Will the lack of talent around Carlos Hyde severely hold him back?
Arizona Cardinals
David Johnson (RB – ARI)
The second year man out of Northern Iowa is the easy choice from Arizona, though he’s not exactly a safe choice. Most of Johnson’s stats came in four games toward the end of the season. He ran the ball 125 times for 581 yards and eight touchdowns on the year, and added 36 catches for 457 yards and four touchdowns. Here are his four best games:
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| Week | Attempts | Rush Yds | Rush TD | Rec | Rec Yds | Rec TD |
| Week 13 | 22 | 99 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 1 |
| Week 14 | 19 | 92 | 0 | 5 | 31 | 0 |
| Week 15 | 29 | 187 | 3 | 4 | 42 | 0 |
| Week 16 | 9 | 39 | 1 | 3 | 88 | 0 |
This could be read a few ways. Some will have fond memories of Johnson because his excellent timing swung a few fantasy leagues. “He was a stud in five of the seven games in which he was the starter!” they’ll say, evilly rubbing their hands together. “Imagine what he’ll do when he’s the starter from the beginning!”
On the other hand, it’s only seven games. No one knows how he’ll handle it when given the reins from the beginning. Plenty of running backs have had short stretches of being elite before falling back to Earth, with C.J. Anderson being the most recent example.
Still, you could do much worse than Johnson. He’s a dual threat; he has a good offensive coach, and he won’t turn 25 until December.
Better yet, he looks the part on the field. He should perform well even if Carson Palmer ends up struggling.
Los Angeles Rams
Todd Gurley (RB – LAR)
Gurley is not only the top dynasty player in the NFC West but arguably the top dynasty player in the NFL. His numbers (229 carries, 1,106 yards, 10 touchdowns) are excellent even before you consider the time he missed recovering from a torn ACL in 2014 and the poor players surrounding him.
Jared Goff is just a rookie, but surely he won’t be worse than Nick Foles or Case Keenum. An uptick in quarterback play should take a bit of the pressure off of Gurley. Opposing teams will still gear their entire defensive game plan toward stopping him, but he was a monster in 2015 even though the Rams had the worst team passer rating in the league (74.1). Jeff Fisher was looking for the next Eddie George, and he may have found him.
Oh, and he turns 22 in August. Injuries can creep up on anyone, but Gurley is as close to a sure thing as it gets.
San Francisco 49ers
Carlos Hyde (RB – SF)
Nothing went right for the 49ers in 2015, including the performance of their best dynasty asset. He kicked off the season with 26 carries for 168 yards and two touchdowns against the Vikings.
After that, he played in just six more games before a foot injury shut him down for the year. In those six games, he rushed 89 times for 302 yards (3.39 yards per carry) and just one touchdown.
Now, most of this isn’t Hyde’s fault. There isn’t much talent around him, and there was no reason to rush him back on the field with his team well out of contention.
That said, the 49ers didn’t exactly do anything to make the offense better. Chip Kelly replaced Jim Tomsula, but Kelly’s reputation hasn’t led to success in the NFL.
2016 could very well bring more of the same from Hyde, who has 303 fewer career rushing yards than Gurley despite an extra year in the league. He also has 144 fewer career yards from scrimmage than David Johnson, who, as previously mentioned, barely played last year
Maybe Hyde isn’t the most attractive asset right now, but his competition for this spot was made up of Torrey Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Quinton Patton, Jeff Driskel and Jarryd Hayne. So chin up, Hyde owners; it can always get worse.
Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson (QB – SEA)
Position scarcity suggests taking Thomas Rawls, Doug Baldwin, or Tyler Lockett, but none of those players have the high floor/high ceiling combination that Wilson offers. He’s the fourth-ranked dynasty quarterback via ECR and scored more non-PPR fantasy points than everyone except Cam Newton and Tom Brady in 2015.
He has started every game in four seasons, and his completions, attempts, and touchdowns have increased each year. He’s also coming off a season in which he turned in career highs in touchdowns (34) and passer rating (110.1), which were good for sixth and first in the NFL, respectively.
He also has his rushing ability (2,430 yards and 12 touchdowns in his career) and age (28 in November) working in his favor. Unless Rawls proves he’s the heir to Marshawn Lynch, Baldwin or Lockett become reliable every-week starters, or Jimmy Graham returns to his New Orleans form, no Seahawk is worth owning more than Wilson.
Derek Norton is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Derek, visit his archive, follow him on Twitter @mdereknorton, or visit his website, Sports Monocle.
