6 Ways to Prevent Running Back Injuries from Derailing Your Fantasy Football Season

This is why it is highly recommended that you wait until the last possible moment to have your league draft. Injuries are going to happen, and everyone accepts this. If you’ve played fantasy football for more than a year or two you’ve had the championship pried from your first place grasp at least once by way of injury. I got mine when Alexander went down in 2006.

So its an understood risk that at any given moment – on any given sunday (had to say it) – your season could come to an abrupt end.

But to be handed your fantasy pink slip before the season starts? That’s simply too much to bear, and the recent slew of running back injuries, recorded just days after training camps have opened, is all the proof you need to delay this year’s draft as long as possible.

By now, the fact that potential top-5 fantasy back Frank Gore, broke his hand on Monday and will likely miss the rest of the pre-season is old news. But a number of other highly sought after running backs are dinged up as well including Chester Taylor (arm), Clinton Portis (knee), Lamont Jordan (back) and Vernand Morency (knee).

Keep in mind that none of the aforementioned injuries are season-ending, and it is common knowledge that many vets will nurse any minor injury in camp to rest themselves for the long season, but we are only a few days into training camp and all of these backs figure to play a key role on someone’s fantasy roster.

As much as we’d like to believe it, NFL teams aren’t moving to the dreaded running back by committee just to screw with our fantasy football seasons. They are doing so out of necessity, because running backs today take a beating from big, fast defensive specimens and the odds of playing a full sixteen games is rarely a safe bet.

So here’s some advice on how to hedge your bets and build a solid stable of running backs for this fantasy season:

1. Draft as late as possible so you’re first rounder doesn’t fracture his tibia before you even get one week of work out of him.

2. Stock up on running backs because they will get injured.

3. If you have a top back, handcuff him to his backup. Here’s some solid info on when to handcuff a running back.

4. Likewise, target top backups and gamble that the starter will blow out a knee. Rooting for injuries may be an uglier side of fantasy football but its still part of the game. I once broke a finger on a ceiling fan celebrating Rich Gannon’s career-ending injury because I had grabbed his backup Kerry Collins in the last round that year. Of course that didn’t really pan out so say what you will about karma. A more practical example was grabbing LJ as a backup in the fifth round of the 05′ season. Priest went down, and I got a championship ring. Feeling lucky? Michael Turner anyone???

5. Do your research. Check career injury histories on all your RB prospects. How old are they? Are they destined to fall victim to the 370-carry theory?

6. Check offensive line reports. Who are the keepers of your star runner’s safety? If a backs left guard regularly pulls a Billy-Bob and give some 290-pound monster an open lane to shred cartilage, consider looking a little further down your draft board for a safer pick. 75 yds per game for 14 starts is better than 100 yds per game for 6.