Every season there are NFL players who are not able to repeat their solid performances from the prior season.

Whether it be because of injury, suspension or a new player being added to the team, you cannot just look at last season’s rankings and expect a player to duplicate the same performance the following season. Each season, the Maniaxs identify a list of 10 players that are not going to be desirable fantasy players a year after finishing high in the rankings. All 2009 fantasy rankings for this article are from www.profootballreference.com

1) RB Thomas Jones (Kansas City Chiefs)

He rushed for 1,402 yards and scored 14 rushing touchdowns in 2009, which put him sixth among running backs and 11th among all fantasy players. That was with the New York Jets, and when they saw RB Shonn Greene dominate the 2009 postseason with 54 rushes for 304 yards and two rushing touchdowns, they released Jones, and he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs already have a young emerging star in RB Jamaal Charles, who had 1,120 yards rushing and seven rushing touchdowns in 2009. They also added Mississippi RB Dexter McCluster in the second round, who should see a lot of time in the slot and in the backfield on third down.

I just cannot see Jones duplicating his 2009 season unless Charles goes down with an injury. He will probably finish in the high 30s to low 40s among fantasy running backs and is a late round choice as a fourth or fifth running back or handcuff to Charles.


2) RB Ricky Williams (Miami Dolphins)

Ricky Williams had a great 2009 season, rushing for 1,121 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. He also added 35 receptions for 264 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He did not start seeing significant action until starting RB Ronnie Brown was lost for the season, and Brown is coming back and will be taking carries away from Williams.

Williams is also going to be 33 years old and has 2,164 career carries. Even though he is in great shape, I do not expect him to have another season where he ranks seventh among fantasy running backs.

Expect him to finish in the mid 20s or high 30s with a reduced workload now that Brown is back and ready to carry the ball. The only good thing is that Brown is injury prone, so Williams may put up bigger numbers in the second half of the season, similar to what he did in 2009.


3) RB Matt Forte (Chicago Bears)

This is a situation where a struggling player is just not receiving much help from his franchise. In 2008, as a rookie he rushed for 1,238 yards, caught 63 passes for 477 yards and scored 12 touchdowns, which put him at fourth among fantasy running backs.

In 2009, he struggled behind a weak offensive line and had only 929 yards rushing, 57 receptions for 471 yards and four touchdowns, which put him at 18th. The Bears have not added a noteworthy offensive lineman this offseason, and they also signed RB Chester Taylor to take away carries.

I have Forte ranked 25th, but I would be more surprised if he finished 15th than 35th. I have very little confidence in him having a rebound season; I think he will continue down the path of fantasy bust.


4) QB Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers)

This is an easy one seeing he has been slapped with a six-game suspension that may be reduced to four games with good behavior. He finished ninth among fantasy quarterbacks last year with 4,328 yards passing, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

He also has a tough schedule coming back where he has two games against the Cincinnati Bengals, plus Baltimore, the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers—all tough pass defenses from last season. I cannot see him duplicating that success missing even four games against that schedule. I have him ranked 20th among all fantasy quarterbacks.

5) QB Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos)

It is not a good sign when the franchise not only trades for QB Brady Quinn but also drafts Florida rookie QB Tim Tebow in the first round. It is pretty much a sign that Orton does not fit into the long-term future of the Broncos.

Orton had 3,802 yards passing, 21 touchdowns, 12 picks and an 86.3 QB rating, but I just cannot see him duplicating those numbers this year. He will be lucky to be starting by Week Eight, much less finish 16th among fantasy quarterbacks like he did in 2009.

6) WR Santonio Holmes (New York Jets)

This is a similar problem to Big Ben; Holmes is being tagged with a four-game suspension to start 2010. Good luck being the 15th-ranked receiver for a second year in a row with a quarter of the season lost.

He also is in an inferior passing offense; the one he left in Pittsburgh finished ninth in passing yards and tied for seventh in passing touchdowns. The one he is joining was 31st in passing yards gained and 29th in touchdown throws. I expect better with QB Mark Sanchez entering his second year, but it is not going to be as good as Pittsburgh, and Holmes is at a real disadvantage with that suspension. I expect him to finish in the low 30s to high 40s among fantasy receivers.

7) RB Fred Jackson (Buffalo Bills)

He was a very serviceable running back last year, rushing for 1,062 yards and two touchdowns, as well as catching 46 passes for 371 yards and two touchdowns. That put him at 15th among fantasy running backs.

A crowded backfield that also had RB Marshawn Lynch just became even more crowded when the Bills selected RB C.J. Spiller with the ninth pick in the NFL draft. That is always bad news when a team spends a top-10 pick at the same position as another player, especially at running back, where rookies tend to be ready to contribute in their first year.

I think Jackson falls back to the mid 30s as Spiller takes away a lot of touches, especially later in the season, when the Bills will need Spiller to sell tickets with a last-place team.

8) RB Steve Slaton (Houston Texans)

People might be surprised to see him on my list, but I do not know if people realized that as bad as last year seemed, he still finished 33rd among fantasy running backs and 62nd among all players. I put him on the list because of his strong 2008 showing, when he was sixth among all running backs, and the fact that even though he struggled in 2009, he was injured for a number of games. In 11 games, he still had 437 yards rushing, 417 yards receiving and seven touchdowns.

I do not expect a bounce back though; the Texans drafted Auburn RB Ben Tate in the second round, and it was not to be an understudy to Slaton. I think the Texans are of the opinion that at 5’10” and 195 pounds, Slaton is just too small to be the every-down running back, and Tate is being brought to Houston to be the starter, whereas Slaton will be used as a change of pace and third down back.

I have Slaton ranked 41st this year, and depending on what happens in Houston, I would not be surprised if he slipped further. I think his rookie year was an abnormality; I do not expect him to ever approach those numbers again.

9) QB Jason Campbell (Oakland Raiders)

Campbell finally looked like he was starting to figure out the quarterback position in Washington last year, and he had 3,618 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, ranking 14th among fantasy quarterbacks.  Once the Skins acquired QB Donovan McNabb, there really was no reason to keep Campbell, and a change of scenery might not have been a bad thing.

That said, the Black Hole in Oakland was not what the doctor ordered. Campbell is very light on receivers and only has TE Zach Miller as a proven target to throw the ball to. I would be very surprised if he does much better than the 20s this year among fantasy quarterbacks. This player just cannot catch a break.

10) RB Willis McGahee (Baltimore Ravens)

Remember in 2008 when Titans RB Chris Johnson and RB LenDale White split carries in Tennessee? Johnson had 1,228 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, and White had 773 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns, finishing 19th among fantasy running backs. It just did not materialize in 2009 with White having only 222 yards rushing and two touchdowns, finishing 77th among fantasy running backs.

McGahee has the exact same problem; he had only 544 yards rushing last year but scored 14 touchdowns as the backup to starting RB Ray Rice, who like Johnson was in his first year as a starter. I just cannot see McGahee finishing 25th among fantasy running backs for a second straight year; I have him at 35th right now and would not be surprised if he fell down into the 40s or 50s. He turns 29 this year, and the Ravens are going to make sure Rice receives the majority of the touches with McGahee fighting for the scraps.