Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports
David Wilson has been a popular candidate to have a breakout season this year. His great speed and quickness give him the ability to score on any given play. But it is his poor blocking that could prevent him from having the year fantasy owners are expecting from him.
New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride has stated that Wilson has still been making mistakes on blocking especially on blitz pick-ups. While Gilbride has acknowledged Wilson for improving his pass protection since last year, it is still not where it needs to be. Fellow running back Andre Brown, on the other hand, excels in pass protection and showed last season that he was a more than capable back.
While it is likely that Wilson will be the starter come Week 1, it is even more likely that there will be a split in carries throughout the season. Brown and Wilson are a very similar to the thunder and lightning duo of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. Back in 2010, when the two had their last full season together being healthy, Bradshaw carried the ball 276 times compared to Jacob’s 147. Jacobs also found the endzone that season nine times, which was more than his counterpart. While the numbers of Wilson and Brown obviously won’t be the same as Jacobs and Bradshaw, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them be that far off. Wilson will be the guy to rack up a bunch of yards on long runs while Brown will be scoring touchdowns in the red zone and picking up first downs on short-yardage situations.
As far as fantasy value goes, Wilson is currently being drafted in the third round where Brown doesn’t get picked up till around the eighth or ninth. If you need to draft Wilson, I highly suggest getting Brown as well, as he will be the back to score more TDs. If Wilson can protect the ball, then he, as well as Eli Manning, should be in for a big fantasy year, but thus far he has not proven to the coaching staff that he can do those things consistently. If Wilson struggles, Brown will be the lead back for the Giants and the more valuable fantasy commodity.
Mike Block is a featured Fantasy Sports columnist for Rant Sports. Follow me on Twitter @Blockski12 and feel free to ask any questions you may have about fantasy sports.
