John Geliebter – USA TODAY Sports
“Alright Doc where are we? When are we?” This quote from Marty McFly in the movie Back to the Future: Part II is a question that I would like to ask the NFL this year. While looking over my draft board and during some of my mock drafts for the upcoming season, I have come to realize that there are a few players who were huge fantasy names a few years ago that will be making a comeback like Marty McFly from 1955 this season.
These players will not be drafted in the first five rounds where you find most of your starters, but one player in particular will put up fantasy starter numbers by the end of the year.
In 2008, a little-known running back by the name of DeAngelo Williams for the Carolina Panthers came onto the scene with a bang. That season, Williams ran for 1515 yards and 18 touchdowns, and was the most coveted fantasy free-agent of the year.
Other than 2009, Williams saw his fantasy value really take a hard hit. Reasons for this have been injuries, sharing the ball with Jonathan Stewart and some quarterback named Cam Newton. This year, the Panthers have been going on all offseason about getting back to running the ball more, and with Stewart having his own injury problems, this puts Williams in a prime position to reap the benefits.
Williams has not been asked to carry to full load for the past few years and with a career average of 4.9 YPC, look for him to take off and return to the glory years of 2008 and 2009.
There are other players to look for in this year’s fantasy football drafts that may make others say “Great Scott” after they realize midway through the season that they could have selected these players during their revival season.
At quarterback, I believe that Carson Palmer will be the man to do it for this position. Here is a man who went from an awful Oakland Raiders team with hardly any weapons, to the Arizona Cardinals with one of the greatest wide receivers in the game today, Larry Fitzgerald.
He is also another man who went from scoring 10, 12, and 13 touchdowns in the 2007-2009 seasons to only scoring six and eight touchdowns in the past two seasons. Look for both Palmer and Fitzgerald to transform that offense back to what it was during their playoff and Super Bowl appearance years under Kurt Warner.
So while your friends are calling you chicken or yellow for not grabbing a top-notch guy at those positions. Just “make like a tree” and take your fantasy football league championship with these blasts from the past.
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Fantasy Football 2013: DeAngelo Williams May Not be Done Yet
