Fantasy Smorgasbord: Faith in Priest? Still Lovin’ L.J.?
As a Kansas City Chiefs fan, my first instinct was to run around like I just won the lottery when I heard Priest Holmes was making a comeback. Then reality sunk in, and I checked my insanity. A lot can go wrong in the NFL, and it has when it comes to Priest.
Still, even at only 80-90% of what Priest once was, he’s a helluva player. That’s why the Chiefs welcomed him back with open arms. The Chiefs will play him quite a bit, too, even if Larry Johnson re-signs (which I expect him to — eventually). The problem is that Priest hasn’t made it through an entire NFL season since 2003.
Sure, I understand that the Chiefs are going to use him in a lesser role, one that should keep him upright and out of the triage. Still, I will just have to see Priest take punishment and get up before I’m convinced he’s fully recovered. I am, after all, from the Show-Me State.
Fantasy football owners should take the same approach with not only Priest, but both Chiefs running backs. Until Priest dons the Red, White and Gold in the preseason, and looks good doing it, I can’t recommend picking him in the first ten rounds. Sorry.
As for his possible partner in grind, until he signs I can’t recommend picking L.J. in the first round either. A training camp holdout paired with the return of the Priest? That’s two huge cons that just emerged from out of the woodwork. Right now, I’d feel more comfortable picking (in this order) L.T., Steven Jackson, Peyton Manning, Shaun Alexander, Frank Gore, Laurence Maroney, Willie Parker, Joseph Addai, um… OK, I’d take him ninth overall right now. That’s a dramatic drop-off from where I’d normally take him — third.
Now, L.J. could sign, and Priest could end up looking good and staying healthy. Could L.J. potentially be a fantasy MVP type? Of course. Could Priest potentially be a good No. 2 fantasy back? Yep. Both players play in a ball-control offense led by a young QB. If they both make it on the field and stay there, then they will both tote the rock plenty. It’s just that right now we have no assurances that either player will see the field this season.
My advice is to take some serious caution when it comes to either of the Chiefs star running backs, especially if you draft here in the next couple of weeks.
