Ryan Mathews, RB, San Diego Chargers

June 29, 2010 @ 18:00:00

By Cory J. Bonini
Edited by Bryce McRae

Ryan Mathews | San Diego Chargers | 6-foot, 218 pounds | Rookie

2010 Projected NFL/Fantasy Football Statistics

Run Att		Run Yds		Run TD		Rec		Rec Yds		Rec TD		Tot TD
Lo	Hi	Lo	Hi	Lo	Hi	Lo	Hi	Lo	Hi	Lo	Hi	Lo	Hi
181	221	860	1010	8	10	24	30	182	228	0	1	8	11

Pros: Fresno State's Mathews enters a fantastic situation with the high-octane Chargers' offense. Arguably the most complete back in the draft, Mathews has size, speed, breakaway ability, vision and quality hands. He'll fit right into the Chargers' system and should received ample touches to shine in '10. Head coach Norv Turner expects Mathews to touch the ball around 290 times. The Bolts have so many offensive weapons it will be tough for defenses to key in on Mathews. The AFC West isn't exactly known as a defensive division, and Mathews plays at least half of his games in sunny San Diego. Despite the perception that San Diego abandoned the run last year, they still checked in with the 15th most rushing attempts from the running back position. Not great, but better than you probably expected.

Cons: The Chargers' offensive line is below average but not terrible. Their running backs produced a 3.5 yards-per-carry average, but left tackle Marcus McNeill is holding out and says he's prepared to take it into the regular season. Darren Sproles is still on roster and will come in to relieve Mathews every few series and often on third down. That is not an indictment of Mathews' blocking skills but rather just how Turner runs his offense. Mathews had issues with staying healthy at Fresno State.  

Fantasy tip: The most versatile rook is being drafted 16th overall, on average, and be willing to spend a late first-rounder or early second-rounder if you want to secure his services. His value should increase slightly in point-per-reception setups. Mathews is technically a sleeper, but the cat is out of the bag at this point. He comes with a fair amount of risk, but running back is probably the easiest position for a player to excel at as a rookie. It likely goes without saying: You need to draft a deeper RB corps than normal if Mathews is your No. 1.

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Cory J. Bonini

Cory J. Bonini is a senior editor at KFFL. In late 2002, Bonini joined the KFFL staff as a research analyst. He vaulted himself into one of the industry's leading fantasy analysts.

Bonini has been involved in fantasy sports since 1996. A member of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association as well as Fantasy Sports Writers Association, he has been featured in print, on the radio and is also a published writer on scores of sites. Bonini co-hosted Big Lead Sports on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio from 2011 to 2012.

Bonini was recognized with the 2010 Best Article in Print Award from the FSWA and was a finalist for the same award in 2011. In '11, he finished first overall in the FSWA NFL experts challenge that featured 60 of the industry's best competitors.

Follow him on Twitter @CoryKFFL

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