Doug Martin will carry the load for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season. Lovie Smith called him the bell cow of the offense. We break down the fantasy implications.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin will be the "bell cow" of the team's offense this season, says head coach Lovie Smith, via the Associated Press. Smith said that Martin's role is even more prominent given the injuries to second-year running back Mike James and third-round pick Charles Sims.
Smith did say that backup Bobby Rainey will get some carries, but that "Doug is our bell cow." Martin rushed for 1,454 yards in 2012 and came up just short of 2,000 yards from scrimmage when adding in his receiving yards. Unfortunately, Martin played in only six games in 2013 due to injury. But he's back and healthy, and has looked solid in camp thus far.
Fantasy Impact: Martin doesn't have a lot of fantasy confidence at the moment, at least when it comes to where he's being drafted. Fantasy owners have been picking him up in the third round and that's probably a steal. There's no reason to suspect Martin won't return to form, and if he puts up something even remotely close to his 2012 numbers, he'll be an absolute steal in the third round. Fantasy owners should draft him with confidence.