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RB Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins

HT: 5-11, WT: 205, Born: 9-1-1981, College: Miami, Drafted: Round 2

2009 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of June 29th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: B Westbrook (16), B Jacobs (17), Clinton Portis (18), T Brady (19), M Barber (20)
Position: B Westbrook (16-RB11), B Jacobs (17-RB12), Clinton Portis (18 - RB13), M Barber (20-RB14), R Brown (28-RB15)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

Best Case

Clinton Portis finished the 2008 season with 1,487 yards rushing and a whopping 342 carries. His 4.3 yards-per-carry average was his best in three seasons, and he had 11 games with either 100 yards from scrimmage or a touchdown. It's hard to imagine critics once questioned whether Portis could shoulder a full workload. If the Redskins passing attack can take a step forward this year, Portis could have easier lanes and that could mean a Top 5 fantasy finish.

Worst Case

Portis hasn't missed a game since 2006 but has logged more than 2,000 carries in his career. It's hard to imagine that someone Portis' size can continually handle 300+ carries without breaking down, and that's always a risk because he's not the kind of back who avoids contact. More importantly, the Redskins passing game made it hard for him to find running room late in the 2008 season, and it's unclear whether the team improved in that area this offseason.

Outlook

Portis has been a Top 10 fantasy running back in five of seven seasons, including three as a Redskin. As long as he remains healthy, you can be sure he'll be the centerpiece of the offense. With a willingness to pound the ball inside but the vision to make tacklers miss in the open field, few backs are as sure to perform against any level of competition as Portis. As usual, Portis is an elite fantasy back that you can probably draft a few picks later than his value.

Relevant Articles

Why he is undervalued

Andy Hicks - Clinton Portis finished as the 8th ranked RB in 2008 and is one of the most consistent and reliable backs available. He gets a good chunk of touchdowns every season, his yards per carry increased significantly in 2008, Washington will operate under a run first offense and Portis will only be 28 when the season starts. If he falls to you in the 2nd round jump up and down and get his name in before you think too much about reasons why he'll fail.

Marc Levin - Portis is an elite fantasy back, he is the centerpiece of the Redskins' offense, he has the credentials of multiple top-10 finishes, and he is still in his prime as an athlete. Steal this RB1/potential top-5 RB from the RB13 spot and do not look back.

David Yudkin - Portis has ranked in the Top 12 RBs six times in the seven seasons played. He was hurt in that other season, but his production when he played that year was still in the Top 10. Even though it seems like he's been around for ever, he's only 28. He's perennially underrated and this year is no different.

Latest News

Redskins | Betts drawing praise (Wed Jun 24, 07:46 PM) - Paul Tenorio, of the Washington Post, reports that Redskins offensive coordinator Sherman Smith had high praise for backup RB Ladell Betts after OTAs. Smith said, "the guy that's been standing out to me is Ladell Betts. To me, he's stepped his game up. He's preparing like he's a starter. He's taken a leadership role, which I'm not saying he wasn't a leader before, but I just think he's a very good player. He's jumped out to me."

Our View: Betts could be a sneaky late round pickup as it's easy to forget that helped a lot of teams win fantasy titles when Portis went down in 2006. We know he has the ability to be productive if he's given the chance, we know that he's impressed this offseason, and we know that Portis had a myriad of injuries last year and seemed to wear down as the season went on.
link to story   

Redskins | Portis says no rift with Zorn (Mon Jun 22, 01:15 PM) - David Elfin, of The Washington Times, reports Washington Redskins RB Clinton Portis says reports of a rift between him and head coach Jim Zorn are wrong. 'How this story came about, I have no idea,' Portis said. 'There's nothing going on. There's no beef between me and Coach Zorn. We're on good terms at this present moment. There's no problem.'

