Fantasy Upside
This is Montee Ball’s season to take the reigns as the No. 1 RB for the Broncos. He came into camp firmly atop the depth chart. And, with Knowshon Morento (the #5 fantasy RB in ‘13) moving on to Miami, the second-year pro from Wisconsin will be given every chance to be an every down back. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry as a rookie, becoming more efficient as the season wore on, averaging 5.4 yards over the final eight games. And, as he was given more carries, the bruising back produced more big runs, including double-digit yardage runs in three of the last four regular season contests. During the first eight games he had just two carries that gained more than 10 yards, but in the second half, 11 of his 65 rushes went for at least 10 yards. He finished with 20 receptions on 27 pass targets (74 percent pass catching rate), with 18 of those grabs coming in the last seven games. Montee has shown great improvements as both a receiver and a pass blocker, which will help him be on the field more often. Protecting Peyton Manning will be a big assignment for Montee and he’s shown better footwork in camp.
Fantasy Downside
Montee recently had an appendectomy that cost him most of the preseason, but was able to take the field in the third game. During his rookie season he had some fumbling problems, coughing it up three times, which limited his playing time. Ball didn’t have more than 15 carries in any game last year and his only 100-yard game came at Kansas City, which was helped by a 45-yard scamper. Despite being handed the ball near the goal line often, he only had four TDs - none of which came during his first seven regular season contests. As important as it is for him to hang on the rock, it’ll be equally key for him to be able to adjust to Manning’s audibles in pass protection.
Bottom Line
After being a high-workload back in college, Montee had only 120 carries last season (an average of just 7.5 per game), so he’s still very fresh. It’ll be interesting to see how the Broncos brass brings him back after the appendectomy, as he may not receive full snaps in Week 1. However, as the Denver starter, he is still ranked in the top 10 among RBs. Once he’s completely recovered, look for him to be on the field a lot this season, easily eclipsing the 1,000-yard plateau and scoring double-digit touchdowns. Expect him to be off the draft board by the end of the second round, so don’t be shy about jumping on him early.
