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With all the negative press regarding Houston Texans RB Arian Foster’s injured back, the superstar has seen his fantasy football stock plummet in recent weeks. He was a guaranteed second overall selection a couple weeks ago, but he has since seen his value fall out of the top-five in most instances. Despite all the concerns, though, I am one person that would jump on the chance to draft Foster.
Foster has seen the most caries in football over the last three seasons, as he has been handed the rock a jaw-dropping 956 times. The increased workload has obviously taken its toll on the Pro Bowl running back, as he was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list earlier this off-season. He is back in action, but it has caused some serious concern amongst the fantasy community.
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It is something to be worry about, but Foster’s tremendous upside is still worth the risk. When healthy, Foster is the second best back in all of football. Obviously, Adrian Peterson is the number one rusher in football, but if I were left to grab one back after AD, I wouldn’t hesitate to grab Foster.
The stat people are overlooking, though, is that Foster has scored 47 total touchdowns (43 rushing and 6 receiving) over that stretch, which is actually more than Peterson’s 39 trips to the end-zone. When healthy, Foster is an obvious scoring machine.
Honestly, the whole debate about Foster’s health is very reminiscent of how far Peterson fell in 2012 fantasy drafts. Peterson fell well into the second round last season due to concerns about his knee and the latest news about Foster is similarly making him plummet down fantasy lists.
Remember how passing on Peterson last season turned out? He ran for 2,097 yards and had the best fantasy performance to date from a running back.
The bottom line is that in fantasy football, anyone can get injured. It isn’t like Peterson, Jamaal Charles, and LeSean McCoy are impervious to injury; so don’t shy away from Foster due to some preseason injury buzz. He is back in pads and that makes this whole controversy a bit embarrassing. I mean he is already practicing.
Among all the consternation surrounding Foster, I still wouldn’t hesitate to take him second overall. He is an elite option when healthy, and in fantasy football, there simply isn’t that many elite backs left. You can always grab Ben Tate after the fifth round as insurance, so if you have a top pick this summer, do the smart thing and grab Foster.
Related Links
Can You Trust Arian Foster to Give You 1st Round Value?
Arian Foster Should Not be a Top 5 Selection
Why You Shouldn’t Worry about Arian Foster
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
