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Overuse and injuries may have been a concern in the past, but the fantasy football community will see a revived Arian Foster in 2014.
Running back LeSean McCoy is a prime example of what an injury-free season and a new coach can do to help boost your stats. Even though he had two less receptions in 2013 than in 2012, McCoy was able to finish last season with 539 receiving yards, which was 166 more than his 2012 campaign. Coach Chip Kelly was able to utilize McCoy in a way that allowed him to execute on his full potential, and Bill O’Brien should be able to do the same thing with Foster.
After he dominated fantasy football leagues in 2o1o with 1,616 rushing yards and 604 receiving yards, Foster was able to follow up with his dual-threat abilities in 2011 with 1,224 and 617. The 27-year-old back saw a huge decrease in his receptions in 2012 as he had an insane 351 rushing attempts, and Foster finished the 2012 season only averaging 13.6 receiving yards per game. With a struggling Matt Schaub and not being able to finish a whole season, the fantasy community was unable to fully see what this talented running back could do in the rushing and passing attack.
Foster has recently said that O’Brien has let him know that he envisions his new running back to be very involved as a passing target, and that instantly raises his value. With a decrease in rushing attempts and an increase in receptions, Foster will be able to stay healthy and capitalize on his strengths as a receiver. Even if he has a less than stellar performance on the ground, he can easily make up for that with a great day catching the ball. In 2011, Foster had three games with 100 or more receiving yards, so if his dual-threat abilities can be featured in the offense, he should have a rebound year and finish as a top-five running back.
He may have burned you last year, but Foster will return to fantasy dominance in 2014.
Jack Delaney is a fantasy football writer for www.Rantsports.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @jackbmore13, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google
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