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As it turns out, C.J. Spiller isn’t the only fantasy running back that I absolutely love in the 2013 season.
When talking about guys that people love from a fantasy perspective, the term “man crush” often comes to mind. It’s thrown around a lot, and admittedly, I am one of those guys who tends to use it a lot. There are a lot of guys who I love this year, which you can see in my Love/Hate article coming soon. However, one guy who I really wanted to point out is the Detroit Lions brand spanking new running back, Reggie Bush.
When joining Detroit, Bush stated that his new offense reminds him of the offense he was featured in during his time with New Orleans. While Bush was involved in a committee situation back then, he still was heavily involved, especially in PPR formats. In his five seasons as a member of the Saints, Bush caught an impressive 294 balls, including a monster 88-catch season in 2006. Adding an elite pass-catching back like Bush to an offense that throws the ball more than anyone in football is an intriguing fantasy mix.
In 2012, Matthew Stafford and the Lions threw the ball a whopping 727 times. Of course, seeing as Calvin Johnson was targeted an insane 205 times, he was really the only guy Stafford was looking for in the passing game, right? Not so fast. Because the Lions threw the ball so darn much, the running backs were also very involved in the passing game. Detroit backs were targeted an impressive 144 times in 2012. Despite being behind Mikel Leshoure on the depth chart, Joique Bell caught a very healthy 52 balls, which tied for fifth among running backs in catches. Meanwhile, Leshoure caught a sound 34 balls, totaling for 86 catches between the two of them. While both produced well in the passing game, neither of them are Reggie Bush, who will serve as the main back for Detroit. Mark my words, Bush will be a fantasy star in 2013. Despite being often under-utilized in Miami last season, Bush still managed to finish as fantasy’s number 14 running back in ESPN leagues, just 31 points shy of landing inside the top-10 at the position. Bush will likely be the main back between the 20′s for the Lions this season, but the majority of his value comes from the passing game. Remember, despite having the greatest receiver in all of football on the outside, this is a short-passing football team. The Lions running backs as a whole caught 97 passes last season, after all. Also, according to Pro Football Focus, Stafford’s aDOT (average depth of target) was 8.9, 17th among fantasy signal callers. He wasn’t the deep-ball quarterback that many people would have assumed he was, which will benefit Bush’s fantasy prospects, just as long as Detroit continues their intermediate passing gameplan.
Head coach Jim Schwartz said that Bush could catch as many as “60-80″ passes for his team this season, and quite honestly, I think a tad more than 80 isn’t even out of the question. Remember, Bush caught 88 balls during his rookie year, part of a committee situation in New Orleans, a team that didn’t pass the football nearly as much as the Lions do right now. The Lions are hoping Bush will be the explosive back they had for a short stint during the 2010 season when Jahvid Best was healthy. During that season, Best caught an impressive 58 balls for 487 yards and two scores (80 targets). It’s no secret that Bush is easily the better talent, so I for one am excited to see what type of numbers he can put up in this offense.
Of course, because he is involved in a bit of a committee situation, Bush may be an afterthought when it comes to the red zone. Last season, Leshoure reminded me of Michael Turner. He wasn’t exciting to watch by any means, but he still produced, scoring nine rushing touchdowns, eight of which came in goal-to-go situations. He is more of the bruising back, which makes him the logical choice to be the goal line guy. Of course, that hurts Bush’s touchdown projections, but however, when the Lions are lining up to pass up close, I think Bush will still be the guy. In 2012, Joique Bell was more of a pass-catcher than Leshoure, which resulted in Bell seeing 11 red zone targets, which ranked third-most among running backs. Obviously, Bush is a better option in the passing game, so I can see the Lions using Bush in a similar way that the Saints use Darren Sproles when they are up close. Line him up in the backfield, wait for him to run a short wheel route and cut across the middle for an easy five or six-yard score. He won’t be the guy you are targeting for rushing touchdowns, but that’s okay. The high volume of passes in this offense will help make up for it.
As of right now, I have Bush as my number-19 ranked fantasy running back, but I have a feeling I’ll be moving him up a bit very, very soon. The fit between the two is just too perfect not to result in fantasy success. Bush getting the lionshare of the passing work makes me very excited.
No pun intended.
Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports.
You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
