Fozzy Whitaker didn’t get much of an opportunity last season behind Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams, but he did look good in a limited role. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry on his way to 145 yards and a touchdown on the season and even added five catches for 60 yards and another score. He’ll enter this season as the favorite to backup the oft-injured Stewart.
Fantasy Upside
Williams is gone and Stewart is about as injury-prone as it gets, so Whitaker is a nice handcuff for Stewart owners. He also is better catching the ball than his five receptions last year would indicate. He caught 21 balls for the Browns in 2013 and 34 during his junior year at Texas. Aside from his fantastic first name (though his given name is Foswhitt), Fozzy also runs with a nice combination of power and balance and has a chance to put up decent numbers if given the opportunity.
Fantasy Downside
While he may be a pretty good handcuff, Fozzy has virtually no value as long as Stewart is healthy. Additionally, he may get some competition from rookie Cameron Artis-Payne for the backup role, a player who runs with a lot of power and has a low center of gravity. If Fozzy loses the backup job, his fantasy value plummets to non-existent.
Bottom Line
Ultimately, Fozzy should be picked up late by Stewart owners. He’s the most likely handcuff at this point, and if you have space for him on the back end of your roster, then you could do worse than putting him there. Also, he’s not bad option at the end of a draft in large leagues as a leader in the “back-behind-an-injury-prone-guy” club. I’ll call it the Leroy Hoard All-Stars from the days of always drafting the backup Vikings running back to the oft-injured Robert Smith in the late 90’s.
