Fantasy Breakout: Ryan Mathews

I expect anyone who owned Ryan Mathews as a rookie to greet today’s headline with severe skepticism. Remember the buzz?  After the Chargers traded up from #28 to #12 to take Mathews out of Fresno State in the 2010 draft, Norv Turner declared that Mathews would be the feature back as a rookie, no question about it.

Except there were plenty of questions after Mathews battled an ankle injury and ran for less than 700 yards as a rookie.

• Is he fragile? 
• Is he a bust? 
• Is he physical enough? 
• WHY DID I DRAFT HIM IN THE FIRST ROUND?!?! 

Even last year when Mathews stayed healthy, appeared more willing to run inside, and broke the 1,000 yard barrier for the first time, his owners had to deal with the ultimate Vulture.  Mike Tolbert scored 20 TD’s the last two years, often getting the bulk of carries inside the red zone.

Turner is once again proclaiming Mathews as the Charger’s feature back, but this time his words carry more bite.  Tolbert was allowed to leave as a free agent, signing with the Carolina Panthers.  Mathews will no longer be on the sideline when his team is near the goal line.

Dig deeper, and you see signs of a potential fantasy stalwart.  Over the last 5 games of 2011 Mathews ran for 511 yards.  He averaged 4.9 yards a carry for the year, catching 50 passes along the way. And that’s what makes his potential so enticing.  Mathews can do it all when he’s healthy; he has breakaway speed, outstanding vision and quickness into the hole, and can catch the ball well.  At his best, he’s the kind of back the defense has to account for on every down, and he should be especially enticing to PPR league owners.

I’ve currently got him at #7 on my fantasy big board, but he could very well end up going Top 5 in fantasy drafts this fall.

This time, he shouldn’t disappoint.