Jerious Norwood: Fantasy Sleeper
With a New Coach and Aging Competition, Falcons RB Set To Take Off
Jerious Norwood had a tremendous season as Warrick Dunn’s backup in 2006. This season, expect Norwood to get his chance to shine in Bobby Petrino’s offense.
It’s no secret that new Falcon head coach Bobby Petrino is intrigued by Norwood’s speed and big-play ability, and will use him in various different ways this fall, ways that he was not used under Jim Mora Jr. Petrino plans on taking advantage of Norwood’s speed by opening the offense up and throwing to Dunn and Norwood much more than Mora Jr. ever did. Mora Jr. never capitalized on Norwood’s catching ability. He only had 12 receptions in the 14 games he played last year.
Petrino is not the only one who is excited to see what Norwood can do this year, both quarterback Joey Harrington and fullback Ovie Mughelli have been praising the second-year running back’s ability. Harrington has said that Norwood is one of the fastest players he has ever seen.
Falcons management claim Dunn will take over the starter’s role once he fully recovers from back surgery, which could be Week 1 or 2 this season. Dunn is coming off a 2006 in which he started off very strong, but knee problems led to him struggling during the second half of the season. He averaged only 3.4 yard per carry in the last eight games. Dunn, who is 32 years old, showed signs of slowing down last season. As long as he’s healthy, Dunn will see some playing time. But if Norwood performs anything like he did a year ago, when he averaged 6.4 yards per carry in a limited role, Norwood will not have trouble getting the majority of the touches.
At this point, Norwood is generally regarded as a number three fantasy back. He can be drafted as late as the seventh or eighth round in some leagues. Dunn is a hard worker, and an extremely tough player, so there is little doubt he is going to do whatever it takes to stay on the field this season. But with all the wear and tear on his body, Dunn can no longer match the production of Norwood.
With a new regime in place in Atlanta, Dunn’s days as the featured back are over. Petrino wants to start with a clean slate, and won’t feel obligated to play Dunn. With Michael Vick looking like he won’t play much football this season, Petrino will look to Norwood to carry the load offensively.
Norwood should get off to a quick start with Dunn still recovering from his injury. Depending on Dunn’s status, Norwood could jump from a number three fantasy running back to a high-end number two fantasy running back in the first couple of weeks of this season. Norwood will not put up Brandon Jacobs-type touchdown numbers this year, but his touchdown numbers should improve with Petrino at the helm. Look for him to take majority of the goal line carries in Atlanta. Dunn’s opportunities will definitely be cut after scoring only three times on 14 attempts last season, while Norwood was only given one chance from the goal line.
