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2015 Fantasy Football Draft Guide

By Nate Williams

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Dec 21, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans running back

Arian Foster

(23) during the game against the Baltimore Ravens at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Injury Prone Players… Avoid them?

Let’s be somewhat honest here — almost all players have suffered what could be considered a “serious” injury at some point during their collegiate or early professional careers. Still though, there is certainly a stigma out there at draft time when it comes to players that have missed significant time in recent memory. Just look at this year.

Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

As we enter 2015, the future Hall-of-Famer that is Peyton Manning is going in the fifth round in most mock drafts. While I strongly encourage you to wait on a QB until at least the middle of round two, having Manning drop to the fifth is drastic in comparison to last year.

Then there are guys like Houston Texans running back, Arian Foster. In the months leading up to the draft there was considerable hype around Foster once again. There were also those that were mildly worried about his durability. Despite missing time in 2014 however, Foster put up 1,600 yards on his way to becoming the fifth highest scoring running back last season. Not bad for someone with a six game deficit on the stat sheets.

Then came 2015. Just two weeks into most teams minicamp sessions, Foster is already out for at least eight games (the Texans also have a bye in week nine). The fact remains that the shelf life of NFL running backs continues to be short.

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Changing gears a bit — how about Rob Gronkowski? His value is considerably high this season, (ADP of 7) despite his known past of injury concerns. Is the reward greater than the risk?

For myself, I do tend to avoid the guys with recent durability issues, at least in the first few rounds. What I will do though is draft them late if it’s at the right value. Me, I will avoid Gronk, Megatron, Etc considering people will likely reach for them.

Nate Williams is an Editor, Columnist, and resident Fantasy Football guru for FanSided and SideLion Report. For continued Fantasy Football news, rumors and analysis, be sure to give him a follow on twitter at @NateWilliamsFS.

Next: Fantasy Football Power Rankings 2.0: Top 20 Running Backs

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