The Impact Of Marion Barber’s Deal

May 22, 2008 at 7:52 am | Article by Paul Hickey |

Most of the time, fantasy owners couldn’t care less about contract news, especially when the news involves players staying with their current team. However, in Marion Barber’s case, fantasy owners may not realize what just occurred. Had Marion Barber not re-upped with Dallas, inking a seven year, $40+ million deal on Tuesday afternoon, the dynasty outlook of a couple young running backs could have drastically changed entering 2008 rookie drafts.

Not only have RBs Felix Jones and Tashard Choice lost a little dynasty luster, but Barber’s long-term outlook is now better than ever. The former fourth round pick from the University of Minnesota started his career behind Julius Jones and Tyson Thompson on Dallas depth chart, but quickly showed he was the Cowboys top rushing weapon, racking up 538 rushing yards and five scores in limited opportunities as a rookie, 654 rushing yards and 16 total TDs in his second season, and 975 rushing yards and 12 total TDs in 2007 - not bad for a guy who has only started three regular season games in his entire career.

Before signing this contract, we knew that Barber would be the starter in 2008, but not much beyond that. Julius Jones leaving for Seattle was big, but any time a team takes two RBs in one draft - let alone one with the 22nd overall pick - one has to wonder about the true status of their incumbents. The fact that Choice - a fourth rounder from Georgia Tech - practically mirrors Barber, had us wondering whether or not the Cowboys were preparing for him to parlay into unrestricted free agency after this season. Afterall, Barber’s name was mentioned in trade rumors back in February. Did he want out? Did the Cowboys know it? Well, now all of those concerns can be flushed down the toilet.

Let’s look at the new facts. Barber is the starting featured back on one of the NFL’s top offenses. He is only 24 years old (turns 25 on June 10), and is locked up long term. He runs with perhaps the most consistently punishing style of anyone in the league, but now has two perfectly capable young “change-of-pace” backs to keep him fresh. Barber is in an ideal situation, and is easily a top 10 dynasty and seasonal RB. He may even be approaching our top five, folks.

As for Felix Jones, the rookie speedster should still see the rock eight-10 times a game, and he does still play in one of the NFL’s most cutting edge offenses, however, with the news that Barber will be the guy for years to come, Jones now has a ceiling. Guys with ceilings don’t make great early dynasty picks. With this news, Felix has gone from a first round rookie draft selection, to a late second or early third rounder. Choice will only be valuable if Barber ever gets hurt, which means he’s gone from a third or fourth round rookie draft selection, to a potential seasonal waiver wire guy at best.