Upside by Jason Wood
Every season there are a few running backs that produce top 20 stats yet are drafted much later than that because their situation is either unclear or misunderstood. I believe such is the case for Correll Buckhalter in 2004.

Consider, last season as part of a three man rotation (alongside Brian Westbrook and Duce Staley), Buckhalter finished as the 30th best fantasy RB. Yet, this year, with Duce Staley gone, and Buckhalter assured of a heavier workload, he's being drafted 40th in early mock drafts.

Part of the confusion stems from Brian Westbrook, his running mate who will be the nominal starter to begin the season. Westbrook, in equally limited work, finished as the 20th ranked RB. While I'm not taking anything away from the talented Westbrook, I believe both backs deserve consideration given that HC Andy Reid will assuredly use both religiously.

If Westbrook and Buckhalter remain healthy for the full season, one should recognize that neither is in line for 20 carries per game. Just like last year, the team will use each in different packages, with Buckhalter getting more work on the goal line by virtue of being bigger and more of a traditional inside runner. As importantly to some, Buckhalter is playing for a new contract from either the Eagles or more likely another team as he enters unrestricted free agency after the season.

Now, let's say Brian Westbrook gets hurt this year. While injuries are difficult to predict, Westbrook failed to stay healthy last year despite getting just 154 touches; and his size worries many NFL pundits. IF he were to be sidelined, Buckhalter would be in line for a huge workload behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFC.

To be clear, I'm not saying Correll Buckhalter is likely to finish among the top 20 RBs at season's end, but he's got a much better shot than most of the other backs going in the middle part of your draft; be the smart one and roster him as your RB3/RB4 with HUGE upside.

Downside by Cathy Fazio
Correll Buckhalter finds himself once again backing up another running back in Philadelphia. Last season he was behind Duce Staley on the depth chart and also sharing carries with Brian Westbrook. This year, he finds himself behind Westbrook, whose performance in 2003 led to his being named starter for the Philadelphia Eagles.

I believe that Buckhalter is a risky player to have on your team. I wouldn't look at him until I already had 3 solid running backs.

He is an inconsistent player. Last season it was either feast or famine with Buckhalter. His good weeks of rushing for 100 yards on 15 attempts and 2 touchdowns were right next to poor weeks of rushing for 19 yards on 3 carries. He rushed for over 100 yards only twice last season, in addition he only came close to 100 yards one other week. The rest of the season he never rushed for over 54 yards in one game.

He is not the starter. As mentioned before, even though Duce Staley is no longer an Eagle, Buckhalter will be working behind Brian Westbrook in 2004. Last season Westbrook started 8 games and finished with 613 yards rushing, 37 receptions for 332 yards receiving and 11 total touchdowns. Buckhalter on the other hand started 5 games and finished with 542 yards rushing, 10 receptions for 133 yards and 9 touchdowns. 327 of his rushing yards came from 3 weeks. When you compare the two, the numbers at first glance seem fairly similar. But they differ in that Westbrook is a better receiving threat than Buckhalter. And Westbrook was more consistent in his production.

Sure, Buckhalter may see the goal line a bit throughout the season. But determining which games he will excel in will be hard to predict.