Our View: At the end of last season Portis went on a local radio show and said some things that could be seen as damaging to his relationship with coach Zorn. Recently there have been web reports that Portis has no respect for Zorn, and gets special treatment from Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Portis added, 'I don't know why people have that in their mind. Me and Coach (Joe) Gibbs had a great relationship. We talked more than me and Coach Zorn do, but lately me and Coach Zorn have been talking, trying to get on the same page. Things been going good. He understand me and I understand him.'
link to story   

2009 Schedule

2008 Game Summaries

Week 1 - The Giants defense did a decent job in containing what was a good rushing attack for Washington last year led by Portis. He didn't have a lot room to run most of the game and had ten carries for only 34 yards in the first half. His longest carry in the first half came on a draw play up the middle for nine yards late in the first half. The Giants defense seemed to really key in on Portis in the first half as the passing game struggled to complete even one pass. Portis had his longest run of the game midway through the third quarter when broke into the Giants' secondary for a gain of 23 yards. He showed what a dangerous runner he can be on that play and he may have taken it all the way had one of the Giants' defensive backs not slowed him down allowing another teammate to tackle him from behind. Portis did not have much of a role in the passing game, but he did have one catch for eight yards late in the game that was nullified by a penalty.

Week 2 - Portis during the week called out his teammates and coaching staff with regards to last weeks performance. He made good on his ask for more carries and refocus on the run game. The Saints defense started strong and bottled up Portis for much of the first half. In the second half the Redskins found their old power run game and hammered the Saints right side on their defense. Portis and company had multiple runs that generated big gains behind their left guard, tackle and leading full back.

Portis displayed his trademark patience in following his blockers, especially FB Mike Sellers. On his first touchdown run he sat in Sellers back pocket the whole run until he could just leap over the fallen blocker for a score.

Week 3 - Portis continued his success of running to the left from last week. Only three of his 21 carries went right. Most of his larger gains were again to the left on toss and sweep type plays. Portis displayed his normal patient running and hitting the hole hard when needed. Portis scored almost untouched on a short draw play. All in all it was a solid day stat wise for Portis.

Week 4 - Portis really did his part in the overall game plan by consistently gaining positive yards and keeping the Dallas defense honest early. As the game wore on, Portis got more effective and ran down hill. He was the beneficiary of some good blocking. Chris Cooley did a great job of taking out the defensive end on a third and short. The play went for big yards. In the second half Portis ran with an attitude and picked up big chunks with almost every touch. The Washington offensive line should also get some credit for his success and the lopsided time of possession the Redskins enjoyed. Portis had a touchdown called back on a holding penalty.

Week 5 - Portis was able to find running room like no other against the strong Eagle defense. He ran often and helped the Redskins to control the game after the first quarter. Portis' four yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter gave the Redskins a nine point lead. His long run was a 27 yard gain. He also had a 21 yard run. On the play, it looked as if Portis had been stopped for a three yard gain. He kept plowing ahead, however, breaking a tackle and then carrying defenders for the last few yards. Portis also plowed through the line to pick up a gutsy fourth down and one call that sealed the game.

Portis now has consecutive 100 yard games. Portis caught both of his targets for 13 yards. On one of the catches, Portis lined up in the slot and ran an out for a first down.

Week 6 - Portis continues to play well, exhibiting the rare combination of quickness and power with each and every one of his runs. He's adjusting well to the West Coast system, with the team's strategy to play off of the spread ability of the passing game with Portis' hard running, reckless-abandon, running style proving to be very effective. Portis' two rushing TDs on Sunday escalated his total to six for the year.

Week 7 - Portis ran extremely well, except for a fumble late in the game. He accelerated to the line of scrimmage decisively, and made the right decisions as to which hole to attack, which led to his healthy rushing numbers. Portis showed a good combination of elusiveness in the open field and power once defenders closed in on him, to gain extra yards on most of his carries. He was the best offensive player on the field.

