Fantasy Football's Polarizing Players: The Detroit Running Backs

(Editor's note: From now until the start of the season, VICE Sports will look at some of fantasy football's most polarizing players. You can read previous installments here)

The fantasy football world shook when Ameer Abdullah took a handoff in the Detroit Lions' first preseason game, drifted to his right, and then stuck his foot into the turf and blasted through a hole with a hard cut left.

Meanwhile, Joique Bell looked on from the sideline.

Bell, a presumptive starter who is recovering from knee and Achilles' cleanup surgeries, hasn't done anything in pads yet. But as fantasy football's No. 14 running back last year (and No. 7 from Week 10 forward), he doesn't have to prove much of anything. Yet in the long, long run-up to fantasy drafts, standing still gets you lapped. After Abdullah's 45-yard scamper against the New York Jets in that first game, his hype train reached full speed.

As of late July, Bell was being drafted on average near the end of the fifth round in 12-team fantasy leagues, according to FantasyFootballCalculator.com. Now? He's going at the end of the seventh. And he hasn't done anything yet!

But that's a fantasy football summer for you. We're looking to find love, and Abdullah fits the bill. An electric runner at the University of Nebraska, the rookie was Detroit's second-round draft pick who has the lower-body explosiveness that makes his ability to change direction borderline insane. He's a good pass catcher and a big-play threat right away. And since the Cut Heard 'Round the World against the Jets, he's seen his average draft position rise from mid-sixth to early fourth.

Early fourth!

Keep in mind, Abdullah has never taken a regular-season snap in the NFL, and is on a roster with a starting running back who's scored eight TDs and logged over 1,000 scrimmage yards in each of the past two seasons while essentially serving as a part-time player. While Bell is a sturdy 230 pounds, Abdullah goes 5'9'' and around 200 pounds. Plus, Abdullah had fumbling problems in college: 23 in four years, 16 of which he lost. There's no doubting Abdullah's play-to-play upside, but his role is well shy of guaranteed! All he needs to do is fumble once on opening day, and it could be the David Wilson Doghouse all over again for a touted RB prospect.

Listen, I get it. We all love the bright and shiny object with the flashy collegiate numbers (Abdullah scored 22 TDs at Nebraska last year alone), who haven't been sullied by NFL reality yet. Then there's trepidation that Bell's recovery time indicates his surgeries were more serious than previously billed.

I'm just having a difficult time imagining a world where Bell—if healthy—is not a major part of the Lions' backfield. He's the thumper. He's the direction the NFL is going. When there's a platoon, do you typically want the smaller, quicker guy for your fantasy team, or do you want the TD maker? Jeremy Hill or Giovani Bernard? Mark Ingram or C. J. Spiller? Carlos Hyde or Reggie Bush? I don't question the supposition that Bell is a ponderous runner. I know his yards-per-carry average doesn't look very good, but I think YPC is a dreadful stat that tells us very little. On tape, Bell looks to me very much like Eddie Lacy: a handful to tackle, a nifty pass catcher, not exactly elusive but with good vision and capable of making a single cut—not as hard as Abdullah's cuts, of course—and getting up the field.

Ask the Green Bay Packers what it was like to tackle Bell in Week 17 last year with the NFC North title on the line. Ask the Dallas Cowboys what it was like to tackle Bell in the Wild Card game. He's not what you'd call electric, but he's not sluggish either. He's a bull with good feet.

The only way I see Abdullah becoming a feature back worthy of the No. 40 overall pick (!) is if Bell just never gets healthy. If this backfield consists of Abdullah, Theo Riddick, and Zach Zenner, then Abdullah would be in line for 300 touches and would be a good bet for No. 2 RB fantasy production. But I'd rather own Bell if he's on schedule and is ready to go Week 1.

I understand I'm in the minority here, and certainly there have been exceptions to the "small players don't last as feature backs" rule. In this case, though, I'm willing to be wrong, and miss the opportunity to draft Abdullah as the 40th overall pick in a fantasy draft. I'll take Bell in the seventh round and be happy.

Christopher Harris has a daily podcast called the Harris Football Podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn and wherever else you download. You can also find his podcasts, ranks and videos at www.HarrisFootball.com.