2013 Fantasy Outlook: Doug Martin

Information is constantly changing in the NFL and fantasy player values can change at any moment. Having updated, informative news can help you not just at your fantasy football draft but during the regular season. Feel free to glance at our recent articles to make sound decisions throughout the year.

To help you get ready for draft day you will notice articles for ADP advice, cheat sheets, mock drafts and projected stats for Doug Martin here. During the season, you can also find regular weekly ranking articles at this section as well.

Welcome to Doug Martin’s fantasy football outlook archive. At this section of Martin’s player page you will notice our past thoughts and advice for fantasy football.

August, 2012: Blount Will Likely Steal Touches, Early On From Martin

Maybe it was a little naive on my part to think the Buccaneers would just hand Doug Martin the feature role right out of the draft. Then again, it appeared LeGarrette Blount was on the outs, but after OTA’s it’s clear that Blount will have a role in this offense, as he’s impressed the coaching staff with his work.

Martin will lead this running attack in touches and snaps, as he’s a superior player to Blount when it comes to pass protection and receiving skills, so expect him to have the third-down role. That’s key, especially when you consider the Buccaneers are likely to be a losing team again and when they fall behind to high-scoring offenses, expect Martin to stay in the game.

As I pointed out in May and June, if I saw reports showing Martin was likely not to be a true feature back I would quickly retract my RB1 projection and move him down as an RB2. That’s the case at this point, as Martin’s value is now closer to his going ADP rate of 20th running back off the board.

Still his upside is a top ten fantasy back and for dynasty leagues he’s a clear top five talent in a year or two from this point. Martin is likely to be a stud in fantasy football for a long time so if you’re going to bet against someone, don’t bet against this guy, to give you weekly starting value and possibly a monster second half.

	Rushing Stats			Receiving Stats
	Attempts	Yards	TD	Rec	Yards	TD
2012 Projected Stats	205	922	7	29	189	1

2012 Early Fantasy Projections

It seems rare these days that a running back comes out of college and is handed a three down role. This year is a little different as Trent Richardson will be a workhorse back in Cleveland and Doug Martin is likely to do the same.

Veteran LeGarrette Blount has all but worn out his welcome as he’s been knocked for poor preparation, fumbling, and he’s not great in pass protection.

Martin is just the opposite; this guy is chiseled like a Greek God, a solid blocker for a rookie, and he is a sure-handed runner.

With running backs as a whole coming off a bad year for fantasy, Martin is an instant top fifteen option in redraft leagues, and a top four pick in dynasty leagues. My only concern for him this year is the Buccaneers may fall behind early in games, thus forcing them to throw the football more than they would like.

Still, Martin will be on the field in those situations because he can pass block and he had respectable hands. Factor in the Buccaneers added one of the top run blocking guards in the game in Carl Nicks and a coverage tilting receiver in Vincent Jackson, and Martin has the offensive frame work for a great career.