Flaunt your Willie!

Two weeks ago, with my second-round pick (#21 overall), I selected Willie Parker in our fantasy draft.

Among other noteable players, I passed on Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens, Carson Palmer and Reggie Bush.

Upon making this selection, here were some of the comments from other owners:

"Looks like you are on autodraft"
"I'm gonna enjoy whoppin your ass in week 6"
"WTF??"

Willie Parker is not listed as one of football's top-tiered backs (he is listed as #10 on one list at http://www.faketeams.com/story/2006/8/28/73627/0009) and that is understandable: the league is rife with hall of fame running backs. Tomlinson, Alexander, Larry Johnson, Barber will all be enshrined in Canton (provided they stay healthy). So it is understandable if Willie Parker gets overlooked.

But make no mistake about it: Willie Parker is going to have a monster season. I predict he will have at least 1500 yards and 12 TD's.

Consider:

1. Ben Roethlisberger's health. In games where Big Ben is not playing, expect Parker's carries to increase 10-20% I wouldn't characterize Ben as injury-prone, but he did miss 4 games last year. Plus, there is this emergency appendectomy, which means he won't play for at least the first game of the year. Expect Cowher to keep Charlie Batch on a short leash (won't let him throw as much), which should mean more carries for Parker.

2. The Bus is gone. There is no more Jerome Bettis to take his goal-line carries, so I would expect his TD total to at least double (from 4 to 8).

3. He is young and fast. Really fast. Young, quick running backs intrigue me from a fantasy perspective.

4. Antwaan Randle El. I think Steelers fans underestimated his worth. Losing him gives Pittsburgh one less big-play option downfield.

I am, for the most part, against making trades in the preseason. But if you have the chance to lock in Willie Parker, and you don't have to trade Alexander, Tomlinson, Johnson, or Ronnie Brown, then do it.