Making a Name in the Playoffs

Nothing like a big stage like the playoffs to show off what you can do to the people who will be looking for next year’s next big thing.

By Guest Blogger, Ron Bishow

The playoffs may not have any direct fantasy implications, but it can be a very telling time when looking for players who might be worth drafting next season.

When you get into crunch time coaches only go to the guys they really have faith in, and quarterbacks only throw to players they have total faith in. It is one thing to go with a guy during the regular season, but when jobs are on the line you don’t fool around.

These are the players that you have to keep a tab on next season for your fantasy draft along with the regular names. Players that could mean the difference between winning and losing, and here is just a sample of a few that have distinguished themselves so far this postseason.

Ryan Grant
Grant has been putting up huge numbers the second half of the season (he has the second most rushing yards behind LT) but his playoff game against the Seahawks have clinched him as a first round pick next season. Those 201 yards and three touchdowns have proven he can be a starting back in the league, and what makes him perfect for the Packers is his big play ability. Green Bay will always be pass first as long as Brett Favre is playing, but Grants ability to take any run to the house means that he can put up good numbers no matter how few carries he gets.

Marion Barber
Barber is an All-Pro and a touchdown machine (huge for me all season) and he finally got a start in the Cowboys playoff game against the Giants. Even though they lost he had over 100 yards and a TD in the first half and I think Dallas has finally seen that he can be a full game player. Julius Jones may find himself in another city next season, which would mean Barber would immediately become one of the top ten running backs in the league. He cannot be tackled on the first hit.

Greg Jennings
I have always been a big Jennings fan, I have drafted him each of the past two seasons, and he has always been productive. People have always been afraid to draft him to high do to the presence of Donald Driver, but it seems it will turn into more of a Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne situation. He had 12 touchdowns this season and two against the Seahawks, in other words he is turning into Favre’s favorite scoring target.

Eli Manning
The other Manning has been able to put up some solid fantasy games every few weeks sprinkled in with some terrible games. After two straight solid efforts in the playoffs where he has not thrown a pick he seems that he might have figured it out. He will never be a guy you would start every week, but he may be someone you draft as a backup and not be totally scared to play anymore.

Laurence Maroney
There was no more disappointing first round draft pick this year then Maroney, I should know he was my first round pick and by week five I wasn’t even playing him anymore. It wasn’t all his fault, the Patriots pretty much pass every down, but all of a sudden he is starting to show why he was so popular last season. 122 yards in the playoff game against Jacksonville, which followed two touchdowns in the season finale against the Giants and 156 yards the week before. If they give him the ball he will gain yards. But how many people will bite on him twice?

Stay tuned for the championship rounds to see if these guys keep in up (except poor Barber) or if some other strange name comes out of nowhere, after all this is the NFL.

Ron Bishow has been reporting on the sports world for the past seven years for AOL, Tribune interactive and CO-ED Magazine among others. He is such a fantasy sports fanatic he plays fantasy NASCAR. He is currently a contributing writer and video producer at newyork.metromix.com.