trim.375A2DE1-E510-4ECB-956A-922B4FD70D47 from Zack Cimini on Vimeo.

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All the fantasy rankings in the world do not matter when it comes to busts. They’re going to happen. Whether it’s first round talent, rookies, veterans, and received fantasy trades. Putting together a full roster is never going to be perfect. Here is a top ten list of potential fantasy busts for 2014.

1. Peyton Manning
Yes I’m putting Peyton Manning atop my list of possible busts for 2014. Manning’s track record showcases that he’ll never hit a wall barring injury. Sooner or later though the body breaks down and halts even the greats. Manning just a few years ago in his first season with Denver looked rusty. His arm was stale and the zip gone. He managed to regain it and performed fine a year ago. Much like an aging pitcher though, can Manning do it game in and game out for sixteen games? I expect his numbers to dip for over zealous fantasy owners.

2. Brandon Marshall
Sometimes you see such a strong offense that you become numbed to an emerging star. Chicago has that in the younger Alshon Jeffreys. Marshall has the connection with Cutler intact but I think we will see Jeffreys overtake Marshall in the fantasy department.

3. Andre Ellington
I wrote a column about the Cardinals historical success at tailback dating back to 1999. They’ve only had three seasons of 1,000 yard rushers. Emmitt Smith in the twilight of his career and back to back years from Edgerrin James. Ellington showed the same flash we’ve seen before in Cardinal backs such as Beanie Wells, Tim Hightower, and Michael Pittman. None ever transpired to fantasy success. Ellington may be different but where he is situated to be drafted doesn’t sit well with me.

4. Sammy Watkins
Everyone knows the sky is the limit for Watkins. He has endless talent. The problem is the Bills direction offensively. EJ Manuel will still be playing like a rookie based on the amount of games he missed a year ago. Secondly, they haven’t solved what direction they want to go at tail back. Watkins will be one of those receivers that has two to three standout games, but is MIA in the rest.

5. Vincent Jackson
The tall target in Vincent Jackson was the lone bright spot for a Buccaneers team that fell apart a year ago. Many of the same question marks remain in Tampa Bay. McCown was brought in to aid if Glennon can’t get the job done. In all likelihood he will end up on the field. Jackson still has talent but I think we’ll see a similar drop off in his production like we have seen from Marques Colston.

Others
6. CJ Spiller
7. DeSean Jackson
8. Trent Richardson
9. TY Hilton
10. Michael Crabtree

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The NL wild card race features both of these teams in the Reds and Cardinals. Just a week ago the Reds appeared to be in strong contention for a spot. They’ve had a rough stretch since, while the rest of the NL seems to be winning. St. Louis is one of those teams that has been winning with rejuvenated pitching and returned hitting.

Their bats coming alive have been the primary reason for their wins. Against San Diego and the Reds they have fought off issues with their relievers to come from behind or hold off rallies.

With so much momentum on the Reds bats and the Cardinals bats some bettors today are going to think automatically on the over in this matchup for a plus payout. Lets not greedy here. The line for the under was -115 and has moved to -130 on the under of 7.

Both pitchers have been outstanding as of late, and Cueto has been all year. Look for some normalcy in strong pitching tonight and a solid play on the under.

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Marks of careers are not always a splash out the gate like fantasy owners would like. General managers and coaches are just as impatient with player development. Well, maybe not to the extent of some fantasy owners, who’ll drop a player every other day. But there is certain value in player’s still in prominent roles that have yet to reach their potential.

Going into a fantasy football draft these type of players are likely on your radar as mid-round picks. They’re low-risk because other fantasy owners are concentrating on filling their starters and likely don’t have the same mindset as you for sleepers.

Of course if this “sleeper” pick doesn’t pan out its not the end of the world. They can end up being the next Beanie Wells or transform like Thomas Jones did.

Down in Miami stock is currently set low on running back Lamar Miller. Miami spent money to bring in Knowshown Moreno and the summer spotlight has been focusing on Miami new and improved offensive system. Eyes have been completely drawn off of Lamar Miller as the focus is on Ryan Tannehill, the coaching staff, and free agent additions.

For once though, Miller will be in prime position to get a firm stake as a Dolphins running back and therefore supplant himself on the fantasy radar. As a rookie, Miami’s offense was in disarray. They had poor weapons at the receiver and tight end position and were dealing with a rookie in Ryan Tannehill. Last year’s offense just had no rhyme or reason to it. The play calling was awful and affected not only Tannehill but the entire offense.

