Faceoff - RB Reuben Droughns, New York Giants

Posted 8/6, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Clayton Gray

It seems that people are starting to fall in love with the young Brandon Jacobs and have completely forgotten about Reuben Droughns. A few things make Droughns appealing this year. He has a history of solid production, while Jacobs does not. HC Tom Coughlin has a history of using multiple backs. Droughns is a bargain on draft day, which gives him little downside. Let's take a closer look at Droughns and his situation.

Droughns Is Proven / Jacobs Has Potential

Jacobs has tons of potential with his great combination of speed and size. While it's certainly possible for him to seize control of the job this season, we're still talking about a guy with only 522 career rushing yards, so his hold on the position is tenuous at best. On the other hand, Droughns has amassed 3327 yards in his six years in the league (only three as a starting RB). He has two seasons with more than 1200 rushing yards finished 14th among fantasy RBs both seasons (2004 and 2005). Of course Droughns disappointed last season, but even the most talented of backs will struggle under the circumstances he was under (injuries, horrible offensive line, weak QB play, etc.)

Running Back By Committee

It seems some believe Brandon Jacobs is set to move into Tiki Barber's role of lead back with Droughns assuming Jacobs' old job as the backup. However, from the moment the Giants signed Droughns, they have maintained that this will be a RBBC. They realize Jacobs is no Barber and will give both backs plenty of work.

A High Floor and a High Ceiling

Droughns is a unique mid-draft option in that he has the potential to post tremendous numbers but should also be able to throw you a few points each and ever week. In his current role, Droughns seems like a lock for eight to ten carries a week. Granted, that's not much, but it certainly beats a goose egg, and he will have a few games where he scores a TD and gets a nice amount of receiving work. However, if Jacobs were to miss time, Droughns would immediately become a starting-caliber fantasy back.

Downside - by Sigmund Bloom

Reuben Droughns has gone from being a darling of the fantasy world in 2004 and 2005 to being a resident of what I like to call "running back purgatory". RBs in purgatory are the kind that teams are always looking to upgrade from. It's sometimes very confusing to fantasy owners who tend to focus too much on stats and not enough on raw talent. Droughns did well in 2004 as the Broncos feature back, but we all know that the Broncos RB position is like a superhero suit -- it allows players to post stats above and beyond what they would do in just about any other offense. Droughns then went to Cleveland and had a surprise 1500+ total yard season in 2005, grinding for the tough yards on the ground and showing off his above average receiving ability out of the backfield.

Last year, Droughns stats finally fell back in line with his middling skills. The Cleveland offense had fits and starts due to injuries on the offensive line, quarterback and offensive coordinator changes, and a general lack of big play punch. Droughns only mustered a 3.4 yards per carry average and got benched for another underwhelming talent, Jason Wright. In the offseason, he was traded to the Giants for Tim Carter, who is probably in a fight with Josh Cribbs just to be the 4th wide receiver. The Browns replaced him with free agent Jamal Lewis, who looked washed up last year. Clearly, neither Droughns old team, nor his new team thinks that much of his abilities at this point in his career.

Droughns is not going to be the feature back in New York, that job belongs to Brandon Jacobs. Even if you don't believe the freakish DE-sized Jacobs will not successfully make the transition to a workhorse back (and issues such as his durability as a big upright runner, and how we just don't have much to compare him in the past for indicators do create some risk), Droughns is at best looking at the majority of the touches between the 20s. The one thing we do know Jacobs excels at is pounding it in the end zone. The general state of the Giants offense makes Droughns an even less exciting backup RB in fantasy drafts. They are without an experienced left tackle, and Eli Manning was floundering to the finish line after a hot start to 2006. So this isn't going to be one of those situations where the potent offense can make a fantasy starter out of the RB, whoever it is.

Droughns is definitely in the top half of backup RBs for fantasy simply because of the success he has enjoyed in the past, something few backups can boast. He's also behind an unproven starter, but that's about the end of the reasons to take him. His ability as a third down back type will get him numbers every week, but nothing approaching startable production, and even if he does earn a split with Jacobs, he won't get the money carries in the red zone. Chances are someone who rode Droughns in 2004 and 2005 will take him with fond memories in their head before his value matches the pick on the board.