2008 NFL Fantasy Football Player Profile-Marion Barber III

RB Marion Barber III, Dallas Cowboys

2007 Stats: 975 rushing yards, 282 receiving yards, 12 total TDs
Projected 2008 Stats: 1324 rushing yards, 295 receiving yards, 16 total TDs
Projected Fantasy Round: 1st Round
Running backs to be picked ahead of Marion Barber III: LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Joseph Addai, etc.

Fantasy Outlook:

Why you should draft Marion Barber III: Over the last two seasons as a backup, Barber has averaged 814 rushing yards and 14 total touchdowns. Despite only once having more than 20 carries, Barber still had six games in 2007 where surpassed 80 rushing yards.  Barber has now been named the starter, which means his carries and production should increase significantly. 

Why you may want to stay away from drafting Marion Barber III: Last season, Barber was finally given a chance to start in the playoff game against Giants where he ran over the G-Men in the first half, but ran out of gas in the second half.  In other words, it remains to be seen if Barber can handle the bulk of the carries for an entire season. 

Bottom Line: Barber runs with a purpose and is near impossible to arm tackle, which has earned him the starting job.  Furthermore, he has averaged 4.8 yards per carry for two years in a row, and he has a nose for the end zone. Consequently, he should be viewed as an upper echelon fantasy running back.