RB Jamaal Charles UP

Charles was so much better than Thomas Jones in his first preseason game, albeit in limited action. Jones looked old on his two carries, managing 2 yards. Charles rushed for 37 yards on 4 carries and looked as good as he did to end last season, showing no signs of an lingering effects from his offseason shoulder injury. I literally cannot fathom how Todd Haley would start Jones over him.

RB Thomas Jones DOWN

Jones sucked in his first preseason game, especially in comparison to Jamaal Charles. I can’t see Jones starting this year or being very effective at all in the carries he gets.

RB Chris Wells DOWN

For someone who is supposedly a big sleeper this year, the fact that Wells barely saw any time with the first team in his first preseason game probably isn’t a good sign. I’m not saying that Tim Hightower is going to win the starting job, but you can’t forget he’s there. This guy did have 206 touches last year, to Wells’ 188. I don’t see any reason why Wells should be going in the 3^rd, as he is on average.

RB Tim Hightower UP

For his value, Hightower is a solid pickup as he’s going in the 110s on average. I wouldn’t mind having this guy as my RB4 in the 9^th or 10^th round. Wells is injury prone which means Hightower could get a start or two this season and the Cardinals made it clear in their first preseason game that they plan on using Hightower in some significant form this year. He’s a great pass catcher and Matt Leinart loves to checkdown.

 

RB Ben Tate DOWN

The possible rookie of the year went down with what appears to be a broken ankle and probably will miss his entire rookie year. Ouch.

RB Arian Foster UP

If Foster was in good position to start the season as Houston’s #1 back before, when Tate went down I think that sealed it. He might have to worry about Steve Slaton taking away some of his carries, but not enough to hurt him significantly. Foster is a great RB2, RB3, or flex option now.

RB Steve Slaton DOWN

He went from having no value to some with Tate’s injury. I still wouldn’t draft him except in deep leagues and only then on the off chance that Foster fumbles and Gary Kubiak goes berserk and chances backs. In the late rounds, I’d rather have someone like Larry Johnson, who has a legitimate chance at being his team’s starting running back at some point this season.

RB Justin Forsett DOWN

Forsett, a popular choice as Seattle’s starting back this year, didn’t get a single first team carry in his first preseason game. This could chance, but I have a hard time believing he’ll be the lead back after seeing that.

RB Julius Jones UP

He’s not talented, but if he becomes the lead back in Seattle he will have some value. How he was utilized in his first preseason game suggests that he could win the starting job. He’d still have to compete with Leon Washington and the much more talented Justin Forsett for carries, but as long as he was the lead back, he’d be a decent flex option, depending on the matchup.

WR Jeremy Maclin UP

Maclin was the most targeted Eagles receiver when Kolb was in the game, a very good sign because I wasn’t sure how the talented 2^nd year receiver would mesh with his new quarterback, given his inexperience.