Lions Rookie RB Jahivid Best Considered Frontrunner.

Coachnorm

Coachnorm

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With the Lions taking Jahvid Best in the first round of last week's draft, Smith (knee) has likely slipped to No. 2 on the depth chart, the Detroit Free Press reports. With Kevin Smith coming off of ACL surgery with a timetable that may not coincide with the start of the season Best could end up as the Starter. Best could start out the season as a great starting option but Smith when fully healed may take charge later on if Best hits the rookie wall.
 
I love Best, but you cant count smith out yet. The injury hurt, so Best may get enough carries to take the leading role, but before that injury, smith was productive. Best was a good draft choice as assurance that they could continue to maintain a run game even if smith can't be what he was.
 
I doubt Smith will be ready for the season so Best will be the starter IMO. Once Smith gets healthy, we might see a RBBC in Detroit.
 
Best would be a fair selection as a #3 or #4 RB in a full redraft; in a dynasty league, is he not #3 or #4 overall quality?
 
(nfl.com)It's only one practice during a set of OTAs, but the Lions are getting a good look at what running back Jahvid Best can do. Taking extended reps with the first-team offense during the drills portion of work, Best flashed strong cuts in his running along with the speed to beat coverage out of the backfield. The Detroit Free Press noted that Best made a great catch speeding down the left sideline on one play, hauling in a pass behind the defense.
 
rotoworld,
Rookie Jahvid Best was working with the kickoff returners in Thursday's practice.

We wouldn't make too much of this. Coach Jim Schwartz indicated that any time Best sees as a returner will hinge on his offensive role. All indications point toward the rookie in the feature back role, which means very little -- if any -- special teams work.
Source: MLive.com
 
rotoworld,
According to Lions beat writer Tom Kowalski, coach Jim Schwartz intends to give Jahvid Best a full workload as the team's starting running back despite concerns about Best's size and durability.

Schwartz will model Best's usage on mentor Jeff Fisher's heavy reliance on Chris Johnson in Tennessee, which is phenomenal news for Best's fantasy value. While he may be a boom-or-bust pick, Best's upside will be similar to Steve Slaton's as a rookie (1,659 total yards, 10 all-purpose scores, No. 6 overall fantasy RB), and Best is already a better play-maker than Slaton.
Source: MLive.com
 
mudloggerone said:
rotoworld,
According to Lions beat writer Tom Kowalski, coach Jim Schwartz intends to give Jahvid Best a full workload as the team's starting running back despite concerns about Best's size and durability.

Schwartz will model Best's usage on mentor Jeff Fisher's heavy reliance on Chris Johnson in Tennessee, which is phenomenal news for Best's fantasy value. While he may be a boom-or-bust pick, Best's upside will be similar to Steve Slaton's as a rookie (1,659 total yards, 10 all-purpose scores, No. 6 overall fantasy RB), and Best is already a better play-maker than Slaton.
Source: MLive.com
Click to expand...

I knew he would be the feature back. This is very interesting news for Best and his fantasy value. Also for Stafford and Megatron.
 
(cbssports.com)The Detroit Free Press reports Lions rookie RB Jahvid Best could see time on kickoff returns in addition to being the starter this season. The Lions plan to use Best in several different ways, hoping he can do everything from break explosive runs out of the backfield to make big catches from the slot. They also had him returning kicks Thursday. "He's working there, and he did that at Cal," coach Jim Schwartz said. "I think there's a lot of ground to be covered before we actually return a kick this year, but yeah, he'll definitely be in the mix." Best had a lengthy injury history at Cal. Given his value on offense, do the Lions want to risk exposing him on special teams? "It really depends on his offensive role," Schwartz said. "It's really not so much an issue of fear of injury. You can say that about every position on the field, kickers included. There's a chance that you can get hurt on every single play. You can't let that dictate a guy's playing time and everything else. I think the biggest thing is what his role is on offense, who else is returning, and doing what's best for the team in that regard, not worrying about injury."


Analysis: We expect Best to start, especially if Kevin Smith is limited by his knee injury to open training camp, and Smith is a candidate for the PUP list. Keep an eye on if Best is used as a return man because that could increase his injury risk, but we expect him to be solid in his rookie year. He is worth drafting as early as Round 4 or 5 in seasonal leagues, and Best should be considered a first-round pick in all rookie-only drafts.


The Lions would be nutz to use Best in the return game, absolute nuts if they use him there before Kevin Smith is 100%.
 
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