There's no doubt that both Chris Johnson and DeAngelo Williams won a lot of
That being said ... who's the better bet for the long term in fantasy? Well, for starters, both appear to be locked into a tandem situation for a while; Stewart and LenDale White are both young and each do a superb job complimenting the two guys we're discussing here. Hence the hysterically overplayed 'Smash and Dash War'. (Again, guilty.)
Outside of "job security" (meaning touches and tandems), there are three other key components for a fantasy running back: big plays, environment and the feature factor. Yes, I am making these up; allow me to explain.
The edge that most folks would hand to Johnson has to be "explosiveness", a.k.a. the big play ... but that's kind of a tough argument to simply hand to the faster guy if you happened to watch Williams play at any point this year. Johnson is lighting quick, for sure, but when DeAngelo can cuts back to the outside, he looks almost unstoppable.
Environment -- thinking here of the rest of the team -- might actually be closer to a push. Yes, normally we would say that Jake Delhomme is better than Kerry Collins, but given Delhomme's game against the Cardinals and the final few months of the season, it's kind of tough to make that argument and feel good about yourself. The Titans defense is better, certainly, but the Panthers other offensive weapons and an offensive line that appears to be gelling quickly makes up for that.
So, presuming that Johnson is ahead -- I'll give him the BOOM factor for argument's sake -- with just the "feature factor" remaining, it seems pretty clear to me that DeAngelo is your pick for the future. Who had more touchdowns this year? Easy -- Williams. Why? Again, easy -- LenDale.
Stewart may take away from some of Williams' goal line touches, but for the most part, John Fox utilized them in the red zone on an equal basis. Jeff Fisher's choices with White and Johnson were vastly different, almost always utilizing the, um, heftier White around the end zone.
Couple in the fact that DeAngelo is far more likely to become "the man" in the sense of getting a full season, every game carry load, and it seems pretty simple (although either one is a great choice) that going forward, Williams is your selection in fantasy keeper leagues.
