Doug Martin (RB, TB) – 2015 Fantasy Football Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Target in rounds 7-10 as RB3 / RB4

ADP: 89 STD, 72 PPR

ANALYSIS: Doug Martin is one of the more interesting players heading into this year’s fantasy football season. Going into the 2013 season, Martin was a top-five pick before he was plagued with a season-ending injury halfway through the campaign. Last year, he was being drafted in the third and fourth rounds as a high-end RB2 only to have an extremely disappointing and injury-plagued season.

This off-season, Martin’s starting position was put to question with second-year RB Charles Sims reportedly pushing him for the job. Several weeks into training camp, it's now believed that Martin would remain the early-down back and probably lose passing duties to Sims.

People forget the kind of season that Martin had as a rookie, when he finished as the second-best fantasy running back overall. In that year, Martin totaled over 1,900 total yards with 12 TDs. In the two seasons since then, he has barely topped 1,000 yards combined and has only found the endzone three times.

This year, Martin is lining up behind the strong arm of rookie QB Jameis Winston and the catching abilities of WRs Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson. This is a stronger offense than the Buccaneers have had in quite some time. Even in Martin’s rookie season, the quarterback was Josh Freeman, a mediocre player who did not possess the potential and strength that Winston has.

Winston’s arm strength and the talent on the outside will keep opposing teams from stacking the box, opening up more rushing lanes for Martin. A safe expectation for Martin is for him to finish as a RB2 with close to 1,300 total yards (around 1,000 yards rushing). You can likely expect seven to nine total touchdowns as well.