Darren Sproles
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Darren Sproles | New Orleans Saints | RB
2012 Experience: 8th season
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Fantasy Football Outlook: Ok, I’ll be honest it’s taken me awhile to fully commit to the Darren Sproles experience. Playing fantasy football for over 20 years can be a blessing and a curse as I had it drilled into my head to love the Bell Cow back at an early age, and while I do recognize that those days are long gone, it’s hard for me to trust an undersized player like Sproles as more than just a flex play option.
Perhaps that’s all Sproles will end of being for the rest of his career, after a season in-which we witnessed him produce as a top five running back in PPR leagues.
While I’ve updated my early projection from the spring, I still have Sproles numbers down a little in most categories from last year. I believe last year was a career season, but then again, it might not be.
Both Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas have had their share of problems staying on the field, and Sproles is a very underrated running in terms of his ability to run in-between the tackles.
He may be undersized, but Sproles is in the perfect situation to take advantage of his skill set as he will move around in the offense, and Drew Brees is amazing at using him to create and exploit miss matches in the passing game. This won’t go away, and with Brees’s pin point accuracy and Sproles ability to find soft spots in the defense, we could see a year where Sproles goes of for over 100 receptions!
At this point, I have Sproles listed as a low end RB1 in PPR leagues and an RB2 in standard scoring leagues. Don’t underestimate his ability and at worst he will be a weekly starting flex play in standard leagues.
| Rushing Stats | Receiving Stats | |||||
| Attempts | Yards | TD | Rec | Yards | TD | |
| 2012 Projected Stats | 92 | 620 | 2 | 81 | 644 | 5 |
2012 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: ADP's | Rankings | Mocks | Cheat Sheets + Auction Values
| Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | Att | Yds | TD | Rec | Yds | TD | YScm | Fmb | ||||||
| 2005 | 22 | SDG | 15 | 0 | 8 | 50 | 0 | 6.3 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 60 | 3 |
| 2007 | 24 | SDG | 15 | 0 | 37 | 164 | 2 | 4.4 | 10.9 | 2.5 | 10 | 31 | 3.1 | 0 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 195 | 1 |
| 2008 | 25 | SDG | 16 | 0 | 61 | 330 | 1 | 5.4 | 20.6 | 3.8 | 29 | 342 | 11.8 | 5 | 1.8 | 21.4 | 672 | 3 |
| 2009 | 26 | SDG | 16 | 2 | 93 | 343 | 3 | 3.7 | 21.4 | 5.8 | 45 | 497 | 11.0 | 4 | 2.8 | 31.1 | 840 | 3 |
| 2010 | 27 | SDG | 16 | 3 | 50 | 267 | 0 | 5.3 | 16.7 | 3.1 | 59 | 520 | 8.8 | 2 | 3.7 | 32.5 | 787 | 3 |
| 2011 | 28 | NOR | 16 | 4 | 87 | 603 | 2 | 6.9 | 37.7 | 5.4 | 86 | 710 | 8.3 | 7 | 5.4 | 44.4 | 1313 | 1 |
To help you get ready for draft day you will notice articles for ADP advice, cheat sheets, mock drafts and projected stats for Darren Sproles here. During the season, you can also find regular weekly ranking articles at this section as well.
2012 Projections: Can Sproles Duplicate His 2011 Numbers?
Ok, I’ll be honest it’s taken me awhile to fully commit to the Darren Sproles experience. Playing fantasy football for over 20 years can be a blessing and a curse as I had it drilled into my head to love the Bell Cow back at an early age, and while I do recognize that those days are long gone, it’s hard for me to trust an undersized player like Sproles as more than just a flex play option.
Perhaps that’s all Sproles will end of being for the rest of his career, after a season in-which we witnessed him produce as a top five running back in PPR leagues.
While I’ve updated my early projection from the spring, I still have Sproles numbers down a little in most categories from last year. I believe last year was a career season, but then again, it might not be.
Both Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas have had their share of problems staying on the field, and Sproles is a very underrated running in terms of his ability to run in-between the tackles.
He may be undersized, but Sproles is in the perfect situation to take advantage of his skill set as he will move around in the offense, and Drew Brees is amazing at using him to create and exploit miss matches in the passing game. This won’t go away, and with Brees’s pin point accuracy and Sproles ability to find soft spots in the defense, we could see a year where Sproles goes of for over 100 receptions!
At this point, I have Sproles listed as a low end RB1 in PPR leagues and an RB2 in standard scoring leagues. Don’t underestimate his ability and at worst he will be a weekly starting flex play in standard leagues.
| Rushing Stats | Receiving Stats | |||||
| Attempts | Yards | TD | Rec | Yards | TD | |
| 2012 Projected Stats | 92 | 620 | 2 | 81 | 644 | 5 |
Early 2012 Fantasy Impact Projections
I figured Darren Sproles signing with the Saints was a solid move for New Orleans, but what I didn’t figure on was all the miss-match wrinkles he would bring to the offense.
Heck, not only was Sproles great, he was better than Reggie Bush ever was in his time down in Louisiana. The little running back continued to run hard in-between the tackles, and the Saints offensive line was able to give him enough space to make big plays.
While Sproles was highly effective on the ground, it was his play as a receiver that made him a PPR darling and helped Drew Brees on his way to over 5,000 yards passing.
Because of Sproles high caliber play, and the problems he gives defenses as a chess piece on the field, expect him to see the same snap count load this year. That makes him a low end RB2 in PPR leagues and a worthy RB3 in standard leagues.
Summer of 2011: Fantasy Projections
After the Saints traded away Reggie Bush they quickly signed Darren Sproles in free agency. While Sproles is a better inside runner than Bush, his role with the Saints should be much like it was with the Chargers as a receiving threat on third downs, and a special teams force. Look for Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas to be the running backs to target from this team on draft day.
| Rushing Stats | Receiving Stats | |||||
| Attempts | Yards | TD | Rec | Yards | TD | |
| 2011 Projected Stats | 68 | 303 | 1 | 48 | 439 | 2 |
2011 June
The Chargers are going to part ways with free agent Darren Sproles as the special team, third down back is rumored to sign with teams like the Dolphins or Rams. Wherever Sproles lands, he clearly has a specific niche in the teams’ plans, and his role won’t make him a fantasy relevant option, unless he has to fill in because of injuries.
2010 Preview
Darren Sproles has been given the opportunity to shop around for a contract in free agency. That said, I would be surprised if the Chargers actually let Sproles get away. With LT already gone, this team needs Sproles to help in the running game.
2010 Fantasy Football Outlook
2009 Fantasy Year In Review: Darren Sproles continued to be the Chargers backup running back throughout the season. Since San Diego loves to use their runners in the underneath passing game, Sproles posted almost 500 yards receiving on 45 receptions.
For the season Sproles posted seven total touchdowns in the running and passing game for the Chargers as he continued to show his explosiveness.
Audio: RB Darren Sproles | 2010 NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings
2010 NFL Fantasy Football Player Rankings: At one point this offseason it looked like the Chargers offense might lose LaDainian Tomlinson and Sproles in free agency. The team did let Tomlinson go, but they kept Sproles around to be the backup once again. This year San Diego has a new starting tailback in rookie Ryan Mathews.
Mathews will see the bulk of the workload on the ground but Sproles should see a hefty amount the third down work this season. Don’t look to Sproles as a draft pick this season, unless you believe he’s worth holding if Mathews gets hurt.
Assets
- Explosive
- Receptions
- Great Offense
Liabilities
- Backup To Mathews
- Undersized
