Barber & Maroney Are The Next Studs
January 30, 2008 at 7:06 pm | Article by Paul Hickey |
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If you watched the NFL playoffs at all this year, you surely noticed four impressive running backs under the age of 25 playing key roles for their teams, but as good as Green Bay’s Ryan Grant, Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew and New York’s Brandon Jacobs, there were two other young men with dreadlocked hair sticking out the back of their helmets that took the cake. Former collegiate teammates Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney consistently sent defenders to the ground while using a rare mix of balance, speed and power to plow through the opposing line of scrimmage and gain plenty of key yardage, despite being seen as only complimentary pieces to each of their respective offenses. Maroney, only 22 years old, missed three games early on this season due to an ankle injury, and even when he was healthy - many said he didn’t fit into the Patriots’ pass first attack. Barber has been a carry splitter since his college days, and despite his ferocious running style and knack for getting into the end zone and turning a disaster of a play into a first down, he didn’t actually make his first start until 48 games into his career. Despite some of the extracurricular doubts surrounding the former Golden Gopher teammates, they have done nothing but let their play speak for themselves. In 2003 and 2004 they were each splitting carries with each other at the University of Minnesota, but mark my words - in 2008 they will each be top 10 fantasy running backs.
Marion Barber - Marion the Barbarian has gone from being the 109th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, to one of the most intriguing running backs in the NFL. Nobody runs with the controlled reckless abandon that Barber does, and nobody makes the most of their opportunities like number 24. After making a very limited impact as a rookie in 2005, Barber burst on the scene and scored 14 rushing TDs on only 134 carries in 2006, while rushing for 654 yards and scoring two receiving TDs. Barber then expectedly took more of a role in the Cowboys running game in 2007, as starter Julius Jones began to really slow down and become extremely less effective. Prior to his increase in playing time, Barber had a lot to prove, but 975 yards and 10 rushing TDs later, he had future featured back written all over him. More importantly, he was able to keep up his 4.8 yards per carry average despite toting the rock 75 times more than the previous season. Critics will say that if Barber were to become a full time starter over the course of a season, that he’d potentially get worn down the way Larry Johnson did after carrying the rock 316 times in 2005 and more than 400 times in 2006. Well, that may be the case, but up until this point, his body hasn’t been pushed to the max, meaning that this guy can produce top teir numbers for two or three seasons if given the chance to carry the load.
Listen, I’m not saying there won’t be some uncertainty about his fantasy status this off-season, after all, there are already rumors about him being shipped to Miami with Dallas’ first round picks in exchange for the number one overall selection in April. This would be an absolutely steal for the Dolphins, who would then let Ronnie Brown really take his time coming back from a torn ACL. Far fetched rumors aside though, he’s currently a restricted free agent in Dallas, in line to be the team’s starter and featured back in 2008 with unrestricted free agent Julius Jones expected to sign elsewhere. If Dallas is smart enough to keep Barber, they’ll likely use an early pick to snag a Robin to his Batman. Don’t let this scare you away in `08 though, as he’ll still rack up more than 300 carries for the first time in his career.
You can analyze potential split carry occurrences all you want, but in the end, the best back of the bunch is always fantasy worthy. He’s already been through a potentially detrimental running back committee situation and come out of it as a legit RB2 in all formats. I’m telling you though, regardless of where Barber plays and what other RBs he shares time with, he’ll be a legit number one fantasy RB in 2008.
Laurence Maroney - First, Corey Dillon stood in the way. Then Kevin Faulk and for a flash, Sammy Morris - but now, the job is all Maroney’s. So what if the Patriots pass a lot? Did that stop Edgerrin James from being a fantasy stud in Indianapolis for nearly nine seasons? Absolutely not. No matter how much New England likes to sling it, they will always need somebody to pound it. It’s important to look at how Maroney finished this season. Since Week 15, he’s had five straight games with 14 or more carries, including three of them with 22 or more totes. A combined 550 yards and six TDs over that span confirmed on the stat sheet what we all witnessed on the field - a runner who is truly coming into his own. Maroney has ideal size, vision and smarts, with the ability to make defenders miss, or just ram them into the turf while picking up five, six or seven extra yards after contact.
Anyone who says that poor weather was the only reason that Maroney was utilized more at the end of the season is a complete football moron. This kid is getting better every game - period. He’s done all the little things, and the big things. From picking up blitzes and blocking schemes to becoming a threat out of the backfield in passing situations to hitting the hole hard every single time, to showing his ability to turn a horrible looking play into a positive gain - a la his former college teammate Barber - to doing what is most important to all fantasy owners - converting at the goal line.
Laugh if you must, but Maroney has all the tools, and finds himself in the perfect situation to be a top 10 fantasy back in 2008. The Patriots are the masters of reinventing themselves, and their next top weapon wears jersey number 39.
Once upon a time they shared carries with each other at the University of Minnesota, but now both Maroney and Barber will become two of the NFL’s most feared players. Get on the bandwagon before everyone else in your league does.
This article is also featured on Athlon/Grogan’s Fantasy Football, your spot for Cheat Sheets updated daily and Fantasy tools to manage your team all year long.
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