Buy or Sell: LeGarrette Blount

LeGarrette Blount
ADP: 79.4
RB: 30

The 2014 season got off to a rough start for LeGarrette Blount. He played little behind Le’Veon Bell in Pittsburgh and then was released after leaving the field early during a game with Tennessee.

That led Blount back to New England, where Bill Belichick installed him as the starting RB during a Super Bowl run.

Blount must serve a one-game suspension at the start of this season. Will his performance the rest of the way be helpful to fantasy footballers? Or will past sins pop up in the present?

Buy: Vomhof

I know, I know. You don’t trust Bill Belichick—and why should you?—but LeGarrette Blount is well worth the gamble this year.

Blount has scored 16 touchdowns in 18 career games with the Patriots, and Belichick clearly trusts him as the lead the lead back. He became the starter immediately after the club signed him last season, carrying the ball 107 times for 470 yards and six TDs in five regular-season games and three in the postseason.

Sure, he’ll miss the season opener due to a suspension, but I fully expect him to be the starter Week 2. If he retains the job, he could easily finish the season as a top-15 fantasy running back.

There will be down weeks, no doubt. But you can mitigate some of that frustration by playing the matchups to predict the game script.

If you expect the Patriots to win—and they will more often than not—then start Blount. They’ll use him to pound the rock and eat the clock, and he’ll likely cross the goal line at least once.

Blount is a steal at his seventh-round ADP, where he’s going after guys like Joique Bell, T.J. Yeldon, Giovani Bernard and Rashad Jennings. And his TD-scoring potential makes him an excellent RB2 if you choose to wait on running backs this year.

Sell: Andy

There are some high-risk activities that intrigue me. Skydiving, for example, looks like a lot of fun. My wife and several friends think I’m crazy, but I’ve always wanted to Run with the Bulls in Spain. But drafting LeGarrette Blount on a fantasy team?

The thought makes me shudder.

Blount first hit national headlines when he punched an opposing player in the face following a college game. The eight games he missed actually were the second suspension he served for Oregon, missing a quarter the year before for not following team rules.

He threw a punch at a teammate during training camp with Tennessee in 2010 – an incident largely dismissed by coach Jeff Fisher. He stayed mostly out of trouble for a few years with Tampa and New England, but was released last year by Pittsburgh after being arrested for marijuana possession in August and then leaving the field early during a game against the Titans in November. That led to his return to New England, where Blount was actually rewarded for his bad behavior with a starting job and a Super Bowl ring. The marijuana incident is what led to a one-game suspension to start this season.

Then, reportedly, at the beginning of camp, he failed a conditioning test.

If you can keep Blount on the field, you still have to contend with the Belichick way. Blount could be looking All World and the Pats’ coach might replace him with Jonas Gray or James White or, who the hell knows, tackle Nate Solder might lead the team in carries some week.

Who needs that kind of headache? No thanks.

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