Ronnie Brown

Serving primarily as the Chargers' third-down back, Brown registered a career-high 49 receptions in 2012 under head coach Norv Turner. The arrival of Danny Woodhead in San Diego as well as a new offensive system likely means less work in the passing game, but at 6-0, 230, Brown is the best bet to see the early-down work should Ryan Mathews get injured again. Although Brown will turn 32 during the season, his own injury history has prevented him from hitting 1,500 career touches, so he may still have some spring left in his thick legs.

Signed in June, Brown should serve as Ryan Mathews’ primary backup, though Curtis Brinkley could also be in the mix for carries should Mathews go down. At 6-1, 233, Brown has excellent size, but at 30, injuries and age have cost him a step. Playing in a productive Eagles’ system last year, he averaged just 3.2 YPC on 42 totes, after managing a 3.7 YPC mark on 200 carries with the Dolphins in 2010. Brown is an able receiver out of the backfield, and his meager workload a year ago should make for fresh legs this season. He’s probably worth a late-round pick if you own Mathews. Just keep in mind that even if he were to be the team’s workhorse, he’d be unlikely to replicate Mathews’ production.

Typically Brown has been either productive or hurt, but he was neither last season, as he played in 16 games for just the second time in his six-year career and finished with a career-low 3.7 YPC with only five touchdowns. For backs who played at least 500 snaps, only Jahvid Best had a lower YPC after contact than Brown’s 2.1. Even 33-year-old Ricky Williams made Brown look sluggish by comparison. As a result, the Dolphins let him go and Brown took a one-year deal with the Eagles to backup LeSean McCoy, which will greatly limit any fantasy upside.

Brown racked up six touchdowns over the first five games last year but topped 75 rushing yards only three times before suffering a season-ending Lisfranc fracture in Week 10. He continued to be underused as a receiver and found himself in a timeshare with a rejuvenated Ricky Williams. In fact, Brown averaged 16.3 carries compared to Williams’ 11.7 before Miami’s backfield became a one-man show after Brown’s injury. Brown can remain plenty valuable, even in a committee, as he was given 16- goal-line carries last year, which tied for the seventh-most in the NFL, in essentially half a season’s work. Brown is powerful yet also elusive in the open field and is one of the more complete backs in the league, but he’s also injury prone. He’s played a full 16-game schedule just once during his six-year career and has suffered devastating injuries in two of the past three campaigns. He underwent surgery on his Lisfranc fracture in November and is expected to be 100 percent come Week 1, but it’s a serious injury with no guarantees. Williams himself was worked hard down the stretch and will be 33 this season, which is beyond ancient for the running back position, so he enters 2010 as a significant injury risk, too. Brown could be a top- 10 fantasy back if things break right, but only an injury to Williams can prevent another committee situation. And Brown is returning from a serious injury and remains a major health risk so draft with caution in regards to him.

Brown totaled 1,170 yards with 10 touchdowns during his return from a torn ACL last season, playing in all 16 games for the first time in his four-year career. He averaged 4.8 YPC over the final seven games, so he clearly got stronger as the season progressed. The team didn’t utilize him nearly as much as a receiver as it did in 2007, but he’s capable of improvement in that area in 2009. The 10 scores were easily a career-high, but four of those came in Week 3 when the team caught New England by surprise with the Wildcat formation, so that total is a bit skewed. At 6-0, 232, Brown isn’t super quick or all that fast, but he displays excellent patience, vision and hits the hole with authority. He converted six of his 13 goal-line attempts for touchdowns and has been efficient in those situations throughout his career. Frustratingly, Brown was part of a timeshare last year with Ricky Williams, who got 160 carries despite inferior production. Williams is 32 years old and approaching 2,000 career carries, so it would be surprising if his workload doesn’t decrease in 2009. Brown will be another year removed from knee surgery, and though there were rumblings of him possibly getting traded during the offseason, he’s clearly the team’s best offensive player, so expect an increase in touches. Miami’s offensive line is young and improving, as is the team’s defense. However, the offense could take a step back this year if Chad Henne takes over quarterback duties at some point, which seems likely. Still, Brown is in a contract year, and he totaled 991 yards in 6.5 games just two years ago, so there’s plenty of potential. At age 27 with just 781 career rushing attempts, Brown remains fresh and could be one of the more undervalued commodities come draft time.

