Potential 2013 RB keeper picks

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At this time of year, fantasy owners are often challenged with loyalty tests. Do they stick with the high-end starter who helped get them to the playoffs, or do they chance putting someone else in the lineup because the high-end starter isn't producing at quite the level he produced at earlier in the season?

This same loyalty test occurs when it comes to deciding on keeper selections, as many no-brainer keeper picks from previous seasons may now be too risky to keep.

This week's Fantasy Foresight aims to help with those quandaries in the running back area by reviewing a number of top-shelf ball carriers to determine if they are good playoff starts and if they pass muster as keepers.

Chris Johnson

This past Sunday saw Johnson's six-game double-digit scoring streak come to an end. However, that shouldn't cause his fantasy owners to fret too much because it occurred against a Houston Texans defense that has the second-best points allowed mark against running backs. None of the Titans' remaining opponents (Indianapolis, New York Jets, Green Bay and Jacksonville) have defenses that are anywhere near as strong against the run as the Texans, so the competition level is quite favorable the rest of the way.

In addition, Johnson could benefit from having a new offensive coordinator (Dowell Loggains) and offensive assistant coach (longtime NFL assistant Tom Moore).

To see which running backs you should start in the fantasy playoffs and which could be 2013 keepers, plus get access to all of Insider's NFL coverage, sign up today.

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KC Joyner

NFL Insider

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• NFL and CFB analyst for ESPN Insider
• Known as "The Football Scientist"
• Uses proprietary metrics from game tape study