Marshall Faulk: Are Knees Faulk'd Up?

marshall_faulk Marshall Faulk: Are Knees Faulk'd Up?

Reader Mail:
Whoa, think this is a hot topic right now? Received an inordinate number of emails this week asking about Marshall Faulk. Here is one of them:

My draft is coming up and I have the 12 pick in a 12 team league. I was totally thinking Faulk would be my guy there but after hearing the rumors I don't know if I should take him or not. Should I?- Dan, Tacoma - WA

Before we even address the latest rumors surrounding Faulk and his future, let's get something straight. Marshall Faulk is the most overvalued player in fantasy football right now.

And nobody else comes close to him in that regard. Yes, he did close out last season well posting 5, 100-yard games in his last 7. But the reality for Faulk is that he hasn't played a full 16-game schedule since 1999. He's had knee treatments/surgery in each of the last 4 years. And at the elder age of 31, it should be clear to everyone that Faulk's career is hanging by a very thin piece of cartilage. Recent rumor aside, ask yourself if this is the kind of quagmire you want to voluntarily subject yourself to by burning a 1st or 2nd round draft choice on Marshall Faulk? And now comes this unconfirmed off-season bombshell:

AP reports John Hadley of KTRS 550 AM announced today that he has "two sources" inside the Ram organization that "can't guarentee that RB Marshall Faulk will play in 2004". Hadley says Faulk's knee is a problem that isn't going away, and the Rams drafted RB Steve Jackson in the case Faulk retires. Hadley also said that his boss, KTRS sports director Jim Holder, "was on the phone all afternoon" and essentially confirmed that members of the Rams are saying that Faulk may, in fact, retire this summer during summer camp IF the knee continues to bother him." - AP: July 9, 2004

Where there is smoke, there is fire. It is just a rumor but even if Faulk does suit-up and train and play preseason, you still have to be able to assess risk and make drafting judgements accordingly. Some players are just better left to be somebody else's headache. Marshall Faulk is the best present day example of this. So he falls to the end of the 2nd round? So what? I still don't want him. I don't want to knowingly draft a player in the early rounds that could easily end up being a weekly no-show. I think it is both smart and healthy practice to know going into a fantasy draft if there are certain players you just won't touch. And for me, Faulk was one guy, not just this year, that I will not own. David Boston is another. I'm not suggesting Faulk or Boston couldn't be 1000-yard players again (Faulk hasn't hit that mark since 2001), but I'm content letting one of my competitors find that answer on their dime and time, not mine. You should consider doing the same with Marshall Faulk.

Photo: [AP]

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Marshall Faulk: Are Knees Faulk'd Up?