Not to mention the big scandal with the Dolphins offensive line with Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin. This came a year after losing offensive line centerpiece, Jake Long, to free agency to St. Louis. Throughout all the turmoil and rumor mill of what was going on with the MIami’s offensive line no one attributed the Dolphins poor ground game to it.

If anything you would of had to rate the Dolphins ground game last year above standard for the inconsistent play calling and issues with the offensive line. Stabilization is in place this year which can only mean growth for this team.

I believe Miller will have a mini-break out season for the Dolphins. Miller will be used more consistent even with the signing of Knowshown Moreno. Last year he had five games with over fifteen carries and six games with eight or fewer carries. That is a team choosing to abandon the running game similar to the Cowboys choose to.

If Miami develops a proper pattern of running the football I think Miller’s career will finally show progress.Years ago in the early 2000’s, Thomas Jones also had a rough time developing as a running back. It was not completely his fault as the Arizona Cardinals had no running game to think of developing.

Looking at both Jones and Miller you can draw comparisons of skill set and size. For the first three years of Jones career in Arizona he barely registered a 500 yard season. It took landing in Chicago and the New York Jets for Jones career to take off properly. The only difference from his tenure with those teams and Arizona was the utilization of Jones. Once he was used properly and consistently the results paid off for the teams that brought Jones in.

It’s not going to take Miller leaving Miami for the Dolphins to realize they made a mistake. They kept him on board as their starter for a reason. In practice he has shown the ability and in stints on the field he has as well.

If you’re looking for a bona-fide running back sleeper, Miller is your guy. The detraction of attention is there with the signing of Moreno. The drawback is stuck in fantasy minds due to his low touchdowns and ineffective use as a Dolphin.

Grab yourself a no-risk sleeper in Miller in the mid-rounds of your draft.

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Every year there are a crop of players from each respective NFL position that skies to a two-fold increase from their preseason rankings. Who will be the names we see do that from the running back position this year? Notjustagame.com profiles a few running backs to watch for a major leap in 2014.

Rashad Jennings
Sometimes veteran backs can finally get that major role and flourish for a couple of seasons. Jennings has caught the fantasy radar a few times before in starting roles for Jacksonville and Oakland. Those instances were only for a bundle of games while the starter was out with injury. In New York, Jennings should finally have an increased role especially with the retirement of David Wilson.

Lamar Miller
I’m happy that the Dolphins did not cast away Miller and write off the running back. His play on the field has shown that maybe he should not be given another chance. Miller has been far too inconsistent for a team with an inexperienced quarterback. In his first two seasons his competition was Daniel Thomas. Now he has a heralded back in Knowshown Moreno who will be emphasized in the Dolphins ground attack. It’s still Miller’s job though and he offers the better big play ability. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Thomas Jones type of resurrection from Miller. Jones took awhile to mature on the field and ultimately the Cardinals let him go. It took joining the Bears for Jones to develop. Look for Miller to turn heads this season in a much improved Dolphins offense.

LeGarrette Blount
For some reason Blount can not latch onto a team properly. Three seasons in Tampa Bay weren’t enough to for the Bucs to keep him longer. New England utilized him a year ago as a platoon back that panned out when injuries occurred. Now he is in Pittsburgh where he seemingly will be behind workmanlike back Leveon Bell. Remember Bell isn’t the most durable back and carried the football in college at a higher rate than some professional backs do these days.

Bishop Sankey
Tennessee has always been a team that has been able to produce quality fantasy running backs. Fantasy owners may be hesitant on picking up Sankey because of Shonne Greene and the new coaching staff. Sankey slipped in the NFL draft as far as I’m concerned. In the Pac-12 he was an unstoppable machine. Look for him to be a surprise and catch fire on fantasy radars.

Bryce Brown
Out in Buffalo something just did not seem right with the way the Bills used CJ Spiller last year. It seemed like he was underutilized purposely. For how he played the year prior there really was no reason to see the production drop off mandated by the coaching staff. Look for Brown to sneak in and grab ahold of a percentage from either Jackson or Spiller.

Others: Jeremy Hill, Mark Ingram, Carlos Hyde, and Donald Brown