James Gilbert

Gilbert was cheated out of the majority of his 2017 season after suffering a season-ending thumb injury in early September, but he appears to be primed for a bounce-back year following an outstanding 2016 campaign (1,332 rushing yards and 12 scores). He figures to be handcuffed by Caleb Huntley, who took advantage of Gilbert’s absence last season and rushed for 1,003 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games. Aside from rostering two extremely capable backs, Ball State’s offense will also benefit from the return of Riley Neal, who went down with a leg injury a season ago. Despite the Cardinals running a fairly balanced offense (53.11 percent run percentage, 61st in FBS), Gilbert’s injury history could make him a risky fantasy play for the upcoming season.

The Cardinals may be heading for another middling season, but Gilbert alone makes them a team to watch. As a sophomore in 2016, Gilbert finished second in the MAC behind Kareem Hunt in rushing yards (1,332) and his 12 rushing touchdowns tied him for the lead in the conference. Though he's compact at 5-8, 200, Gilbert showed he's capable of shouldering a full workload last season with 251 carries over 12 games (20.92 per game), which ranks 5th among returning backs in the nation. Gilbert should see heavy volume once again this season as the centerpiece of Ball State's run-heavy attack, and while he'll be a focal point for opposing defenses, Gilbert should once again end the season as one of the MAC's top backs

Gilbert worked in a timeshare with fellow running back Darian Green last year, with Green earning most of the passing down work and Gilbert taking up the short-yardage and goal-line work. Gilbert's eight touchdowns from last year are a matter of some intrigue, but it's generally hard to see fantasy upside here given Green's presence and superior rushing efficiency (5.0 YPC in 2015 compared to Gilbert's 4.0 YPC).