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Although Doug Martin tied with Arian Foster in 2012 as the second highest-scoring running back in fantasy football, you should avoid him at all costs in your draft in August.
There is no arguing that Martin had a great year in 2012 and that he could be validated as a first-round pick in 2013. Martin looked like a star in his first year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He rushed for 1,454 yards, averaged 90 rushing yards per game, had five games with 100 rushing yards or more, scored 11 rushing touchdowns, caught one receiving touchdown, and totaled 472 receiving yards. It was easy to see why fantasy football players were so excited to draft Martin this past year.
Even though his season was cut short due to injury, there was still something that was off about the performance of the young running back. In seven games, Martin only scored one touchdown and was averaging 3.6 yard per carry. Granted, it was a media circus in Tampa with Josh Freeman and Greg Schiano, but the numbers for Martin were simply disappointing. What had happened to one of the highest draft picks in the 2013 fantasy football season?
Analyzing the numbers from his breakout season, there were some outliers that brought up a red flag. Martin had one game in which he scored 32 points, and he followed that performance with 51 points. What this means for fantasy owners is that Martin scored 33 percent of his points in fantasy football for the entire season in two games. That is troubling to say the least.
The new offensive coordinator for Tampa Bay, Jeff Tedford, is a fan of using several running backs in his game plans. To keep Martin healthy, Tedford will probably not let him have another season like in 2012, where he had more than 300 carries.
Between outliers and fewer touches, you absolutely need to avoid Martin in 2014.
Jack Delaney is a fantasy football writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on twitter @jackbmore13, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.
