Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland Raiders

August 31, 2010 @ 18:00:00

By Cory J. Bonini
Edited by Ryan R. Bonini

Darren McFadden | Oakland Raiders | 6-foot-2, 210 pounds | 3rd year

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
226	266	1047	1197	4	6	66	72	541	590	1	3	5	9

Pros: Justin Fargas is gone, so the three-man committee has dwindled to a two-man gig between McFadden and Michael Bush. JaMarcus Russell, the team's former deer-in-headlights quarterback, is gone, and Jason Campbell now steers the ship. The passing game, for the first time in McFadden's career, should be respectable instead of atrocious. He can shift around with ease on the field and is a very capable receiver. The Raiders are improving rapidly on defense, which should take the offense out of constant catch-up scenarios. Bush suffered a fractured thumb but may be able to play in Week 1.

Cons: McFadden dealt with a hamstring injury in training camp but should be fine for Week 1. The Raiders seem content going with the hot hand on a game-by-game basis, so if McFadden doesn't start hot, he may not be given an opportunity to rebound. McFadden has durability concerns, as he hasn't made it more than 13 games in his two years in the pros. His yards per attempt dipped to 3.4 last year, but defenses had no reason to respect the passing game. Also concerning is he fumbled five times last year, losing three of them. That gives him eight fumbles, with four lost, in two years.

Fantasy tip: McFadden has all of the tools to be a productive fantasy back. In his third year, he needs to turn that talent and potential into production. If you want a true gamble, McFadden definitely fits the high-risk label. This time around, however, he doesn't come at that expensive of a cost. He is going in the ninth round, on average, which makes him a more attractive gamble than in the past. He is capable of being a 1,000-yard back, the Raiders just need to give him the opportunities and stick with him. In point-per-reception formats, he provides better potential return on your investment, too. We'd be far more comfortable with him as our No. 4 back. Let him force you to get him in the lineup.

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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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