Faceoff - RB Ladell Betts, Washington Redskins

Posted 8/3, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Jeff Tefertiller

Admittedly, I am rooting for Ladell Betts to make an impact again in 2008. He is a player that is fairly cheap but offers a ton of potential if given the opportunity. In 2006, the former Iowa Hawkeye saw extensive time as the primary ball carrier for the Washington Redskins. He seized the opportunity to the tune of 1,154 rushing yards, a 4.7 yards per carry average, and 1,599 total yards. This was good enough for a top ten finish for fantasy backs. This was the only season that Betts carried the ball more than 93 times in a year.

Ladell Betts is an effective runner and receiver. In 2006, he was able to haul in 53 receptions. As it stands now, Betts will be used as the primary back up to Clinton Portis and as a change of pace back. So, why so high on the 28-year old? Clinton Portis has had a ton of carries in his young career. Further, Portis led the NFL in carries in 2007. If the Redskins do not limit the touches for the former Bronco, he might have issues with durability very soon. Portis struggled to make the big play in 2007 and was used to grind up the yards in an attempt to keep the Redskins in games. The explosions he was known for just was not present in 2007.

So, we know that Betts can produce good fantasy points if given an opportunity. The only question is whether he will get that opportunity. If not, Ladell Betts is just like almost every other backup running back in this tier. At his current ADP of RB53, and player 161 off the board, fantasy owners should be quick to grab the 5'10", 221-pound runner. The Footballguys staff consensus rankings also have the former Hawkeye as RB53. This is way too low for a fantasy RB5 with so much proven upside. Just for reference of the potential, Betts had six straight games at the end of the 2006 season with at least 92 rushing yards. In the last five games of that season, he had more than 140 total yards. This is a runner to draft low and stash on the bench.

Downside - by Mike Brown

Things change quickly in fantasy football. A year ago, there was talk of a full-fledged committee split between Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts in Washington after Portis only played half of an injury filled season. A knee injury/condition that cost Portis most of training camp was causing his ADP to drop and Betts draft position to rise. Betts had just signed a contract with extension with the Skins and everything was looking up for the Iowa product -- after all, he had a string of 5 straight 100 yard games from week 12-16 during his stint as the starter in 2006.

Fast forward to today, and Betts is just another backup, just another handcuff for a first round fantasy pick starter -- even if he is one that helped a lot of people win their league in 2006. While most people were looking his over 130 yards per game average in December, they were missing some signs that maybe Betts star wasn't rising as fast as his stats indicated. Other numbers pointed at Betts role staying modest -- his five fumbles in the last eight games of 2006 and his surprisingly paltry 3.5 million dollar signing bonus on a 5 year, 11 million signed during his spree at the end of the season. That's right, Betts did not test free agency, even though this extension will likely be his last big contract because he'll be 32 when it ends.

Maybe Betts got bad advice from his agent, but that's backup money, albeit the paycheck of a very good backup. He came crashing back to earth last year, with only a 3.6 ypc on 93 carries, and there's a chance he may get less than that share this year. Clinton Portis no longer has the ability to pull himself out of games, which could mean fewer opportunities for Betts to carry the ball. Portis led the league in carries last year, and even though his injury-riddled '06 sticks out in our minds, Portis aka Coach Janky Spanky aka Southeast Jerome played in all 16 games in '05 and '07 and he only missed one game under a 343 carry workload in '04, his first year as a Redskins.

Ladell Betts still has value and should be on the shopping list of every team that takes Clinton Portis in the first round as about a 12th-14th round pick. He should also be one of the top backup RBs taken after the talented rookies and RBBC backs. After all, he is one of the only backups who has proven that he can produce like a top flight starter if he gets a shot. Sadly for Betts, the chances of that shot seem to be about as low as the backup to any starter this side of LaDainian Tomlinson.