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Rudi! Rudi! Rudi!

Rudi! Rudi! Rudi!

2003 was Rudi's coming out party and although he had to share the load and spotlight with Corey Dillon for much of the season, Rudi proved he had stud talent and a mature demeanor that instantly painted him as the anti-Dillon and rapidly made him a fan and locker room favorite. The Bengals organization saw and believed enough in Rudi Johnson to send Dillon packing in an offseason trade with New England, and with the departure of their franchise runner opens a new chapter in Bengaldom and a massive opportunity for Rudi Johnson to take advantage of. The Bengals offense is bursting with young talent. With Chad Johnson, Peter Warrick and rising star Kelley Washington leading a pass catching triumvirate as good as there is in the NFL, opposing defenses will not have the luxury of stacking fronts to stop the run exclusively. With big veteran tackles Willie Anderson and Levi Jones leading the way, the line-play in front of Rudi should continue to be solid. Additionally, due to Rudi's power and size, he should see the vast majority of goal line carries and is a definite 10+ TD threat. Head coach Marvin Lewis loves to pound the ball and it certainly appears that Rudi Johnson is his battering ram of choice. Rudi's rite of passage in this regard came in week 10 last season when he was handed the ball a team-record 43 times. With 3, 165+ yard games and 9 TD's in limited starts last season, Rudi Johnson has given fans and fantasy owners a delicious taste of his potential. Will he serve up the production his current fantasy draft value is suggesting? Certainly it appears it is a gamble many fantasy owners are willing to take. Rudi is now widely considered a top-20 overall draft choice.

My personal goals coming in here are to be a 1,500-yard back. 1,500 or better.- Rudi Johnson, Bengals.com

Rudi Johnson is the chic pick of this offseason to breakout in a big way in 2004. If he comes close to a 1,500-yard season, Rudi Johnson figures to make the Bengals regret not signing him beyond the 2004 season. Additionally, the Bengals will be unveiling Carson Palmer as their new quarterback this season who will be playing in his first NFL game action this year. Marvin Lewis will have to show a major commitment to the run game in order to keep from overexposing Palmer and avoiding costly turnovers. Neither head coach Lewis nor the Bengals brass view this season as a rebuilding project. Everyone in the Bengals organization wants and expects to be challenging for a playoff berth, and Rudi Johnson figures to be a significant factor in making that a reality. One has to be cautious when an unproven player receives this much hype. But the upside, opportunity, age, and talent factors are converging on Rudi in a way that is purely combustible. Light match and ....Jump on his bandwagon now before the price to get on this ride hits the stratosphere.

Rudi shoots for 1,500 [Bengals.com] Photo: [Andy Lyons: Getty Images]

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