Johnson Beefing Up

Bengals running back Rudi Johnson was one of the biggest busts in fantasy football last year thanks in large part to a nagging hamstring injury that knocked him out of five games and seven starts. A year ago, Rudi was universally ranked amongst the top-10 running backs and was even in the top five on many lists. In fact, the magazine I used to publish, Fanball's Fantasy Football Weekly ranked him fourth at running back in the 2007 Annual Guide. Why so high? Johnson didn't carry the high-end expectations of guys like LaDainian Tomlinson or Steven Jackson, however, his consistency was amazing. From 2004 to 2006, Johnson rushed for exactly 12 touchdowns each season and amassed between 1,300 and 1,460 yards.

Most figured, entering last year, that you could easily pencil him in for a repeat. Then the hamstring injury struck and completely ruined his season, limiting his production to 497 yards and three touchdowns. Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little.

The good news, however, is that 2008 is the perfect chance to buy low on Johnson because he still has the ability to be a top-10 fantasy back. Currently, Rudi is nowhere near the top-10 running backs on my cheat sheet, but that is already starting to change. The news out of Cincy so far this offseason is promising. First, the Bengals did not take a running back in the draft and passed on the opportunity to sign free agent Shaun Alexander. Secondly, Johnson showed up to Bengals voluntary workouts yesterday completely healed from the hammy injury and had bulked up his upper body via weight-lifting from 212 to 225 pounds, his ideal playing weight. "Last year when I got hurt, it was definitely frustrating for me," Johnson told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "I wanted to come back stronger, more powerful than I've ever been."

This is the kind of offseason news fantasy players love. As such, you can expect to see Rudi continue to climb in my rankings. I'm still a little skeptical given all the chaos in Cincy (see: Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh) but Johnson is still only 28 years old (he turns 29 in October) so he probably has one or two good years left. There's no reason he can't employ his muscled-up frame to net him another 10-touchdown season... at least as long as he stays healthy.