Back in the day, wide receiver Brandon Marshall was worthy of a first-round pick in fantasy football.
A little beyond that stage now, the New York Jets receiver told reporters that he would pick running back Chris Ivory first in fantasy football — not himself. While Ivory certainly wasn’t selected first by anyone this season, well except maybe his mother, Marshall explained his reasoning.
“I’m shocked that the world really doesn’t know about him,” Marshall said via The New York Post. “I didn’t know much about him. I remember the Jets trading for him. I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand what was the big deal. But now I understand it. I’m excited for him, and I’m excited for our team.”
Surprisingly, or maybe not so much, Ivory ranked fourth overall in running back fantasy points during Week 1, according to standard fantasy rankings.
For this, he enters the league as one of the most underrated running backs. Jets former general manager John Idzik made a trade with the New Orleans Saints in 2013 to acquire the shifty back. And, thus far in his tenure with New York while sharing running back duties, Ivory has managed an impressive 4.4 yards per carry.
Fantasy football players who actually drafted Ivory in later rounds are ecstatic. His Week 1 performance of 91 rushing yards and two touchdowns was eye-opening, and no doubt his owners hope to see him continue putting up big numbers throughout the season.
On that note, Ivory has an excellent chance to please his fantasy owners again in Week 2 versus an Indianapolis Colts defense that yielded the fourth most rushing scores (14) to running backs in 2014.
As for Marshall, perhaps he should be seeking a trade for Ivory. Maybe he can offer himself and fellow wide receiver Eric Decker up in a two-for to make it happen.