Doug Martin is the latest victim of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers disastrous 2013 season. Heck, maybe you are the latest victim of what has turned out to be one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history.
The second-year running back, who many had slotted as the second-best redraft fantasy running back behind Adrian Peterson, will miss the remainder of the season after the Buccaneers placed him on injured reserve.
Martin finished with over 1,900 total yards and a dozen touchdowns as a rookie in 2012 and was set to continue his ascension up the ranks of the best running backs in the National Football League. He was destined to continue, if not improve, on those numbers.
Martin struggled through the first six games of the season, averaging one yard less per carry than during his rookie season and and putting up just one touchdown. At the time of his injury, Martin was nothing more than a decent back-end RB2 option. Most of this had to do with a disastrous passing game under then starting quarterback Josh Freeman and a stacked box against the run. In reality, Martin possesses little blame for his lackluster fantasy performance. Evidence in this would come in the fact that the Boise State product was still on pace to tally nearly 1,400 yards when he went down to the now season-ending injury.
As it relates to Martin and dynasty leagues, this has little impact beyond the 2013 season. The torn labrum that he suffered doesn't bring with it any negative impact on a long-term basis. He should be ready to go, and 100 percent come training camp next season. The larger issues as it relates to Martin's value beyond 2013 is what the Buccaneers to with 1) their coaching staff and 2) at quarterback. Unless a team has a dominant offense line (see the San Francisco 49ers) or possess a Hall of Fame running back (see Minnesota Vikings), it's nearly impossible for a running back to have success running against eight or nine men boxes. That's just not sustainable with what the Buccaneers had to offer at quarterback.
Some may come to a knee-jerk reaction that Martin's rookie season was nothing more than a fluke. That would be utterly foolish. He is going to be a top-five fantasy running back for the next six-to-seven seasons. Whether he ends up as a top-three back will depend greatly on what the Buccaneers do.
Weeks prior to Martin's injury, Tampa Bay made the "decision" to bench and then release Josh Freeman, who is currently riding the pine with the Minnesota Vikings.
Without getting into details about that situation (collective breath of fresh air, I am sure), Mike Glennon is now starting under center for Tampa Bay with Mike James taking over the primary running back duties.
In a ridiculous turn of events, Glennon, who I loathed leading up to the 2013 NFL draft, is playing some damn good football. He's thrown the most passes in NFL history for a quarterback making his first five career starts. Despite this, the 2013 third-round pick is completing over 60 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and just three interceptions. Colour me about as shocked as Jonathan Martin when Richie Incognito shows up at his family reunion next summer.
With Glennon's ability to create some balance on the offensive side of the ball, James has hit his stride. The rookie put up a ridiculous 158 yards on 28 carries against a stout Seattle Seahawks defense in the Pacific Northwest last week. He has been running with a veteran-like field vision and strength since taking over for Martin. Getting the vast majority of his playing time since Martin went down with injury against Atlanta four weeks ago, James is averaging 4.6 yards per attempt. Again, a lot of this has to do with Glennon's ability to spread the defense around outside of the box.
If you are looking for a RB1 option throughout the remainder of the fantasy football regular season, either pick up James on waivers (good luck) or buy low on him in a trade. The rookie from Miami (F) will consistency put up at least RB2 numbers for the remainder of the season with the possibility of top-10 numbers, depending on the level of competition he is going up against and how Glennon is performing at quarterback.
I guess that's the moral of the story here. Buy low, and ride James to contention over the course of the next few weeks, leading up to the fantasy playoffs.