Jeremey Brevard – USA TODAY sports
DeAngelo Williams isn’t exactly a fantasy football sleeper at this point in his career, but the Carolina Panthers‘ running back should be moving up draft boards after Tuesday’s news. Carolina decided to place running back Jonathan Stewart on the Physically Unable to Perform list, which means that Williams is the main man in the Panthers’ backfield until at least Week 7.
This isn’t the first time that Stewart has missed a bulk of the season, though — the Panthers were without No. 28 for seven games last season and D-Will was rather impressive when Stewart wasn’t on the field. A flurry of injures kept Stewart off of the field for seven games last season and here are Williams’ numbers with and without the ladder in the lineup in 2012:
Without Stewart: 7 games, 70 yards per game, four touchdowns.
With Stewart: 9 games, 30 yards per game, three touchdowns.
If you were wondering if this injury is going to impact Williams then I think you’ve found your answer. The problem with Williams is the that fact he burst onto the scene in 2008 with a league-leading 20 touchdowns, because he has scored a mere 22 touchdowns in the last four years combined and looks like a slouch. This Carolina running back set the bar extremely high and just hasn’t been able to produce like we all hoped he’d be able to.
Even still, the fact that Stewart won’t even be eligible to play until Week 7 is good news for fantasy owners with Williams on their squad.
Devin O’Barr is the Content Commentator for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DevinOBarrRS, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
