Dominic Rhodes

Rhodes never caught on in Oakland and is back in Indianapolis where he spent the rest of his career. He'll no longer be in a platoon with Joseph Addai, who has taken over as the unquestioned starter, but he will spell Addai from time to time and should see a similar role to the one Kenton Keith played last season. He would become the starter if Addai were to get hurt, although Keith and Mike Hart would receive a portion of the carries as well.

After starting 16 games for the Colts last year, Rhodes signed with the Raiders in the offseason. Will start the season with a 4 game suspension stemming from a DUI arrest in winter. But Rhodes is right in the thick of a challenge for Oakland's starting tailback job once he returns. He's nothing special, averaging just 3.0 and 3.4 YPC during the last two seasons in a great offense in Indy, but he has some receiving skills. Early speculation prior to his suspension had him as the favorite to start Week 1, but this looks like a backfield by committee, either way. Rookie Michael Bush also figures to be heavily involved by the second half of the season.

Rhodes, Edgerrin James’ long-time backup, will get first crack at replacing him in 2006. He’s more of a north-south runner than Edge is, but he still has the speed and pass-catching ability the Colts like in their feature backs. His YPC tumbled last year to 3.0, but he battled a shoulder injury much of the season, and the sample size is small enough that it shouldn’t be a worry – his 4.5 figure over his career gives a better idea of what he’s capable of, if not his performance in 2001 (233 carries, 1,104 yards, nine TDs) when James was out of commission. Rhodes did an excellent job in limited touches in the red zone in 2005 (4-for-14), but over the last three years his conversion rate is a more realistic 16.2 percent (6-for-37). Rhodes will also have to fight off first round pick Joseph Addai to keep the job, and a time share is a strong possibility. Rhodes’ familiarity with the Colts system should make him the favorite for the feature back role at least early on, however.

Rhodes will back up Edgerrin James. He didn't receive too many opportunities last season, but in the brief periods when he was with the first-team offense he showed he was back to full speed in his second year back from his own torn ACL. Rhodes averaged a career-high 4.9 yards per carry that included one 55-yard run. He should be able to step right in and produce in the high-powered offense should James get hurt.

Rhodes returns as Egerrin James' backup after returning from a torn ACL that caused him to miss the 2002 season. Rhodes was slow to come back from his knee injury and also suffered a shoulder injury that combined limited him to just 157 yards on 37 carries. Still, this is the same player who rushed for 1,104 yards in 2001 and it usually takes two years to fully return from knee surgery. With the release of Ricky Williams he also faces less competition if James is hurt. He should be a solid reserve pick.

After tearing it up in place of Edgerrin James for 2001, Rhodes tore his ACL in training camp last season. If he can prove that he's healthy, and that's far from a sure thing, he'll be given a chance to compete for the #2 spot on the depth chart this season.