Despite being one of the best running backs in the NFL, Maurice Jones-Drew plummeted on most people’s fantasy draft charts before the season began. Most fantasy owners were concerned that MJD missed two games last year with a knee injury. They were worried he wouldn’t be recovered from offseason knee surgery. MJD is an avid fantasy football player, so he was well aware of the concerns. He said in August he was out to prove those “fantasy football gurus” wrong.
“Pretty much every reporter, ‘Will he be back, is it possible to come back and do what he’s done?’” Jones-Drew said regarding the questions he had been hearing. “A lot of fantasy football gurus who have never stepped on the field before or ever been in the locker room, they know the best about football.”
Jones-Drew promised he would prove the critics wrong, and he was right. The man coming off knee surgery leads the NFL in carries (277) and rushing yards (1,222). He also recorded his first career four-touchdown game Sunday.
MJD ran for two and caught two more scores in the Jags’ 41-14 win over the Bucs. In a year where so many fantasy running backs have been hurt — Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Fred Jackson, and Darren McFadden to name a few — it’s incredible that the man who entered the season with the most questions has turned out to be the most reliable of the bunch. He’s had at least 84 rushing yards in 12 of his team’s 13 games. Not bad for a guy with a bum knee. It’s time for Maurice Jones-Drew to be recognized for what he is — one of the best running backs in the NFL.
