Will likely be one of the most highly sought after backups in 2009, but I’m not convinced that he can be anything more than a change of pace back. He had 450 rushing yards in the regular season and playoffs, averaging 4.78/yards a carry. Not bad. But take out his performances against Denver and Indianapolis (two below average rush defenses), and that ypc drops to 3.18.
('09 Forecast – 500 total yds, 5 touchdowns) ~Jon Rascon
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John Madden always liked Darren Sproles. “Whoever gets lower, yea, they’re gonna win that battle. You see, Darren Sproles does that very well....gets his pads lower. He’s just a fast little guy and a football player.” Then Pat Summerall starts to ponder the legal definition of homicide. While Pat does that, keep in mind that LaDainian Tomlinson is still the man in San Diego as he rightfully should be. Sproles doesn’t seem like he can handle 20+ carries a game.
('09 Proj: 100 att, 510 yds, 3 touchdowns, 44 rec, 475 yds, 4 touchdowns) ~John Kezer
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Will possibly be the most overvalued backup heading into fantasy drafts this Fall. With how he ended the season, he basically forced the Chargers to place the franchise tag on him. Sproles posted the unbelievable 328 all purpose yards game against Indy in the playoffs and many fantasy owners will still have that fresh in their mind. If you own L.T. then you must own Sproles, but if you don’t, try to forget about those inflated numbers down the stretch and draft more of a sure thing.
('09 Proj: 400 yds, 400 yds rec, 6 touchdowns) ~Steve Cavanagh
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Exploded onto the scene at the end of last season with two huge performances in Week 17 and the first round of the playoffs. Those electric showings allowed San Diego to restructure the contract of running back LaDainian Tomlinson; the two are now set to enter into a committee-carry situation. Tomlinson should maintain the majority of carries, but Sproles’ big-play ability makes him attractive. Pay careful attention to San Diego’s draft; they may add a high-round running back to this mix.
('09 Proj: 100 carries, 900 total yards, 5 touchdowns) ~Stan Feldman
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He’s a mighty mite who’s a blast to watch, but unless your league scores extra points for receiving and/or special teams he’s not that valuable. He will never be anything more than a change of pace back. Six total touchdowns last season including five receiving gives him value as a backup but even if L.T. were to go down, Sproles likely would not be the back that benefits the most.
('09 Proj: 73 att, 372 yds, 2 touchdowns, 38 rec, 430 yds, 4 touchdowns) ~Robb Perkins
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Sproles is as quick as they come and has toughness that belies his 5'6 frame. However, he’s not an every-down back and, even if he takes more of the load this season from LaDainian Tomlinson, he likely never will be. Simply because Michael Turner went from being the Chargers’ backup to a star running back doesn’t mean it’s in the cards for Sproles.
('09 Proj: 90 att, 540 yds, 3 touchdowns) ~Frank Mazzola
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I'm surprised we're collectively this dumb. But lucky for us, the Chargers are collectively this dumb too, so the above projections won't be far off. The dude is 5'6" and 181 lbs. He's the tiniest of tiny running backs and I get that. I really do. But I double-dog DARE you to look around the NFL and find another back that, through three season's played, has averaged 5.1 yards per carry and finally set a career high of attempts per game last year (while L.T. was hopping and limping to 3.8 y.p.c.) of 3.8 carries per!? Let's not even get into the 29 receptions where he averaged an obscene 11.8 yard per. Of course he's not a workhorse back...but less than FOUR attempts a game! I don't like this situation at all for multiple reasons. I don't believe Tomlinson's 2008 was completely injury-related and it's painfully clear the staff aren't willing to hurt his feelings when the situation dictates. Not to mention the prospects of drafting yet another backfield option.
('09 Proj: 100 att, 1,000 total yds, 6 touchdowns) ~Rick Perkins