Tough Question Of The Week

We have seen this question a few times now on our forums, so I thought I’d address it. Who is the better runner to have in a redraft league looking forward, Adrian Peterson or Willis McGahee? This is a tough question to answer, as even most here on staff are split on this topic. Here is how I’d break it down.

• Willis McGahee is going to get about as many carries as he can handle from here on out, as that Ravens defense will set-up the run on a weekly basis
• Willis McGahee faces the 49ers (25th against the run), the Rams (29th against the run) and the Bills (27th against the run) over the next 3 weeks
• Adrian Peterson faces the Bears (10th against the run), Cowboys (7th against the run) and the Eagles (5th against the run) over the next 3 weeks… and then the Chargers (12th against the run)
• Willis McGahee faces these teams in weeks 14-16: Colts (22nd), Dolphins (32nd) and Seahawks (13th)
• Adrian Peterson faces these teams in weeks 14-16: 49ers (25th), Bears (10th) and Redskins (9th)

As much as I love Adrian Peterson in redraft leagues, all this suggests that McGahee is the guy to own if you ask me. Don’t get me wrong, it is a tough call, but because it’s a close call at first glance, you have to take it to the numbers. The numbers are in favor of McGahee. All that said, these defensive ranks are based off of just 4 weeks (3 in some cases). That is not a great sample to pull from, but it seems efficient enough for the time being. * NOTE: Adrian Peterson is inside our top 3-4 overall in dynasty formats looking forward

Grab Them Now Before Week 5

Drew Brees, Marques Colston & Reggie Bush

All three have had their bye and I firmly believe that Sean Payton and that Saints offense will get back on track starting in week 5. They have too many weapons to stay down and out.

Lee Evans

Evans’ value is still extremely low.. so low that there is not much risk in going after him. He is well worth the investment given the cost, he could easily bounce-back and become a top 10WR. If he doesn’t bounce-back, well, you bought him low and won’t lose much.

Larry Johnson

Johnson’s schedule was pretty rough through four games, but now he faces off against the Jags and Bengals in weeks 5 and 6. Both defenses rank around the bottom ten in the entire NFL against the run, so expect Johnson to finally have those back-to-back monster games. It will be hard to get L.J. at a discount if you wait until next week.