January 23, 2017

Jacob Valov delivers a final farewell to the fantasy football career of star running back (RB) Arian Foster, who retired during the 2016 NFL season.

As with any football season, the rise of the new class of fantasy studs will always, in turn, bring about the fall of the studs of old. It’s only right that in the same way we laud the more recent achievements of the Ezekiel Elliotts of the world, we ought to laud the achievements of their predecessors one last time.

We begin this year’s fantasy eulogies with a look back on the career of Arian Foster - one of the greatest undrafted players of all time.

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A Look At Arian Foster's Career

After not being selected in the 2009 NFL Draft due to injury and talent concerns brought about from staying in college one-too-many years, Arian Foster found his way to the Houston Texans. He worked his way up from the practice squad to the active roster, but finished with only 257 yards and three touchdowns. However, Foster showed enough during his rookie season to demand a bigger role in the offense, which he more than took advantage of.

Foster ran wild in 2010, finishing as the NFL rushing champion by logging 1,616 yards rushing, 604 yards receiving, and 18 all-purpose touchdowns. In the process, he passed Priest Holmes for most single-season all-purpose yards by an undrafted player and landed on the first-team All Pro list. Not only were Foster’s 18 touchdowns in one season impressive, it was simply dominant, as Foster logged five more all-purpose TD than any other RB in the league. To top it all off, Foster did all this while offering a preseason ADP of only 7.1. Considering how many people took blind shots in the dark on Lamar Miller and Ezekiel Elliott solely based on their situations this season, to be that much of a steal at the running back position is incredible.

This value didn’t last long, however, as coming off his amazing 2010, Foster skyrocketed to the number two overall pick behind Adrian Peterson for the 2011 season. While Foster owners may have been slightly upset he missed a few games, Foster managed to keep himself on the field more often than not in 2011,managing 1,800 all-purpose yards and 12 total touchdowns in his 13 games played, leading to a fifth place finish in overall rushing yards. This success was repeated in 2012, as Foster once again proved owners’ trust well-placed, finishing with a career-high 351 carries, racking up 1,600 total yards and 17 touchdowns over a full 16 games.

Unfortunately, in 2013 Foster’s career began its injury-riddled decline. After suffering a lingering injury in the preseason, Foster managed to limp through eight regular season games before being shut down, netting only 700 total yards and two touchdowns in the process. Coming off a season ending injury, there was natural skepticism surrounding how Foster would respond. This led to a dip in Foster’s ADP for the 2014 season, leaving him at 3.1 across all formats. Foster proved valuable for owners who took a chance on him, luckily, as he finished 2014 with a commendable 1,500 yards and 13 touchdowns in just 13 games. Things were looking up for Foster, as he appeared to be a locked-in RB1 once again.

Unfortunately, 2014 would be the last productive season Foster would have. Foster would miss the first few games of the 2015 season, leading to a drop in his ADP towards the mid-rounds as a stash-and-start RB1 play for those willing to wait for his return. Foster did eventually get back onto the field Week 4, but he couldn’t have proven to be more of a bust, even as a value pick. His season ended nearly as soon as it began, as he tore his Achilles tendon in Week 7, leading him to be placed on IR immediately. Foster finished 2015 with just under 400 yards and three touchdowns, and effectively finished his career with the Texans. He was released in the spring of 2016.

Foster attempted a comeback bid, signing with the seemingly RB-needy Dolphins in the 2016 offseason. Ironically, he would be replacing Lamar Miller, who moved to Houston to replace Foster. After beating out Jay Ajayi for the starting job, Foster started two games for the Dolphins, but it was clear he was never 100% healthy. He soon lost the starting job and ended up getting injured. Foster would finish with only 133 yards, and would decide to retire shortly after.

Conclusion

From the bottom, to the top, back to the bottom, Arian Foster’s career was certainly a wild ride. At his best, he was one of the most dominant, gifted running backs in the National Football League. Foster helped bring the Texans from mediocrity to preseason Super Bowl favorite in 2013, before gracefully bowing out as his time as a pro football player ended. Instead of wishing we could have seen more of Foster, let us be thankful for what we did get. After all, to retire while still young and on your own terms isn’t something many NFL players are afforded the luxury of doing. While his time was short, to go from UFA to leading the league in rushing two years later isn’t something that’s going to be easily forgotten. For one last time, here’s to Arian Foster.