AFC RB Report

Mewelde Moore - Pittsburgh Steelers He should get the bulk of the carries on Sunday night @ Jacksonville with the injuries to Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall. He carried the ball 9 times for 19 yards and caught 3 passes for 37 yards in the Steelers 20-17 win against the Ravens. Moore is a solid receiver out of the backfield and could be a decent pick up if he were going to play for a while, but with Parker expected back in a week or two coupled with the Steelers going to Jacksonville makes Moore a worthwhile pickup for the desperate only. As always, if you have droppable baggage, you are desperate enough . He could get a solid amount of receptions, especially with the way the Steelers' pass blocking. Fred Jackson - Buffalo Bills He is turning into a pretty solid pickup for an emergency back. He has rushed the ball 28 times for 119 yards and 1 TD in four games and added 11 catches for 93 yards. That projects to almost 500 yards 4 TD's and 44 catches for almost 400 yards. You get a nice emergency fill-in running back, plus Marshawn Lynch's back-up who if he every took over could be fantasy gold. He has been taken in many leagues, but not in all, but Jackson can likely be easily traded for. Laurence Maroney - New England Patriots He has been a major bust in '08, so the question is, do you cut him, trade him or hold onto him? The answer of course depends on who you can get for him, but trading him is going to be very hard so the best advice is to sit him on the bench for another week or two. The Patriots have to run the ball if they are going to have any success and if Maroney is healthy he should get a chance to be a solid fantasy back. The hope to cling to is his strong 2007 finish. He is a good back when healthy and when given a chance. On the other hand he is likely easy-pick'ens and if you need a running back, try throwing a decent extra receiver or quarterback at them and see what happens. Le'Ron McClain - Baltimore Ravens He looked like the feature back in Baltimore with McGahee's rib injury. Rookie Ray Rice has been a fantasy bust and while he is worth a desperate pickup, McClain is the man or at least the co-man and likely goal line back. He makes a solid pickup especially with the byes here. Cedric Benson - Cincinnati Bengals Ya right. Cut by the Bears and out of football and now he is third-string for the Bengals. Let someone else be the dummy who picks him up. Probably a Ricky Williams owner. Ryan Torain - Denver Broncos It is about time to add Torain to you roster if someone hasn't already. Neither Selvin Young nor Andre Hall has wowed anyone, not even as a combo. The Broncos didn't keep him on the roster all this time for nothing, they like him. His elbow injury has allowed him to stay in shape, so you just may get a starting running back for the second half of the season.