Fantasy Rewind: Blount and Martin a Solid Tandem in Tampa
Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com

The preseason tilt between the Bucs and Dolphins begins to confirm our fantasy suspicions about Tampa’s new rushing attack. After a solid performance last night, LeGarrette Blount, proclaimed that the “Bucs could have the best backfield in the league.”

While I’m not ready to go that far, we did post an in depth analysis back in June that essentially predicted this scenario. The analysis was based on two other recent lightning/thunder duos, and their fantasy production under those circumstances. We are talking about Ray Rice and Willis McGahee plus Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.

Both combinations emerged as very respectable rushing attacks. Most importantly, both scenarios were very fantasy relevant. Potential Blount owners will be interested in the ridiculous amount of touchdowns Jacobs and McGahee generated. The main takeaway from our research was that fantasy production between Martin and Blount will be fairly equal this year. It will just be delivered in different ways. Both will put up useful fantasy numbers, and from a draft perspective you will want the guy you can draft later.

Value is what that is, and under that theory, Blount is the guy you want right now. Doug Martin has a current ADP of 48 (4th round) and Blount’s is 130.78 (11th round). A ridiculous difference between two guys I have very similar points expectations for this year. The numbers are sure to change but this is a situation all fantasy players will want to keep an eye on leading to their drafts.