LestersLegends.com

Written by Eric Stashin of www.rotoprofessor.com

When Glen Coffee suddenly retired, it looked like the 49ers would be left with little behind star running back Frank Gore.  Less then three weeks later, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Not only did they bring Brian Westbrook into the mix, but sixth round pick Anthony Dixon has emerged from obscurity.  While a lot of his impressive preseason statistics came against marginal NFL players, at best, it still is hard to overlook.

He led the NFL with 300 rushing yards (Michael Bennett was second with 236). He led the NFL with four rushing touchdowns.

Then again, he had 20 more carries then any other running back, at 74.  When you have that big of a lead in carries, it’s easy to out rush the competition by such a great margin.

Despite coach Mike Singleton telling Comcast Sports Net California that, “When you have a guy like that, there’s going to be a role”, it’s impossible to think the role is going to be anything too special at this point.

With the options that the team has in front of him, it’s going to take a lot for Dixon to get regular touches.  Granted, Westbrook certainly is an injury risk, but even if he were the primary understudy to Gore would you expect him to develop into usability?

Gore has played in 14 or more games each of the past four years, only once having less then 1,100 yards during that span (1,036 in 2008).  He’s a workhorse, and should remain to be the main man in San Francisco.

Coffee, as the primary backup to Gore in 2009, got just 83 carries for 226 yards and a touchdown (plus 11 catches for 76 yards).

An impressive preseason is nice, but Dixon just isn’t likely to make an impact in 2010.  Don’t bother getting caught up in any attention he may be receiving.  There are much better options that should be available to you.

Keep an eye on him, just in case, but there certainly is no reason to be making a move right now.

What are your thoughts of Dixon?  Is there any chance he develops into a usable option in 2010?  Why or why not?

Make sure to check out Rotoprofessor’s 2010 rankings:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 40 Running Backs
• Top 60 Wide Receivers
• Top 20 Tight Ends
• Top 15 Kickers

You can also check out my Week 1 Rankings:
Week 1 QB Rankings
Week 1 RB Rankings
Week 1 WR Rankings
Week 1 TE Rankings
Week 1 K Rankings
Week 1 DEF Rankings
Week 1 IDP Rankings

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Brian Westbrook finally has a new home. After spending his first eight seasons with Philadelphia, Westy is headed West to San Francisco to join Frank Gore in the Niners’ backfield. Westy is an electric playmaker when healthy. He has dealt with an assortment of injuries in the past, but it is his string of concussions that have his career in jeopardy. Even when he was limited to eight games last year, he managed 25 catches as well as a 4.5 ypc on 61 carries. One more concussion could end his career so don’t expect him to be much more than an insurance policy should Frank Gore go down. Anthony Dixon had a strong showing in the Niners’ preseason opener, and will challenge Westbrook for the backup spot.

Westbrook wasn’t he only former NFC East runner moving westward. Ladell Betts also spent eight years with his first team, in his case the Washington Redskins. Betts only topped 100 carries once in his career, and isn’t expected to do so with his new club. Betts will essentially replace Lynell Hamilton as RB depth for the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. While Westbrook has limited fantasy value, Betts has even less. Even if Pierre Thomas were to go down, I would not expect Betts to even match the production Mike Bell had last year.

A typical fantasy football league consists of 12 teams nine starters (QB, two RBs, three WRs, TE, K, D) and anywhere from five to seven bench players. If you go with the latter bench allotment, you’re looking at 16 roster spots or 192 draft picks. By that definition, any sleeper should have an average draft position about 180 or lower.

San Francisco 49ers QB Alex Smith sports an ADP of 185, which means on average he’s the fifth pick of the 16th round. He has the 24th highest ADP of any QB behind the likes of Josh Freeman, Matt Cassel, and Kyle Orton.

I know he has been a disappointment, especially given his first overall selection in the 2005 NFL Draft, but I think we’re being kind of harsh on the young man, though personally I  have him as the 15th ranked fantasy QB. He showed enough last year to justify that ranking in my mind.

Smith completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 2350 yards, 18 TDs vs. 12 INTs, and a 81.5 passer rating. Those numbers don’t exactly bring Niner fans back to the days of Joe Montana or Steve Young, but they should lead fantasy owners to draft him before the likes of Josh Freeman, especially when you consider the weapons Smith has to work with.

Michael Crabtree was able to learn on the job last year, and is primed to have an even bigger impact in 2010. Josh Morgan is an adequate #2 receiver. Vernon Davis had nearly 1000 yards and 13 TDs. Frank Gore is very capable of catching the ball out of the backfield. Few teams can offer that assortment of weapons and yet he’s being drafted about sixty picks after Matthew Stafford.

Smith had at least 28 pass attempts in the Niners’ final seven games, which shows they aren’t afraid to open the offense up. Over that span he averaged 220.3 yards, 1.7 TDs, and 0.86 INTs. He didn’t do much with his feet last year, but he did average 10.6 rushing yards per game his first three seasons.

Is he a guy that I would target as a #1 fantasy QB? Of course not. I’d gladly take him as a QB2 though.

Prediction: 3600 yards, 22 TDs, 12 INTs, 120 rushing yards, 2 TDs

Where do you have Alex Smith ranked?

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