Kenny Watson to remain a starter all year?

Chick Ludwig of the Sporting News writes that Rudi Johnson could be replaced by Kenny Watson as the starter in Cincinnati for the rest of the season. Johnson injured his hamstring on September 23, took two weeks off (including a bye), then re-aggravated the injury on October 14. He missed last week’s game and is yet to practice this week.

Here are Johnson and Watson’s stats for the season:

	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
Watson	66	313	4.7	4
R. Johnson	62	185	3.0	0

Johnson seemed to lose a step last year, as his yards-per-rush average dropped from 4.3 to 3.8 yards. That trend has continued this year.

Watson is in his 6^th NFL season (he spent all of 2001 on the Redskins practice squad). But every time this guy has been given a chance, he has proved he can play. Here are his stats from past seasons:

Year	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
2002	116	534	4.6	1
2003	0	0	0	0
2004	26	161	6.2	0
2005	0	0	0	0
2006	25	138	5.5	1

He now sports a career average of 4.9 yards per rush on a not insignificant 233 carries.

He came from Penn State, where he had 7 carries in 2000 and 15 in 1999. So he’s not in any danger of burn-out. He was basically used as a kick returner, and holds a few Penn State school records in that regard.

So it appears that Watson has the talent, the teammates, and the system needed to succeed. As Johnson’s injury lingers and Watson continues to impress, he may get the opportunity to keep succeeding as well.

He has a tough match-up with the Steelers this week, which means if you get him, you might not be able to start him right away, or if you don’t get him, you might be able to buy low. However, he looks like a great pick-up for the rest of the year. If you miss out on the Jesse Chatman sweepstakes, Watson would be a great consolation prize.