I just don’t see the infatuation with Addai. The guy has split carries since his days at LSU. The Colts evidently don’t feel comfortable leaning on him this season. Why else would they have brought back Dominic Rhodes and drafted Mike Hart?

And I don’t know about you, but I like my 1st-round picks to be reliable. Addai has already suffered head, back, shoulder, neck, and leg injuries through his 2-year pro career. He’s only missed 1 game, but he’s constantly banged up and leaving for entire drives or quarters.

Picks 3-5 are tough spots to be in right now in fantasy drafts. Steven Jackson is holding out, Brian Westbrook is always one shot to the knee away from disaster, and Addai just isn’t the stud he’s made out to be.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 11:09 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Blind Comparison”

1. Ken says:

   August 18, 2008 at 2:58 am

   Great blog Jared, and another piece of information
   pushing me toward WR/WR this year; along with your Lendale piece.
2. JC says:

   August 23, 2008 at 7:41 am

   I agree for the most part with the evaluation. However in leagues that may weigh TD’s heavier over yards, Addai is a good choice. He did lead the league in short yard touches last year, and should score plenty. As for the health issue, Ive come to terms with the fact that anybody can blow an ACL at any given time- just the facts unfortunately.