It’s that time of the year again: draft time for Fantasy Football leagues throughout the world. Everybody is thinking, “who will I take for my team?”
The first choices are the obvious ones: Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Houston Texans running back Arian Foster.
But the real questions people are asking have to do with the players who are going to be a risk. Players are getting hurt every day during training camp and this could affect how people construct their fantasy teams.
One player many fantasy football team owners will take a risk on is Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III. He suffered a serious knee ligament injury before the Redskins’ playoff run this past season, which required surgery after playing three games with a sprained LCL. Griffin has not played in a preseason game in 2013 and is not slated to be ready until Week 1 of the regular season. Team owners will be taking a gamble with potentially losing Griffin during the 2013 season.
However, Peterson made a comeback in 2012 after tearing his ACL and having surgery only eight months prior and nearly broke the NFL’s single-season rushing yards record. Griffin could be a great pick if he can avoid injury and a sophomore slump in his second year in the league.
Another player that could potentially have injury problems in 2013 is Cleveland Browns running back Trent Richardson. Cleveland’s star running back, who had knee surgery this past offseason and has been recently suffering from a shin injury, made his preseason debut against the Detroit Lions Aug. 15 and rushed for 33 yards on six carries. Though Richardson played 15 games and ranked fifth in the NFL in touchdowns, he is prone to injury but will be a great fantasy player as long as he stays healthy throughout the season.
Despite having injury problems, Griffin, Richardson and a number of other players in the NFL can potentially overcome the adversity of their injuries and be playmakers for their teams.
Though team owners can speculate all they want about which players might potentially get injured or suspended, there are two things to remember that will help prepare for the worst-case scenario: stack up backup players and watch for those mid-season pick-ups to give teams that extra boost toward the end of the season.
Stay tuned this fall for full Fantasy Football coverage from The BG News sports staff.