Despite playing in a woeful offense, Brown was fantasy football's best running back before suffering a torn ACL last season. Through seven games, he was on pace to finish with 2,265 total yards and 11 touchdowns. Brown put his previous fumbling problems behind him and averaged 5.1 YPC. The season wasn’t even half over, and he had already racked up 39 catches for 389 receiving yards, setting new career-highs in both categories. The second overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Brown always had this potential, but he never approached it until last year. A perfect combination of size and speed, Brown also sports tremendous vision and is a major threat as a receiver. Moreover, the team rebuilt its offensive line by taking Jake Long and Shawn Murphy in the draft and also added Justin Smiley through free agency. However, there's still a major concern with the quarterback position, and this is a team in rebuilding mode. Brown is on track in his recovery from knee surgery, making sharp cuts on his right knee during the team's workouts in May and is expected to be a full participant at training camp. However, it often takes two years before players with ACL injuries return to their former selves, so some explosiveness may be missing in 2008. There's talk of a backfield committee with Ricky Williams, and a lighter workload makes sense for Brown coming off such an injury. However, Williams is 31 years old and has played in just one game since 2005, so if Brown can prove he's healthy, the majority of the work should fall into his capable hands.

With Ricky Williams gone, Brown finally got his chance to become Miami’s primary ballcarrier last year. While the results weren’t great, keep in mind that Brown missed three games to a broken hand and averaged more than four yards a carry behind a poor offensive line and with a passing offense that didn’t deter safeties from creeping into the box. Brown was also effective around the goal line, converting 5-of-11 carries into scores. Now that Williams has again tested positive for performance diminishing drugs, Brown will almost certainly have the backfield to himself again this season. New coach Cam Cameron engineered LaDainian Tomlinson’s record-setting season last year, and he reunites with offensive line guru Hudson Houck, so the coaching should put Brown in position to succeed. What could be problematic, however, is the Dolphins’ porous offensive line and questionable quarterback play. Daunte Culpepper is likely out the door, leaving Cleo Lemon, rookie John Beck or Trent Green (if acquired) as Miami’s probable signal caller. While that situation is far from ideal, Brown proved to be moderately effective last year with an ineffective Culpepper and Joey Harrington at the helm, so he’s been there before.

Brown put up respectable numbers for a rookie in 2005 (907 yards, 4.4 YPC), totals that look more impressive when you realize just how much of the workload he was sharing with Ricky Williams. Only three times last season did Brown get 20 or more carries in a game, hitting for 100-plus yards twice on those weeks. (By comparison, Williams was 2-for-2 reaching the 100-yard mark in games where he got 20 or more carries). With Williams now out of the picture for 2006, Brown will have the starting RB job all to himself. Moreover, the Dolphins could actually have a legitimate passing attack to complement him if Daunte Culpepper (knee) is healthy at the start of the season. Brown did miss a game at the end of the last year due to an ankle injury, but having Williams around allowed Miami to be cautious with him, and durability wasn’t thought to be an issue with Brown coming out of college. Another issue with Brown was his ineffectiveness in the red zone last year (9.1 percent, 3-for-33), but Williams fared no better (3-for-30). Given that Chris Chambers saw nearly as many red zone touches as either RB and led the team in red zone scores (8-for-29) the fault would seem to lie more with the play-calling than with Brown or Williams. With last season’s offensive coordinator, Scott Linehan, gone, and the conservative Mike Mularkey on board, expect Brown’s number to be called a good deal from in close this season – though Culpepper could steal some goal line looks as well, if healthy.

Of the three big-ticket rookie backs, only Brown has a virtual guarantee to open the season with the starting job to himself. The possible return of Ricky Williams, who would almost certainly have to serve a four-game suspension, clouds things a bit for Brown, but at press time, Williams weighs just 200 pounds (down from his former playing weight of 236) and hasn’t yet signed with the team or been reinstated by the NFL. At 6-0, 233 pounds and running a 4.44 40, Brown has the power to run over tacklers and the speed to run by them. He’s strong enough to move the pile in short yardage, and he’s fast enough to get outside for big gains. Brown’s also a good blocker and a polished route-runner and receiver. If Brown has a weakness, it’s that he’s not particularly shifty, and he won’t cut back or change direction quickly. With a new coach in Nick Saban, a new offensive coordinator in Scott Linehan and quite possibly a new quarterback in Gus Frerotte, it’s hard to tell just how much improvement the Dolphins offense will show, but with the addition of Brown to go with wide receivers Chris Chambers, Marty Booker as well as tight end Randy McMichael, Miami does have good talent at the skill positions.