Every year in
Fantasy Football, once preseason games start, there are players whose stocks begin to rise and those that begin to fall.
Sometimes an exciting rookie makes some noise in August, the hype begins and his stock goes up. Other times, a veteran player struggles or suffers an injury and his stock falls faster than Facebook's IPO.
Try not to buy into the hype or the hate when it comes to preseason football.
With that being said, let's run down the running backs whose stock is either rising or falling in
2013 Fantasy Football
.
Riser: Shane Vereen, New England Patriots: Vereen looks like he'll be Tom Brady's new Faulk-like receiving back in the Patriot offense. So far in the preseason, the Pats have lined him at running back, in the slot and on the outside.
Last Friday night against the Buccaneers, Vereen showed his versatility as he rushed the ball four times for 29 yards and caught four passes for 46 yards, with a long of 18. Grab the Pats new Swiss army back in the late rounds and please take off that Danny Woodhead jersey.
Riser: Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals: If you have been watching HBO's Hard Knocks you can't help but notice the diminutive Bernard. The Bengals expect Giovani to be an all-around force this season. In his first preseason action, he rushed for 28 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 16 yards. Old friend BenJarvis Green-Ellis averaged just 2.2 yards inside the 20 last season. Bernard needs to be owned in all leagues. The Bengals drafted Bernard in the second round for a reason and it's not because he drives a sweet mini-van.
Faller: Arian Foster, Houston Texans: Foster has carried the load in Texas the last three seasons. Since 2010, Foster has piled up over 1000 touches and it's taking its toll. Foster is now dealing with back and calf problems and the Texans have rolled him in bubble wrap. The price tag for Foster is high, he's going anywhere from the second to the fifth pick in the first round. That's pretty pricey for a guy that's practiced once this year. Too pricey for us, amiright?
Faller: Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers: I had such high hopes for the steeltown back this season. I had him ranked ahead of guys like Ahmad Bradshaw and Ryan Mathews. Now comes word that Bell is toast for at least 6 weeks and maybe the season after suffering a Lisfranc injury. There's lots of questions that need answering. Who's the Steelers back opening day? Is it Jonathan Dwyer, Isaac Redman, or LaRod Stephens-Howling? Who are those guys, a Jewish jug band? Another question is who is Lisfranc and what does she have against running backs?
Check out The Guru's Top 101 Fantasy Players for 2013.
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