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LeGarrette Blount first landed on the radar of fantasy football owners in 2010, when he topped 1,000 rushing yards for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite playing in just 13 games and not seeing double-digit carries in a game until late October. He had a solid season in 2011 (781 rushing yards and five touchdowns), but took a backseat to Doug Martin in 2012 and landed with the New England Patriots last year. Blount put together a solid season with the Patriots in 2013, with 772 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, and parlayed that into a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason.
Positives
Blount has 20 rushing touchdowns in his career, including at least five in all three seasons where he has had at least 150 carries. A recent report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ed Bouchette suggests Blount may have a bigger role than initially expected, but he will at least have a role as a change of pace behind Le’Veon Bell.
Blount will turn 28 in December, but his career workload (579 carries) is not that of a typical running back that age.
Negatives
Blount only has 23 receptions in his career, including just three catches over the last two seasons combined, so he’s unlikely to become a prominent passing game game weapon for the Steelers.
Bell was the Steelers’ workhorse as a rookie last year (244 carries and 45 receptions), with heavy red zone usage to boot (48 carries and 13 targets), so Blount’s workload could range from inconsistent to minimal on a game-to-game basis.
Final Verdict
It will take an injury to Bell for Blount to have substantial fantasy value this year, so that makes him a potential handcuff and little more at this point. But if a goal line role materializes early in the season, with production that follows suit, Blount could become a popular waiver wire addition in deep leagues.
Bye Week: Week 12
Projected Round: 11th Round
Auction Value: $4 (Fantasy Pros.com)
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.
