(This is the final part of my Player’s I Love series, check back soon for the concluding edition of players I’m not so fond of…)

Oh, look at how far we’ve come. When I began this series of NFL players that I would kill to have on my fantasy team, I did it with my biggest man-crush at that time, Jamaal Charles.

I will now end it with my biggest man-crush of the moment–Arian Foster.

And the Preseason MVP is…

For anyone who keeps tabs on offseason/preseason football, you probably know that Foster is now the clear-cut lead running back for one of the most explosive offenses in football–the Houston Texans. You have also probably read an article or two extolling the values and benefits of an Arian-Foster-owning-life, so I am not exactly the first (or probably last) to write a column about this man.

For those who have followed my Players I Hate series, you have probably noticed that I tend to root against inexperience; cautioning owners to resist the urge to pick players in higher rounds that haven’t really don’t anything yet. This is where I become a hypocrite, as I would advocate taking Foster as high as the 3rd or 4th rounds of your draft.

So why do I love a second year, undrafted player out of Tennessee? To start with, I direct you to SI’s Peter King and his Monday Morning Quarterback column. This is an essential stop for any lover of football; I don’t know how the guy digs up the information that he does, but he manages to do it week after week and we’re the benefiters of it. Here is an excerpt of what he wrote about Arian Foster:

I expect Foster to put up silly numbers in an offense that fits him perfectly. He’s the kind of one-cut-and-get-upfield runner the Denver disciples running Houston’s offense (coach Gary Kubiak, offensive coordinator Rick Dennison) love, and at 6-1 and 225, he has the kind of power to break tackles and keep the chains moving.

Very interesting story. Foster was a star running back at Tennessee when, after his junior season, he petitioned the NFL to see where he was likely to be drafted. Second round, the answer came back. Foster decided to stay at Tennessee for the 2008 season. Disaster ensued. It was Philip Fulmer’s last year, the program collapsed, Foster fumbled too much, and his stock dropped. At Senior Bowl practices after the season, he pulled a hamstring. He couldn’t run at the combine, wasn’t ready to run at his pro day and, rushing to get healthy so he could work out for teams before the draft, never allowed the hammy to get healthy. Consequently, he failed to run a decent 40.

Now, normally King is not where I go for fantasy advice but this brief section on Foster just screams breakout star, however. It makes completely logical sense as well.

A Breakout Star on a Breakout Team?

Look at the Texans: Last year Matt Schaub passed for more that 4,700 yards, with basically no running game to speak of. Steve Slaton was a tremendous bust in his second season for not only fantasy owners but also the Texans’ playoff hopes. I was one of those guys who bought on his potential, picking him in the second round in a league last year. Needless to say, this selection largely crushed my team.

The only time that the Texans actually managed to run the ball well was when, you guessed it, Foster was the featured back. In the final two games of last season, Foster managed to rush for 97 yards on 19 carries and a TD and 119 yards on 20 carries and 2 TDs. To back this late season surge up, he has shined in the preseason, benefitting from an ineffective Slaton as well as an injured Ben Tate that will miss the entire season.

As King noted, the ground attack that the Texans favor, that old zone blocking scheme that made stars out of every RB who touched the ball in Denver back in the day, is firmly implemented in the Texans. It’s not like this is Kubiak’s first season in Texas having to implement a new system, this is merely the addition of a talented RB to a team with an already deadly offense.

Draft Position

If there is one breakout candidate who emerged from this preseason with the greatest percentage of possible success, it would have to be Foster. So draft him in the third round or later as your No. 2 RB and don’t be surprised if by the end of the year he ends up being your No. 1.

Foster and Charles…now there’s a (potentially) dream backfield.

Check out Players I Love: Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV. And Players I Hate: Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV.