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Running back Chris Ivory for the New York Jets seemed to enjoy himself quite thoroughly during the 2013 NFL season. After spending the first three years of his career in the crowded New Orleans Saints‘ backfield, where he seemed doomed to be a role player. Fast forward to the 2014 offseason and Ivory’s situation looks much different. Currently, the Jets are absolutely loaded with quality and depth at the running back position. The team has a solid stable of backs with Ivory, Chris Johnson, Bilal Powell and (for the time being) Mike Goodson. The team also added former St. Louis Rams running back Daryl Richardson recently. The Jets’ brass decided to bring in as much competition as possible in order to get the highest quality production out of their backfield.
Ivory is a virtual lock to be the starter when Week 1 rolls around, but the main question for Jets fans and fantasy football owners is, what kind of role can be expected from each player? It is widely presumed that Ivory will be the primary first- and second-down back, while Johnson will get third-down and passing-back duties.
Fantasy owners need to realize that just because New York has placed good quality role players behind Ivory doesn’t mean his value is limited. According to Pro Football Focus, Ivory finished the 2013 season as the 37th-best ranked running back in fantasy football. With the amount of quality depth backing him up, there’s no reason to believe Ivory can’t be ranked higher in 2014.
A player like Johnson may scare off potential suitors for Ivory because they feel like Johnson is talented enough to take snaps from him. However, the addition of Johnson should only increase the value of Ivory. Johnson is still a home-run threat who can break off 90-yard runs at any time, but he is not the big bruiser type like Ivory is. The red zone is where Ivory will earn his fantasy value this year.
He should be a player who will get put in a lot of short-yardage situations and have the opportunity to produce a lot of touchdowns which could be a cheap six points to any fantasy owner. Look for Ivory to be a solid flex option heading into the 2014 fantasy draft.
Alexander Muir is a writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @AmuirAlex, “Like” him on Facebook or add him on your network on Google.