Week 8 - Portis owners were likely salivating over this match-up against the Lions' defense, and early on it looked as if Portis was in for a monster day. On his first two carries Portis showed impressive speed as he burst through the line and zig-zagged for 17 yards each time. After these runs, however, the Lions' defense seemed to buckle down and Portis had a much more difficult time gaining ground. While he would sporadically break free for an eight or ten yard gain, these instances were definitely the exception and not the rule. As a result, the Washington coaching staff called QB Jason Campbell's number more and more often as he displayed a hot hand in the passing game and rotated fellow RB Shaun Alexander in regularly. At one point in the second quarter cameras captured a moment of tension between Portis -- who was clearly unhappy with his limited usage -- and his head coach, Jim Zorn. Finally, after almost three quarters of Washington playing from behind, the Redskins took the lead and thus turned back to Portis to chew up yards and the clock. During Washington's only possession in the game's final period, Portis took the hand-off on four consecutive plays, with the last going for 31 yards.

Week 9 - Portis finished the game with only 51 yards on the ground and 22 of those came on a first quarter run on the team's third drive of the game. Though he struggled picking up yards on the ground, the running back did contribute in the passing game by averaging ten yards on seven grabs including a long gain of 29. Portis was the intended receiver on QB Jason Campbell's first interception of the game.

Week 11 - Despite not practicing and being expected to miss the game, Portis showed no signs of any injury. He was running with speed and in power running formations. The sweeps were working very well early in the game. Many of his most successful runs were to the left side of his line.

Week 12 - The star running back continues to make a case for league MVP. To put it very simply, he is the Washington offense. Despite being injured, he ran with heart, speed and power. There didn't seem to be a single play that didn't pick up positive yards. He was effective in power run sets where he ran behind Chris Samuels and Mike Sellers. The stretch play both to the left and right sides of the offensive line were working superbly in addition to some well timed draw plays up the middle. The Redskins effectively played keep away from the Seahawks to the tune of over 38 minutes of possession time including a six minute drive late in the fourth quarter to milk most of the remaining clock.

Week 13 - Portis was bottled up for most of the day and was on and off of the field as he aggravated an injury during the game. He caught his lone target for a 15 yard gain and averaged a measly two yards on 11 rushes.

Week 14 - RB Clinton Portis did not play for most of the second half and RB Ladell Betts took over as the primary ball carrier. Portis ran hard when he was active but the stifling Ravens defense kept in check. Portis also had one fumble but the call could have gone either way. The Redskins challenged that it was a fumble but the referees did not overturn it.

It wasn't said during the game why he stopped carrying the ball. He was seen standing on the sidelines in the fourth quarter.

Week 15 - Portis had a very average day in the Redskins backfield, and struggled for much of the game to generate yardage. His first quarter was frustrating as he got plenty of carries, but did nothing with them. It wasn't until Washington's final two possessions in the second quarter that he finally seemed to get on track. While that success carried over into the third quarter, it only did so through the Redskins' first third quarter series. After that, the ineffective Portis of the first quarter returned. Most troubling were his performances inside the ten yard line. On three such carries he ran for only a total of two yards -- including being dropped for losses on two of them. Perhaps this is why FB Mike Sellers got the call on two consecutive rushes from the Bengals' one yard line as the minutes ticked away late in the third quarter (though Sellers fumbled the second carry on the goal line.) Portis did not play a meaningful role in the passing game.

Week 16 - As we've seen many times this year, Portis did his best running off the left edge. He had a couple of bigger runs that went for 10-15 yards, but was not able to hit a big one. The steady and conservative approach helped the Redskins hold onto the ball for 33 minutes. Portis was able to find the end zone from a yard out following a Jason Taylor sack and strip of Donavan McNabb. This was his first score in four games.

Week 17 - When Portis got the ball less than 20 times per game this season, the Redskins were winless, so Washington Head Coach Jim Zorn seemed determined to get Portis his 20 touches early. Washington's second drive was heavily weighted towards the run, and while Portis didn't break off any huge gains, he did chew up yards in chunks of four and five at a time. The drive ended fittingly as Portis took the ball over the left side for a four yard score. This heavy focus on the run would be story for most of the day, though Portis' production would decline as the game progressed and result in 80 yards on 29 carries. The lone dark spot in Portis' performance was an early third quarter lost fumble.